What is this Strange Classic English Dish called and how do you cook it?

Cafe Society
61

My dear fellow Englishmen, we’re this far into the thread and you haven’t told the Yanks about another good, British breakfast dish? I’m talking about, simply, fried bread, and the Americans I know have never heard of it.

Americans, what you do is fry up a nice amount of bacon then, while the pan is still warm, but slices of bread in them and fry them until they’re nice and brown and crunchy. I made equal amounts of fried bread and regular toast as an experiment while staying with friends in rural Maine once, since they questioned the goodness of fried bread. It went long before the toast.

By the way, here in the States, Mum makes Toad In the Hole with Bob Evan’s sausage. It’s not as good as the British stuff, but it’s what I grew up on, so I like it. She’s never rested the batter, and she parcooks the sausages before adding it. There’s also a British pub in my city where I can get Toad In the Hole, but one serving there will not only feed me that night, but give me leftovers for 3 more meals.

62

So…how does one eat eggs in a basket? Do you use a fork and knife? Do you pick it up and just bite into it? How’s it any different than eating an egg fried over easy with some toast?

63

Case of mistaken identity. My apologies.

Well, the eggybreadholeeyes breakfast experiment just concluded. The first attempt ended up in the compost bin: to get the butter hot enough to fry the bread properly on both sides, I ended up overcooking the yolk to a powdery texture, and causing a Maillard reaction that gave it a weird smell and a leathery texture after I flipped the thing, which made it quite nasty.

The second attempt was more successful: having run out of butter, I used sunflower oil, and fried the first side of the bread without the egg, then flipped the bread, added the egg, and when it was nearly ready, finished the top of the egg off by putting a bit of water into the oil and covering the skillet. Dipped soldiers into the yolk and ate the rest with a knife and fork. A winner!

64

I first had this dish as a wee-tyke on a family vacation to Disney World where it was called Goofy Toast. I’m pretty sure I cheerfully insisted on it for every meal of that vacation. And I still call it Goofy Toast to this day.

65

I grew up in New England, and this was my absolute most favoritest breakfast.Even though I am now a vegetarian, I still make it on occasion, using soy bacon and butter. And yes, I notice that other people love it, either with syrup or with jam.

66

I’m really loving this thread helping to dispel the notion that all British food is horrid and disgusting.

Let us not even speak of clotted cream, which besides having a terribly unfortunate sounding name is just simply the most wonderful thing ever.

67

You put it on a plate and use a fork. If you’re like me, you break the yolk open gently, and dip pieces of the bread in the yolk. You then use the bread circle at the end, to wipe up any bit of the yummy yolk that might otherwise escape.

Well, it’s not THAT much different. But the bread gets fried in butter, which is pretty tasty. And they look different, and they’re just fun. Has you ever been part of such an entertaining message board discussion on what to call an egg over easy with toast?

That’s what I thought.

68

Starting this thread yesterday I was just hoping to find out what the egg thing in toast was, and this thread really turned into a fun, happy culinary virtual dish. What fun! Thank all, I learned a lot and was pleasently surprised when this thread took off!
Oh and by the way…I had it again this morning!

69

My father used to make this, and also called it “egg in a basket.”

70

Because of this thread, hubby and I had Yorkshire puddings with sausages and homemade onion gravy for dinner last night.
Mmmm. It’s still sitting in my tummy this morning I think.

71

That’s the point. Hopefully you are fortified enough to go off exploring wildernesses and/or setting up an Empire without worrying about regular supplies from home. Have you sufficient tea? :smiley: Tea is crucial.

72

Plenty of tea - great big box of English breakfast tea. Corking. Now I shall sally forth and proclaim all the territories I survey in the name of Brittania!

73

They make them in Moonstruck too, you know. I wonder why nobody ever calls it “that strange classic New York City dish”, or “that strange classic Italian-American dish”?

74

Enough about your love life, get back to the food!

75

Hmmm, I always used butter for my fried bread. However, if we want to talk about really heart stopping meals, I will fry up some bacon, pour most of the grease into a cup, and then make grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches, adding more grease to the skillet as needed. These sandwiches are particularly good with potato soup, on a cold winter day.

76

That was the first thing I ever learned to cook in junior high–in the U.S.
It was called “Egg in a frame.”

77

I always do that - did you get that trick from me, or discover it independently?

78

Tried this yesterday - voted a success by all in the Marcus household but need either smaller eggs or larger pastry cutter as the egg leaked over the top of the second side :slight_smile:

ps Another vote for the Covered Market as the best place for food. Mind you, not for the squeamish with the deer etc hung outside the butchers…