This recipe is straight up childhood comfort food for me. When I was younger, my stepfather used to make Eggs O’Brien on Christmas morning. It was easy–just a bag of frozen O’Brien-style hash browns cooked up with chunks of breakfast sausage links, with eggs scrambled into it when it was done.
To make this one keto, the main issue is coming up with a substitute for the potatoes. I’ve used daikon radish before in a similar recipe, but I wasn’t sure if it would hit the flavor profile I needed. Enter celery root, also known as celeriac. It comes in a big ugly bulb about the size of a shot put, and the taste is somewhere between celery and potato. It won’t crisp up like a potato will, but that’s fine, because in this particular application it’s supposed to be a bit softer.
Slice the ends off of your celeriac bulb and peel it. It can be bumpy, especially around the edges, so use a really good vegetable peeler. This OXO one is my personal favorite. You’ll also want a very sharp chef’s knife, because the celery root is really hard to cut through. Back in the days of the original Good Eats, Alton Brown recommended the Shun chef’s knives, and I still have several that date back to about 2004. I take care of them, and while I’ve had to have them sharpened a few times, they’ve taken care of me too. Don’t balk at the price, because if you’re in the kitchen as much as I am, a good knife is worth its weight in gold. Use that good knife to cut the celeriac into small cubes, like you’re making home fries. You should end up with 3-4 cups of cubes when all is said and done. Throw those into a pot with 4 cups of chicken broth, and boil them for 8 minutes. Drain them thoroughly and set them aside.
In a large enameled cast-iron skillet, heat 1/4 cup of avocado oil over medium-high heat. While that’s heating, chop 1/2 of an onion and 1 large green pepper. Pat any excess broth off of the celery root, then put it in the skillet. Cook for about five minutes, then stir and add the onion and pepper, along with two teaspoons of salt and black pepper to taste.
Heat a separate nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and fry up a package of breakfast sausage links. Mine had 10 links in it. While they’re browning, keep turning the celery root mixture occasionally so it browns evenly. Once the sausages are nicely browned, remove them from the skillet and cut each one into four pieces. Add it to the skillet with the celery root cubes.
Turn the heat down to medium on the nonstick skillet and add two tablespoons of butter. Beat a dozen eggs in a large bowl. Scramble the eggs in the butter. Once they’re done, the celery root should be as well. Mix the whole shebang together. I used this for meal prep breakfasts, but it would work great for your breakfast after opening presents under the tree, especially if Santa gives you a nice chef’s knife!
Eggs O’Brien
Ingredients
- 1 celeriac bulb
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 cup avocado oil
- 1/2 large onion chopped
- 1 large green pepper chopped
- 2 tsp salt
- black pepper to taste
- 10 links breakfast sausage
- 2 tbsp butter
- 12 large eggs beaten
Instructions
- Trim the ends off of the celeriac bulb and peel. Using a sharp chef's knife, chop the bulb into small cubes.
- In a small saucepot, bring the celeriac cubes and broth to a boil. Boil for 8 minutes, then drain thoroughly and set aside.
- Heat the avocado oil in an enameled cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Pat the celeriac dry and add it to the skillet. While it fries, chop your onion and pepper, then add it to the skillet and stir it in with the salt and pepper. Continue stirring occasionally as you finish the rest of the recipe.
- Heat a non-stick skillet over medium to medium-high heat, and cook your breakfast sausages until they're thoroughly browned. Remove them from the pan, cut each one into four pieces, then stir them into the skillet with the celery root.
- Turn the non-stick skillet down to medium, then melt the butter in it. Beat the eggs, then scramble them in the butter. When they're finished, stir them into the celery root mixture, add more salt and pepper if needed, and serve.
- Macros per serving: 409 calories, 7 grams net carbs, 18 grams protein, 33 grams fat.
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