I told you smothered fries were good. If you weren't convinced before, let me know what you think after devouring a heaping plate of these pork belly benedict smothered fries.

The idea for this dish was sparked at a diner while I was on vacation in Oceanside, San Diego. The diner had pork belly benedict on the menu...and while I didn't order it, my mind immediately began formulating a plan for a similar meal. Since I've recently decided that smothering fries in all sorts of delicious toppings is the best thing since sunflower seed butter, this is the recipe I came up with.

Between the thick sweet potato fries, salted and crispy pork belly pieces, plump poached eggs, and rich hollandaise, this is one hell of a breakfast.

It's easily one of my favorite meals to date.

Admittedly, there are a lot of steps to this recipe, since everything is made separately and combined at the end. So it looks like a beast. And it does, of course, take a little more work than your average eggs and bacon breakfast. But I think it's so worth it.

And like I suggested in my buffalo chicken smothered fries recipe, the final dish could easily be shared. Trust me, there's plenty to go around. I'm picturing a badass weekend brunch with these pork belly benedict smothered fries. It's certainly a showstopper.

If you're looking at this and thinking it's just too much, here are a couple ways to shorten the workload.

Use bacon, chopped and cooked until crispy, instead of pork belly
Opt for over-easy eggs instead of poached eggs

Everything else is pretty essential, so get on that.

I completely understand if you're hesitant about the poached eggs. First time I made them, I frantically texted my best friend through the entire process just to make sure I wasn't screwing up. ("OMG I just dropped them in. It's floating. No, sinking. I'm a failure. I'm a sinking failure, just like my poached eggs." "Chelsea, they're fine. Be an adult.") I mean, you're cooking eggs. In water. And they're supposed to form little perfect globes with a gooey treasure inside, not a watery mess?

When I first learned how to poach eggs, this video was incredibly helpful. My poached eggs still aren't pretty, but after finally getting over the fear of screwing up and just giving it a try, I don't find them as challenging. And that's just one more kitchen skill under my belt.

Pork Belly Benedict Smothered Fries

Author: Chelsea at Do You Even Paleo
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Category: Breakfast
Method: poached, pan-fried, blended

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Description

Change how you think about breakfast. These pork belly benedict smothered fries will help. With crispy pork belly and homemade hollandaise smothering sweet potato fries, this paleo breakfast recipe is certainly loaded!

Ingredients

Scale

For the Sweet Potato Fries

2 medium-large white sweet potatoes, cut into fries
1 tablespoon avocado oil
1 teaspoon salt

For the Pork Belly

approx. 1 ¼ lbs pork belly
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice

For the Hollandaise

2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon lemon juice
dash of salt
dash of pepper
½ cup melted ghee

For the Poached Eggs

5-6 eggs
splash of vinegar
Green onions, for garnish
Chives, for garnish

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss sweet potato fries in avocado oil and salt. Place all fries on baking sheet, making sure none are touching. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
While sweet potato fries are cooking, prepare the pork belly. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cut pork belly into 1-inch cubes. Salt liberally. Add the pork belly to the heated skillet and cook for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through to brown multiple sides. Add the lemon juice and transfer skillet to the oven for 20-25 minutes, until completely browned and crispy. Remove from skillet to drain on paper towels.
While the pork belly is in the oven, move on to the poached eggs and hollandaise. Fill a large pot ¾ full with water and set on the stove to simmer for the poached eggs.
While that’s heating, move on to the hollandaise. If needed, gently melt the ghee on the stovetop or by microwaving for a few seconds at a time. Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to a blender. Turn the blender on low for about 20 seconds, then slowly start to drizzle in the ghee. If you’ve ever made homemade mayo, this is very similar. It should take full minutes to drizzle in the ghee - set a timer if you have to! Gradually, the mixture should emulsify and get thicker.
Finally, make the poached eggs. Crack eggs into individual shallow cups, like ramekins. Add a splash of vinegar to the pot of simmering water (this helps keep the egg whites together). Using the handle end of a spatula or spoon, stir the water to create a gentle whirlpool. Carefully slip the eggs in, one at a time. Don’t add too many eggs at once, though - I usually cook 3 eggs at a time. Let cook for 6-7 minutes, then remove from the water using a slotted spoon.
Now it’s time to assemble the fries. Lay out the sweet potato fries as the base. Place the poached eggs in different places around the fries. Sprinkle the pork belly pieces evenly around the plate. Pour the hollandaise over everything and garnish with green onions and chives. Dig in and enjoy the fruits of your labor!