All Day Breakfast With A Difference

The all day breakfast is a very popular concept, here in the UK at least. After all, a lot of people who love the combination of ingredients can't face a large fried breakfast in the morning before they go to work - or alternatively, they simply don't have time to make it. One of the dangers of visiting a cafe, however, for an all day breakfast, is that by doing so in the afternoon or early evening, you run the risk of simply getting that morning's unsold reheats. It will by no means always be the case but I vividly recall one experience in Central London, near Kings Cross Station, going for an all day breakfast that would have put anyone experiencing it for the first time off the idea altogether for life!

This all day breakfast is different in the sense that it uses a variety of cooking methods, as opposed to simply the one or two frying pans options. The ingredients - most importantly - are all freshly cooked. If you are someone who has a heartier appetite in the evening than in the morning, you can enjoy an almost traditional fried breakfast to full effect at the best time of your choosing.

Note: Although you may not have access to Lorne sausage, or even black/blood pudding, you can mix and match, with perhaps the likes of small burger patties. It must also be remembered that bacon is very different here in the UK to what it is in the USA. British bacon is taken from the back of the pig, while US bacon is taken more from the belly. This Ayrshire middle bacon is almost a combination of the two but bacon rashers of any type will suffice.

Ingredients per Person

2 beef link sausages
1 Lorne sausage
1 slice of black pudding
2 slices of Ayrshire middle bacon
1 large breakfast mushroom (4 to 5" diameter)
1 medium tomato
1 egg
Vegetable oil for frying

You will need ideally two frying pans for this meal, even though the bacon is going to be grilled and the egg hard boiled. Pour a little bit of oil in to the larger pan and add the two link sausages. Do not prick the sausages. This only causes the juices and the flavours to be lost in to the pan. They are going to be cooked very slowly, which should prevent them from bursting. Put the pan on to a very low heat and fry for ten minutes, turning occasionally with cooking tongs.

After ten minutes, leave the sausages where they are (they require twenty minutes' cooking time) and add the black pudding and Lorne sausage to the pan. These two items should be fried for five minutes each side.

At this point, add your egg (which should be at room temperature and not straight from the refrigerator) to a pan of cold water. Put on a high heat until the water starts to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for six or seven minutes. Add a little vegetable oil to the smaller frying pan and bring up to a fairly high high heat. Carefully pull the stalk out of the mushroom and half the tomato. Put the tomato halves flesh side down in to the frying pan and the mushroom in, cup side up.

The sausages and black pudding should be removed from the large frying pan to a heated plate and covered with foil to keep warm while the remainder of the meal is completed. You will likely find that water has accumulated in the cup of the mushroom. Use your cooking tongs to lift the mushroom and pour the water in to a small cup or bowl to be discarded. Fry the mushroom cup side down for the last few minutes while you grill the bacon under an overhead grill for a couple of minutes each side.

Take the pot containing the egg to the sink and run cold water in to it for about thirty seconds or until the egg is cool enough to handle. Crack the shell of the egg all around on a hard surface and peel under running cold water. Carefully quarter the egg lengthwise on a wooden chopping board with a sharp knife.

Plate the mushroom cup side uppermost. Arrange the sausages, black pudding and tomato halves around it. Shake the excess grease off the bacon before laying it as a bed for the egg quarters inside the cup of the mushroom. Arrange the egg as shown at the top of this post and serve immediately, with HP Sauce or Tomato ketchup, as desired.

Important: Do remember that the skin of the black pudding is likely to be plastic and should be removed and discarded.