It is often said that the modern traditional Irish breakfast is what the Irish cook truly does best. And I agree. In the North it is called the Ulster Fry and usually includes potato bread [recipe included on this site.] If you are visiting for a week or more, you probably will not want to eat so much fat and cholesterol every day so now many Irish B&B owners will offer cereals and toasts and more nutritional breakast items. In the 80s the breakfast fry was usually consumed by the Irish at least once a day whether at breakfast, lunch,or dinner.
At St. Patrick's in Dublin 1984
I love this breakfast, but it cannot truly be duplicated here in the U.S. Whenever friends visit Ireland, I make sure they bring back quantities of Irish sausage, bacon, white pudding, and black pudding. You would need to order these items online or at a local Irish shop. I'm lucky, where I live there are Irish shops in Lake George and Saratoga. If you order online most of their products are made in the U.S. with Irish seasonings and are very similar to the original. I do not order from Tommy Maloney's anymore. The sausage was completely out of its packaging and loose amongst the other items I had purchased. I received no answer and no satisfaction when I called and emailed about the condition of the box upon arrival. I was forced to throw the sausage out and was out its cost, and more importantly, my guests that year did not get to experience and enjoy authentic Irish sausage.
The breakfast begins with Irish oatmeal and orange juice. Irish oatmeal uses steel cut oats. Then on to the brown bread, [There is a recipe on this blog, but you cannot bake real brown bread unless you purchase the course Irish flour online as it is unavailable in the States.] eggs, meats, tomatoes, mushrooms, and, of course, Irish breakfast tea--a post on Irish teas. That's it.
I always serve this traditional breakfast to my guests visiting for St. Patrick's Day. It is truly more Irish than corned beef and cabbage though they have that for dinner. With Reubens or the Reuben casserole [both recipes on this blog] the next day, they do not leave hungry!
The Irish breakfast is what I miss most about living in Ireland though I do not miss their orange juice. Living in more rural Ireland, I had to go to another town to find American frozen cans of OJ, and they were frost-encrusted at the bottom of the freezer and VERY expensive. Irish orange juice in the 80s came in a box about the size of chicken broth. It was not refrigerated and incredibly bitter--no sweetness at all. It always tasted spoiled. YUK to that taste memory.
The Irish stoves, called cookers, in the 80s had the most convenient broiler/toaster so the brown bread was fantastic under the broiler with a wonderful, creamy Irish butter like Kerrygold. You can purchase Irish butter at most U.S. supermarkets now. To order the sausage, rashers, white and black puddings, and Barry's tea visit http://www.foodireland.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_C ode=spi201.
To purchase brown bread mix visit any Irish specialty store or purchase Hogan's brown bread mix online at http://www.shop.com/Hogans+Brown+Irish+Soda+Bread+Mix-39101974-51829146 -p+.xhtml?sourceid=298.
Irish oatmeal can be purchased in most grocery stores or purchase McCann's Irish Oatmeal online at
For novices, the Irish rasher is Irish bacon, and it is not crisp like our bacon--more like ham or Canadian bacon but shaped almost like a chop though thin. Black pudding used to be called blood pudding because the blood is added to the white pudding.
I found this article on www.ehow.com. I have added a few items not mentioned for a complete Irish breakfast experience. You would not want to consume this every day like the Irish, but for a special occasion, it cannot be beat if you like a fried breakfast.
I found this article on www.ehow.com. I have added a few items not mentioned for a complete Irish breakfast experience. You would not want to consume this every day like the Irish, but for a special occasion, it cannot be beat if you like a fried breakfast.
How to Serve a Traditional Irish Breakfast
by eHow Food & Drink Editor
by eHow Food & Drink Editor
Introduction:
Breakfast is, hands down, the meal that the Irish do best. Get into the St. Patrick's Day spirit by cooking this traditional Irish breakfast for your family.
Instructions: [Difficulty: Moderate]
Step One: Set the table with a clean white tablecloth and cloth napkins. On the table have teacups, small juice glasses filled with fresh squeezed orange juice, real cream, sugar, warm freshly baked brown bread, and butter.
Step Two: Brew up a big pot of Irish breakfast loose-leaf tea and serve it as soon as everyone sits down at the table. [recipe on this blog.]
Step Three: Serve your family bowls of hot Irish steel cut oatmeal while you are cooking the rest of the breakfast.
Step Four: Fry several slices of Irish rashers (cooked soft, not crispy like American bacon) and sausages and then put them aside under a towel.
Step Five: Next cut several cherry tomatoes in half and fry them with black breakfast pudding, white pudding, and button mushrooms in the fat from the bacon and sausage.
Step Six: Fry the eggs last. Arrange all the food decoratively onto plates and serve it all at once.
Step Seven: Let your family eat until they are full to bursting. If they are unable to finish, you will know you have served a proper Irish breakfast.
Tips & Warnings:
If it seems like you are making more food than you need, you are on the right track. Irish breakfasts are huge and meant to last you well into the day.
Things You Will Need:
Irish Rashers
Irish Black Pudding
Irish White Pudding
Irish Sausage
Irish Butter
Cream
Eggs
Freshly-squeezed Orange Juice
Brown Bread Mix [Hogans® or Odlums®]
Loose-leaf Irish Breakfast Tea
Cream
Eggs
Freshly-squeezed Orange Juice
Brown Bread Mix [Hogans® or Odlums®]
Loose-leaf Irish Breakfast Tea
Irish Steel Cut Oatmeal
Cherry Tomatoes
Button Mushrooms
White Tablecloth And Napkins
Cherry Tomatoes
Button Mushrooms
White Tablecloth And Napkins
Irish Teapot and Tea Cozy
I hope you and your family and guests enjoy this uniquely Irish breakfast as much as the Irish do. One of my favorite things is having warm brown bread and sausage for a weekend breakfast! It takes me back to my Georgian townhouse on Pinebrook in Trim in the mid-80s.
No comments:
Post a Comment