# Why aren’t beef products more common for breakfast? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [April 25, 2024, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764 "2024-04-25T23:43:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2024, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764/41 "2024-04-28T03:11:05Z")
I _LOVE_ sous vide pork chops and it’s the only way I cook them lately, but I think overnight is a bit too long. I cook them at 140 F or a bit lower, for about 1 hour. [J. Kenji Lopez-Alt says](https://www.seriouseats.com/sous-vide-pork-chops-recipe) cooking time should be 1-4 hours. > My general rule of thumb is to allow around 15 minutes of cooking time per half inch of thickness, adding on an extra 10 minutes or so just to be safe. … Beyond that time, the meat will not lose much juiciness, but eventually, as muscle proteins break down, it will become somewhat mushy, shredding as you bite rather than tearing. At four hours, the meat has begun to lose some of its resilience, and by eight hours, it’s tender enough to pull apart with your fingers. I limit cook times to under four hours. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2024, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764/42 "2024-04-28T03:40:56Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > Coriander and nutmeg are not spices that I would typically associate with sausage (or breakfast.) These are sometimes used in mustards, btw. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2024, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764/43 "2024-04-28T08:35:46Z")
It’s the same in Australia. If you have meat for breakfast it’s usually bacon or sausages. My theory is that it’s lighter on the stomach and easier to digest. You don’t want to have a lie down after breakfast, you want to be up and about. Mind you, beef mince on toast with a fried egg on top is light and yummy. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2024, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764/44 "2024-04-28T08:55:19Z")
“Beef mince on toast, hold the fried egg” would be perfectly fine with me. Add in some hash brown potatoes, maybe a slice of cheese, and I’d be one happy guy. As long as there was no fried egg. As I’ve said before, I cannot eat eggs, so a lot of breakfasts at diners etc. are off limits to me. I have to get creative. ''Yes, let’s get the bacon, the hash browns, a couple of slices of toast, some orange juice and coffee, thanks." Stupefied waitress: “No eggs, sir?” Me: “No eggs. If eggs show up anywhere, I’m sending it back.” Makes things difficult on early morning flights in business class, where you get a choice between scrambled eggs and an omelette. Oh, I could tell stories about that. And I have. As I’ve said before, my go-to diner breakfast is a Bacon Lettuce Tomato (BLT) sandwich, with fries or hash browns on the side. A BLT works at any time of the day, actually. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2024, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764/45 "2024-04-28T11:45:46Z")
I’m bemused by the folks who find pork lighter or more digestible than beef. I find the opposite. Perhaps related, i only eat pork at breakfast when I’m traveling. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2024, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764/46 "2024-04-28T19:53:17Z")
Well, a cooked medium slice of bacon only weighs about seven grams. That’s pretty light. About half fat and half protein. Of course sausages, chops and ribs are heavier. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2024, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764/47 "2024-04-28T21:18:29Z")
We had steak and eggs today, while listening to NPR radio. yum. I like mine sunny side up- yolks still runny but not the whites (I can do this its not that hard really). My wife wants her eggs over hard. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > I’m bemused by the folks who find pork lighter or more digestible than beef. I find the opposite. “heaviness” seems related to fat content- so bacon is heavy on the stomach, while lean beef is not. But a pork steak or chop doesn’t have much fats either. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2024, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764/48 "2024-04-28T23:05:08Z")
you would have loved this place in Cleveland that specialized in corned beef/pastrami that made their CBH from REAL corned beef ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2024, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764/49 "2024-04-28T23:10:36Z")
That was my first thought. Breakfast is the blandest, easiest to digest meal of the day, for me. Generally oatmeal and fruit with yogurt and some almonds. If I’m going to eat meat for breakfast it’ll have to be brunch, and it won’t be beef, because I just can’t digest it any more. Bacon is still good though. Yay! ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2024, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764/50 "2024-04-28T23:51:11Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I always thought ham was fairly low fat. Until my gall bladder surgery. Geez, a ham sandwich tears me up. The gall bladder is needed to digest fat that might explain a few things for me … > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Chicken and waffles is getting to be fairly common. people here in LA, which is one of the spots where it originated, tend to eat that for dinner … as the chickens fried … number one is where the colonists settled it was easier to raise pork because all you needed was a fence and some dirt … and pigs aren’t picky on what they eat pretty much the same with poultry …in fact, originally NYC’s Broadway was a favored meat butchering spot/market because it was wide enough for a herd of pigs to be driven down Then there was a slight prejudice against beef because that’s what the British upper classes ate … also, You have to remember that historically America has only been beef eaters for maybe 150-200 years or so and mainly by accident due to all the free-range cows after the Civil War …that’s when beef became cheap enough to ship and the railroads fast enough to ship it Oh and once you were rid of those pesky natives you had a thousand miles of pretty much open grassland so you could have a herd worth wild Now here’s where some previously cash-strapped British nobility gained some fortune back by showing the cattlemen here how to breed a superior cow over the plain ol longhorns we previously had so it was all of those converging at once that led us to being the beef-eating nation that we are …except at breakfast … ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764/51 "2024-04-29T00:06:03Z")
I still suspect that part of it is that breakfast foods tend to be quick to fix. Eggs take minutes. Most porridge was set on the stove the night before. Before refrigeration, cured meats, like ham and some sausages could be eaten cold or heated up quickly, and with refrigeration bacon and raw sausages were usually quick to cook And for much of the world, breakfast is leftovers from the previous meal ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764/52 "2024-04-29T08:18:05Z")
Which was, apparently, the origin of the word Breakfast. It was the meal to Break your overnight Fast and yes it was originally just what was left over from last nights dinner. Salt pork and hard boiled eggs for breakfast anyone? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764/53 "2024-04-29T11:22:12Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I cook them lately, but I think overnight is a bit too long. I cook them at 140 F or a bit lower, for about 1 hour. [J. Kenji Lopez-Alt says](https://www.seriouseats.com/sous-vide-pork-chops-recipe) cooking time should be 1-4 hours. I cook mine at 135, and overnight works beautifully for the chops I make, but they are very thick. Our friend/neighbor raises a few pigs each year. I volunteer to help with the pigs when they’re loaded onto the truck to go to slaughter (their one bad day in an otherwise good life). My pork chops are custom butchered, ridiculously thick. I use times longer than suggested for many foods, having arrived at my times through repeated attempts and then comparing results. When I sous vide pork butt for pulled pork, I use 72 hours even though you can get great results in far less time. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764/54 "2024-04-30T01:22:59Z")
A _picanha_ w chimichurri is the ideal Latin breakfast. With eggs, _an arepa con queso_, rice & beans, and a small salad. And multiple _cafe con leche_. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764/55 "2024-04-30T03:06:16Z")
Not my preference. I prefer _huevos motuleños o mexicanos_, _chicharrones_, fresh fruit smoothies, _tocino_, coffee and croissants. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764/56 "2024-04-30T18:25:22Z")
sorry, chicken and waffles did NOT start in LA but Harlem, as late night/early morning meal for musicians ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764/57 "2024-05-04T16:23:30Z")
for me a quick easy breakfast: bacon cheeseburger with fried egg and grilled tomato ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764/58 "2024-05-04T17:11:23Z")
I fairly frequently dine on beef products for breakfast; corned beef hash, somersausage, or salami happen at least 3 days of the week, if not more. In fact, that happens more often than non-beef meats for breakfast. However, it’s an idiosyncrasy of mine and locally it is porcine products which are more popular. Not that I don’t love some good bacon or pork sausage, though. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764/59 "2024-05-04T18:14:45Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > [How 'Bacon and Eggs' Became the American Breakfast - The American Table](https://americantable.org/articles/how-bacon-and-eggs-became-the-american-breakfast/) I’d heard about this before and it’s surprising, as I would have thought that bacon and eggs for breakfast goes back hundreds of years. One thing that bacon and pork breakfast sausage have in common is that they’re very aromatic. When I fry either, the aroma tends to linger in the kitchen for hours, maybe all day. For me, anyway, the aromatic nature of these foods makes them comfort foods that provide an incentive to get up in the morning, and if you add in the fact that, unlike most beef products, they’re well suited to small serving sizes and easy to digest, they’re an ideal accompaniment to eggs for breakfast. Pancakes, OTOH, lack the aromatic aspect, but with butter and syrup are also a comfort food IMHO, and also relatively light and digestible. I know that this is mostly America/Canada centric as breakfasts around the world differ greatly. I guess the ideal breakfast is largely what your culture is accustomed to. I’ve never understood the English love for kippers for breakfast – fish is about the last thing I’d want in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764/60 "2024-05-04T20:29:04Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > fish is about the last thing I’d want in the morning. Lox with cream cheese, capers and dill on a bagel is a heavenly breakfast for me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-aren-t-beef-products-more-common-for-breakfast/1000764.md?page=4)