Egg in the basket
An egg in the basket, or egg/eggs in a basket, is a fried egg cooked within the confines of a piece of (often buttered) toast, the center of which has been removed. The removed center can be fried and enjoyed as well. The dish is known by many names.
Preparation typically begins by cutting a circular hole in the center of a piece of bread with a cookie cutter or upside down glass. The bread is then fried in a pan with butter, margarine or cooking oil if the bread itself is not buttered. When browned satisfactorily, the egg is cracked into the "basket" cut into the toast. The egg is then fried to the desired consistency. When eaten, the bread and egg yolk mix readily, giving this egg dish its special quality.
Alternate recipes for those preparing this simple dish who do not have access to a stove call for the bread and egg to be microwaved. Some people say that cooking an egg "in the basket" is easier than cooking eggs alone, because the bread adds stability if the cook wishes to flip the egg. Some people put the cut-out circle of bread back on the finished toast and egg, adding a type of "lid" to the "basket". Others will break the yolk within the "basket" while it is frying, in order to let the bread more evenly absorb the flavor. It is commonly served with ketchup, jam, or cheese.
Names
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The dish is also known around the world under many different names including frog in the pond, bird's nest, birdie in a basket, holey toast, egg in a hole, bullseye toast, one-eyed jack, egg in a window, egg on a raft, man on a raft, paddy egg, castle'd egg, special egg, knothole egg, Popeye egg, Egyptian eyes, one eyed Egyptian sandwich, gibbly's willies, eggy bread, eggs with hats on top, eggy in the basket and toad in the hole, which is also the name of a British dish.
Other names include:
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Pop culture
The meal appeared in the movie Moonstruck, and several recipes for the dish have been named "Moonstruck Eggs".
The dish also appeared in the film V for Vendetta as "eggy in the basket", which was one of the reasons British writer Alan Moore had his name removed from the film credits. He said "They don't know what British people have for breakfast, they couldn't be bothered. 'Eggy in a basket' apparently. Now the US have 'eggs in a basket,' which is fried bread with a fried egg in a hole in the middle. I guess they thought we must eat that as well, and thought 'eggy in a basket' was a quaint and Olde Worlde version."
See also
References
- Netcooks.com recipe This recipe cites the dish as originating from Canada
- Recipezaar.com recipe
- Mr. Breakfast recipe
- Quarter Life Crisis recipe