Corn Cake Breakfast Sandwich with Fried Collard Greens

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the bacon on a parchment or foil covered sheet pan and bake in the oven until the bacon is slightly crisp, 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven, drain the bacon on towels and chop or crumble, reserving the rendered fat. Turn off the oven.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in the eggs, milk and water, until just mixed. Do not overmix, some lumps are ok.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat, add 1 ½ tablespoons bacon grease and 1 tablespoon butter. Drop the corn cake batter onto the hot pan using a ¼ cup scoop; work in batches to make 8 corn cakes, adding more bacon grease and butter to the pan between rounds. Fry until cooked through and golden brown, approximately 2 minutes per side. Set in the warm oven to hold.

Add one tablespoon rendered bacon fat to your large skillet and heat over medium high heat. Add the greens and sauté gently until wilted. Season lightly with salt and set aside.

In the same skillet, add two tablespoons of the rendered bacon fat. Crack the eggs into the pan and cook over medium high heat until the whites are set, about 3 minutes. Flip the eggs, turn off the heat, and place a slice of cheese on top of each egg. Cover the pan, and let rest until the eggs are set and the cheese has started to melt, about two minutes.

Assemble the sandwich by dividing the collard greens onto four corn cakes. Top each with one egg and cheese followed by a half slice of bacon. Add some hot sauce if you like a kick, and top with another corn cake.