What is a traditional Irish breakfast? Learn what a full Irish breakfast is and how to make a delicious Irish breakfast at home.
If you have been vacationing in Ireland, chances are you have come across offers for a traditional Irish breakfast or full Irish or full-fry as it is also called.
A full Irish breakfast usually appears as a breakfast offer in hotels and B&Bs, it is a common offering on menus of breakfast and brunch places and it is of course also a meal you can easily make at home, especially at a weekend, when you may have a little more time to make it (and when you may have the option to work it off walking or exercising!).
But what goes into a traditional Irish breakfast? Let’s have a look but first, a few notes about names!
Table of Contents
Traditional Irish breakfast: how to order it
If you want to order an Irish breakfast, you may ask for:
- Traditional Irish Breakfast
- Full Irish breakfast
- Full fry
- Full Irish
These are all expressions that, in context, will land you a delicious dish with Irish breakfast staples!
What is in a traditional Irish breakfast
A full Irish breakfast usually is made of:
- Rashers (aka pan-fried bacon)
- Sausages
- Eggs, scrambled or fried
- Baked beans, which in Ireland means beans in tomato ketchup sauce
- Mushrooms
- Hash brown (potato patties)
- Tomatoes, usually served cut in half and slightly warm
- Black and white pudding
- Toast
- Butter and jam
More and more often you now find the eggs offered with additional ingredients such as smoked salmon, which is delicious in Ireland.
How to make a delicious full Irish breakfast at home
As you can tell from the ingredients, preparing a traditional Irish breakfast is not difficult but it takes a bit of time.
To make a full Irish breakfast:
Place a dollop of butter in a skillet and let it melt. Start cooking your rashers, letting them fry in the butter until they are well cooked but not excessively crispy. Take the rashers off the heat, place on a plate and set the plate in a hot oven to keep them warm and prevent them from going soggy.
Use the same pan to cook the sausages and, once cooked, put them with the rashers to keep warm.
Add to your pan the mushrooms (chopped), the white and black pudding if using, the tomatoes cut in half and let everything cook, then set aside.
Finally, use the same skillet to fry your eggs and, while they fry, heat up your baked beans (you can do that in a microwave)
Serve hot with white toast, butter, jam and tea or coffee.
How to make a traditional irish breakfast
What goes into a traditional Irish breakfast? Find out what you get when ordering a full Irish breakfast while vacationing in Ireland and how to make a traditional Irish breakfast at home for St Patrick's Day or any day when you want to start your day with a taste of Ireland, no matter where in the world you are.
Ingredients
- 1 or 2 Irish bacon slices
- Irish Sausages, 1 or 2 per person
- Black and white Pudding
- 2 Eggs
- Baked Beans 100gr
- Mushrooms, a handful
- 1 Tomato, halved
Instructions
Place a dollop of butter in a skillet and let it melt.
Cook your rashers, letting them fry in the butter until they are well cooked but not excessively crispy. Take the rashers off the heat, place on a plate and set the plate in a hot over to keep them warm.
Use the same pan to cook the sausages and, once ready, put them with the rashers to keep warm.
Add to your pan the mushrooms (chopped), the white and black pudding if using, the tomatoes cut in half and let everything cook, then set aside.
Finally, fry your eggs and heat up your baked bean in the microwave or is a suitable pot. Once everything is ready, put everything into one large plate (one per person) and serve hot with a side of white toast, butter, jam, orange juice, tea or coffee.
