When it comes to cuisine, the English don’t tend to get a whole lot right but the humble English breakfast is undoubtedly the exception to the rule.
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A staple of any sensible individual’s weekend, it’s a joy to behold whether you cook it yourself or head to your local greasy spot for a bit of bacon and the rest.
Everyone has their preferences when it comes to what order they eat the meal’s various elements in. Do you start with the toast and end with the egg or begin with beans and see it off with a bit of sausage?
What ever your preferences, the fact of the matter is you may have been living a lie this whole time – because this is the definitive ranking of every fry-up ingredient, starting with the worst and ending with the best.
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10. Tomatoes
A controversial choice at the bottom of the pile but ask yourself this question: if it wasn’t on the plate, would you really miss it all that much? Needs to be grilled to perfection too because there’s nothing worse than that disgusting juice.
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9. Fried Bread
A fat-infused luxury item and one that usually leaves you requiring three or four pints of water just to feel sane again. Not a great addition when nursing a hangover and one that feels excessive – especially when the breakfast in question comes with toast.
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8. Black Pudding
It might be the equivalent of eating a scab to some folk out there but try to separate the means of preparation with the end product and black pudding is surprisingly tasty. It’s certainly no worse than eating a sausage – those things are made from animal ball sacks!
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7. Mushrooms
Not just bog-standard fried mushrooms but ideally ones that have been seasoned with a sprinkling of some salt and a few herbs here and there. Do that and you are onto a winner.
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6. Toast
Everybody loves toast and it’s a great addition to any fry up thanks to its sheer versatility. Also, helps soak up a bit of alcohol. Outstrips fried bread at almost every turn.
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5. Sausage
It’s all about the quality of the sausages. If you end up with cheap and nasty ones, it’s an experience akin to eating the inside bit of a bicycle wheel. But get one of these fancy “butcher’s choice” ones, all ethically grown and that, and you’re in meat heaven.
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4. Hash Browns
They may not be to everyone’s taste but the sight of a hash brown, nestling between a fried egg and some baked beans is enough to bring any true lover of the English breakfast to tears. Delicious and another versatile addition that’s great when you are feeling rough.
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3. Beans
The most underrated of all the items on the plate, baked beans have been brilliant for years in all their various formats. There isn’t a meal around that isn’t improved by the addition of baked beans. Here, beans provided some much-needed moisture and flavour. Brilliant.
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2. Eggs
Good eggs can be the difference between a breakfast being a plate of crap and a piece of fine cuisine. They need to be well done but runny in the middle. Do that and you have something to build a fry up around. Fail and you may as well bin the lot.
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1. Bacon
As if it could be anything else? Not only is bacon the great breakfast meat bar none, but it’s also delicious whether crispy or not. Easy to cut, great to taste and the sort of element that mixes well with other elements on the plate, bacon is top of the pile every day of the week.
For more English breakfasts, this cafe sells the UK’s and cheapest fry-up for just £1. Bargain.
