Eggs Cochon Offers A Southern Twist On Eggs Benedict

Those among us who love an egg-centered brunch experience are well-informed about the glory that is the traditional eggs Benedict: a succulent poached egg sitting atop a slice of Canadian bacon on a toasted English muffin generously topped with a rich and flavorful hollandaise sauce. It's no wonder this delicious dish is so beloved. Set a fresh juice or mimosa next to that and you've got yourself a perfect Sunday, folks. 

This classic dish is thought to have been invented at Delmonico's in New York City, and it's widely considered to be the king of all brunch dishes. While migas, chilaquiles, and a classic French omelet might give eggs Benny a run for its money, the great city of New Orleans has its own counter brunch offering called eggs cochon — and if you've ever had it, you might argue that it's even better than the dish that served as its inspiration. 

It's unclear where New Orleans' delicious response to eggs Benedict was invented, but eggs cochon has two ingredient swaps that set it apart from a regular Benedict. First, rather than using Canadian bacon, eggs cochon features pork debris, which is basically slow-cooked pulled pork — and rather than having a thin slice, eggs cochon gives you a stack of succulent pork, which not only offers more meat with each bite, but also offers a cushier surface area for the egg to rest on. One of the biggest annoyances with Eggs Benedict is having the egg slide off when you're cutting the dish into bites. With eggs cochon, you won't have to worry about that.

The second important swap is that the New Orleans dish uses a buttermilk biscuit in lieu of an English muffin. At some restaurants in New Orleans, you can even find a cornbread muffin as the base for the dish. This option gives the base a more cake-like texture, which is much easier to cut with your knife than a toasted English muffin. Eggs cochon keeps the poached eggs and hollandaise sauce in the recipe, which enables eggs cochon to remain on the same brunch pedestal as eggs Benny. If you find yourself in the Crescent City around breakfast or brunch time, you might want to give this southern dish a try.