Full English Breakfast
Britain's hearty plate of sausages, bacon, fried eggs, baked beans, mushrooms, grilled tomato and buttered toast, all served hot at once.
Method
Turn the oven on to 90 °C and put a heatproof plate inside: it keeps everything warm as it is cooked. Halve the tomatoes across the middle, wipe the mushrooms with damp kitchen paper and halve any big ones. Having everything ready before you start makes juggling the pans much easier.
ovenHeat some of the oil in a 24 cm pan, add the sausages and cook over medium-low heat for , turning often. Gentle heat is the trick: high heat burns the outside before the middle is done. They are ready when deep brown all over with no pink in the centre (75 °C inside). Move them to the warm plate in the oven.
Add in this stepPork sausages 4Neutral oil 0.6 tbsp
medium-low heatLay the bacon in the same pan and cook over medium heat in 1 batch(es) for , turning once, until the fat is golden and the edges just crisp. Move to the oven.
Add in this stepBack bacon rashers 4
medium heatAdd half the butter to the fat in the pan, turn up to medium-high heat and add the mushrooms and the tomatoes, cut side down. Cook for , until the mushrooms are golden and the tomatoes lightly charred and soft. Season with salt and pepper and move to the oven.
Add in this stepButter 10 gButton or chestnut mushrooms 120 gTomatoes 1Salt to tasteBlack pepper to taste
medium-high heatTip the beans into a small pan and warm over medium-low heat for , stirring now and then. Don't boil them hard or they will catch on the bottom and split; a gentle bubble at the edge is enough.
Add in this stepBaked beans in tomato sauce (tinned) 200 g
medium-low heatWipe out the frying pan, add the remaining oil and heat over medium-low heat. Crack in the eggs one at a time and cook in the 24 cm pan for , until the whites are fully set with no clear patches and the yolks are done to your liking. Spoon a little hot oil over the yolks so the tops cook evenly. Season with salt and pepper.
Add in this stepEggs 2Neutral oil 0.9 tbspSalt to tasteBlack pepper to taste
medium-low heatToast the bread for until golden and butter it straight away. Pile everything onto the warm plates and serve at once.
Add in this stepSliced bread 4Butter 10 g
Cook's tip
Order is everything: start with the sausages, which take longest, and finish with the eggs and toast, which go cold fastest. Black pudding or hash browns fried alongside make it even more traditional. Serve with brown sauce or ketchup.
Cooking it at camp
At a campsite, use one big cast-iron pan or griddle: start the sausages, then add the bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes in the free spaces, and fry the eggs last. Warm the beans in a small pan rather than in the tin. Keep the sausages and bacon in the cooler and cook them right through.