A Classic Irish Breakfast Recipe

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 20 mins

Total: 30 mins

Servings: 2 servings

Both Britain and Ireland are renowned for their 'full' breakfasts. What was once an everyday meal for hard-working farmworkers, is now more considered a weekend treat, or when on holiday, though some do still like to eat it every day.

An Irish breakfast can have many components from a hefty list and varies across the island and also between the north (where it is called an Ulster Fry) and across the border in the south. You choose what you want and what you can get hold of easily. Do try though to include potato cakes (Fadge) if you can, and soda bread is a particular favorite.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 2 butcher or farm pork sausages

• 4 rashers back bacon

• 1 large tomato

• Kosher salt

• Black pepper

• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 cup  baked beans

• 2 potato cakes

• Soda bread, for toast

Steps to Make It

1. Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 325 F.

   

2. Heat a griddle or frying pan to hot over medium-high, then add 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil. Add the sausages and cook for 10 minutes, turning the sausages frequently. Transfer the sausages to a baking sheet and place in the oven to finish cooking.

   

3. Trim the rind of the bacon to prevent the bacon from curling in the pan, then add to the pan you cooked the sausages in. Cook over medium heat, turning frequently and letting the bacon start to sizzle. Halve the tomato, then sprinkle the cut sides with salt, pepper, and a few drops of vegetable oil. Place the tomato, cut sides down, in the same pan as the bacon. Cook for 5 minutes on one side, then flip and cook for 5 more minutes. Transfer to the baking sheet with the sausages.

   Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the sliced mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Keep warm.

   

4. Meanwhile, heat the remaining vegetable oil in the same pan over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the eggs and cook for about 5 minutes for a soft yolk, spooning the oil with a spoon over the egg to ensure the white cooks. If you have a large frying pan, you can cook two eggs at the same time. Keep warm while you finish the breakfast.

   

5. Finish the breakfast by heating the baked beans in a covered glass bowl in the microwave for 3 minutes. Toast the fadge and the slices of soda bread in the toaster, then make a large teapot of good Irish tea (the traditional drink with a full breakfast).

   Warm your plates and serve your breakfast piping hot. Enjoy!

   

Alternatives for an Irish breakfast

This breakfast recipe is a standard full breakfast, but there are additional things you can add in if you want. If you are able to find it, the Irish love white blood pudding or will often eat Black Pudding, which may be easier to find.

Leftover vegetables and potatoes as in an English Bubble and Squeak is also popular.