Confession: I have never eaten a full English, not in England or anywhere else, but at home. Mike and I talked with a man who moved to the US from England. He said he missed breakfast the most, specifically a Full English Breakfast. After a five-minute rant about its deliciousness, I still wasn’t convinced. Mike nodded, agreeing because he had eaten many full Englishes in London. But me? Nope.
Mike showed me the photo a few days later. The plate was huge and looked amazing. It could have been that I was so hungry then, but nothing looked better. The Full English Obsession was born. Mike and I went for a walk around the town to find ingredients, and this is what we found!
What is the full English breakfast?
A full English fry-up is a large, hearty breakfast dish in the UK. Full English breakfasts have become so popular they are served all day long. Full English Breakfasts include eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms, sausages, bacon, fried bread with beans, fried toast, and fried bacon.
According to the internet, full English Breakfasts require:
- Everyone chooses the sausages they prefer, but there may be more than one type on a platter. We chose regular breakfast sausages and also a little black pudding. Most people like to have it as well.
- Back bacon This is not your regular bacon made of pork belly. Nope, back bacon includes a small amount of the loin. It’s like a thin, smoked pork chop. This kind of bacon doesn’t look crispy.
- Eggs– Easy to understand; I’ve only seen sunny-side-up eggs on all full English plates.
- Tomatoes – These are cut into half along the equator, then seared and seasoned with pepper and salt. The tomatoes aren’t cooked. They get a bit of color.
- Mushrooms — This item could be left out, but mushrooms are a must since we are going all-out here. The mushrooms are cooked the usual way, nicely caramelized and browned.
- Toast — Don’t refer to it as toast because there have been online fights about the bread. It’s not enough to use a toaster and call it good. The bread must be FRIED either in butter or oil.
- Beans You must have beans! It’s a classic. I have never had beans for breakfast before. We chose Heinz because it’s what the English do, and their teal cans were too cute.
How to Make an English Breakfast
- Multitasking is the key to sound English.
- Warm up the beans. In a small saucepan, heat the beans on low heat while stirring.
- While beans are heating, cook sausages on medium-low heat until they’re browned, and turn them as necessary. Then, add the bacon to the frying pan and flip the bacon as necessary.
- Add the black pudding to the pan, and fry it, turning once. Over low heat, keep everything warm.
- In a separate pan, brown and caramelize the mushrooms. Move the mushrooms to one side. Add the tomatoes cut side down, and sear.
- Cook the eggs and fry the toast. Remove the meats and toast the bread until it is golden brown. Cook the eggs in a pan with the tomatoes and mushrooms.
- Enjoy! Place the beans on the plate, then add the bacon and sausages between 1-2 o’clock. Add the eggs around 6 o’clock. Add the blood pudding at 8 o’clock, then the tomatoes and mushrooms at 11 o’clock. Fried bread can be tucked into any dish or served on a separate plate.
