Why You Need A Mason Jar Lid For Homemade Egg Sandwiches

There are few more satisfying ways to start the day than with a warm egg, melty cheese, and perhaps bacon or sausage tucked into a pillowy biscuit or a crunchy English muffin. The only downside of a delicious breakfast sandwich is that achieving the perfect ratio of the ingredients can be a challenge. In particular, breakfast sandwiches from restaurants always seem to have a nice, round eggs, but when you cook an egg at home, it can take on a mind of its own.

It's frustrating to crack an egg into a pan and watch it spread out in a runny mess. Once you tuck the cooked egg into your sandwich, the edges of the whites may flop out of the bread in an untidy way. Or, your fried egg might end up smaller than the bread, so you don't get enough egg in every bite. If you want a solution for making every bite of your breakfast a perfect one, you don't need a fancy sandwich maker or egg-cooking device. Simply use a mason jar ring when cooking your eggs for a perfectly round shape that fits nearly into your sandwich. It's super easy to pull this trick off, as long as you follow the steps closely.

Make perfectly round eggs using a mason jar ring

Cooking eggs using a mason jar ring is simple. The first step is to make sure your egg doesn't stick to the metal, so generously spray the ring with non-stick cooking spray before placing it in a heated frying pan. You could also grease it with oil or butter; just be sure to get it into the crevices. From there, simply crack your egg into the ring and cook it to your preferred doneness. 

If you want a sunny-side-up egg, just let it cook until the whites are as firm as you want. For over-easy eggs, you can place a tight-fitting lid over the top of the pan so that the yolk can steam, or you can flip the egg — jar ring and all — and allow it to finish cooking that way. If you need help stabilizing the egg as you flip it with your spatula, use a set of tongs to hold the ring in place. You can also use tongs to release the egg from the ring when it's finished cooking. 

If you prefer scrambled eggs in your sandwich, you can also make those neater using a jar ring. Just beat the eggs with any other ingredients you like and pour the mixture into the mason jar ring as usual. Scrambled eggs can be messy in a sandwich, so if you don't prefer them that way, a jar ring can save the day.

Tips for getting the perfect ratio

Using a mason jar ring to make eggs will never do you wrong, but if you really want a picture-perfect breakfast sandwich with an even ratio of ingredients, pay attention to the size of both the ring and the bread you use. Most common mason jar rings are three inches in diameter, or you may own a wide mouth-ring, which is 3.675 inches in diameter. When determining which bread to use, keep these sizes in mind, so that your egg takes up the whole surface area of the bread.

There are three popular options for round breads used in breakfast sandwiches: a bagel, biscuit, or English muffin. While there are no standardized measurements for bagels, they can clock in at around 6 inches in diameter, so you may want to look for smaller bagels or use a bigger mason jar ring. English muffins are typically between 3-4 inches in diameter, making them the ideal size for this egg-making hack. Finally, biscuits also lack standardization in size, so you'll need to measure them to see if they're suitable, or simply bake them yourself in an ideal size.

For a final tip, try not to use a non-stick pan with this trick. The jar rings are metal, so they can be rough on the pan. Being metal, the rings will also get hot as they sit in the pan, so be careful when touching or flipping them.