A Guide to a Proper English Breakfast

It seems to me that there is nothing better in the morning than a nice English breakfast (can substitute for Irish or Kiwi, too). It’s nutritious, satisfying, and joy-giving. A lot of people go to pubs and English/Irish cafes in order to get a good English breakfast. Little do they know, you can actually make your own English breakfast at home for half the price! We’re here to show you how. How is an English breakfast different than an American one? The main reason is that English breakfasts have much less of a sweet component than American breakfasts. Often with American breakfasts, you’ll see pancakes or french toast or something similar. The English breakfast is full of savory notes that all mix together. My version is probably definitely not textbook as it is heavily influenced by New Zealand–nonetheless, it is delicious. 

What you need:

• Heinz or Watties baked beans
• Eggs
• Toast (preferably thick English toast)
• Tomatoes (you’ll see we were out of this when we made it recently)
• Mushrooms (these too)
• Bacon or English sausages (or both [or neither if you’re vegetarian])
• Butter
• Tea
• Jam

Don’t fret if you don’t have it all. Although it’s best when it’s all on the plate, you can just go with the mandatory ingredients: bread, eggs, beans, and tea. It’s also important to have a plate warmer (aka an oven) to keep everything warm while everything is finishing cooking. I would set the oven to around 200 degrees F to keep everything warm but not outrageous. A lot of this requires good timing. 

1. Cut slices of thick bread, at least two for one person (one for jam, one for the rest) and toast them. As soon as your bread is toasted, smear with butter and put on a plate in oven.

2. Put the beans in a pot and warm them up. If they start sticking, then turn down to lowest heat.

3. Get some butter or oil in a pan and start cooking the mushrooms, meat, and tomatoes. It can be all at once or separately at a time. Get the bangers nice and cooked and the bacon crispy. You want the tomatoes to turn out like stewed tomatoes, soft and hot. The mushrooms you will cook until dark and tender. Put these on plates in the warmer.

3. Boil some water for tea. Serve tea how you would like it. My favorite way: let steep for three minutes, take out the tea bag, pour in a small amount of milk and enjoy piping hot. 

4. As you’re letting the tea steep, put on your eggs to fry in a pan. The pan should be lighted coated with grease so the eggs don’t stick. We’re going for over-easy here. We want the yoke to be able to drip out.

5. Once the eggs are done, serve it all together. First, serve everything separately and then each person can load it up how it should be done: butter toast on the bottom, then the beans, then tomatoes, then egg, then mushroom on top. Meat you leave on the plate but feel free to eat it all together. Don’t forget salt and pepper!

6. Spread jam on the second piece of toast, sip your tea, and dig in!

I’m drooling just writing about it. If you’ve never felt satisfied by breakfast, this is one way to surely get there. I believe that a nice cup of tea can solve a world of problems. Just being able to sit with all these wonderful flavors in front of you brings the ultimate comfort without the later physical discomfort of some American breakfasts. It’s peaceful and enjoyable and brings happiness all around. Plus, if you’re cooking with a partner, this one is a lot of fun! Cook a nice English breakfast to stay hungry and fit!

BONUS KITTY PIC