The Full Irish Breakfast

There is an old motto that says “Eat breakfast like a King, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper” meaning it is wise to start the day with a large cooked breakfast. Such a motto could very much be applied to the traditional full Irish Breakfast. It is a meal that will fill you up and enable you to have the energy to make the most of a full day’s travel around the countryside whilst on a vacation in Ireland.

A large cooked breakfast of meat (bacon, sausages and black and white puddings), eggs, vegetables and potato all fried in creamery butter, it is served with a generous helping of homemade Irish soda or brown bread for soakage and washed down with a strong cup of breakfast tea such as Barry’s or Lyons tea (depending where you are) and a glass of orange juice.

It is a meal that was traditionally concocted to prepare one for a full days heavy duty work on the farm on a cold winter morning and was comprised of the best local and homemade farm produce all cooked in butter in a frying pan.

While today it is not possible to be eaten on most work mornings, the traditional full Irish serves as a staple treat for most households to indulge in on a lazy Sunday morning whilst reading the Sunday papers. And it is not just confined to mornings, it is a meal that can be eaten at any hour of the day depending on your liking.

While opinion may be divided on what constitutes an Irish breakfast from household to household, the main ingredients remain the same, with the very best of Irish local ingredients comprising of meats such as good loin bacon or rashers, best of local sausages, black and white puddings (which are a type of sausage made up of pork meat, oats and spices and pork blood (in the black pudding)) eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes and cold cooked potato or potato bread (optional) all being used. These ingredients are then fried in a little knob of Irish butter in a frying pan and served with a helping of homemade bread, butter and jam at the side and finished off with a cup of tea or orange juice.

For visitors enjoying a trip to Ireland, a stay wouldn’t be complete without first sampling the Irish breakfast whether it be the full version or a mini half portion.

For the adventurous types who wish to sample the local produce here is a simple recipe for the traditional Irish fry-up: