Full Irish Breakfast

Looking for a quick and delicious meal? A classic British bacon butty is the perfect choice for breakfast, brunch, or even a satisfying snack with family and friends. Simple, hearty, and undeniably tasty, this is a staple you'll want to make again and again.

Cook Time:30 - 35 minutes

Serves:4-6 Servings

Prep Time:15 Mins

SKIP TO THE RECIPE

The Full Irish Breakfast is more than just a meal; it's a hearty, cultural institution that sets you up for the day, Irish-style. Served across the country in homes, B&Bs, and hotels, it is a truly iconic start to the morning, and the perfect showcase for our back bacon, sausages and white pudding.

What is an Irish Breakfast?

Also known as an Irish Fry-up, at its core, a traditional Irish Breakfast is a substantial cooked meal served in the morning, and while ingredients can vary regionally, the standard components of an Irish breakfast include;

Pork: Sausages and back bacon
Eggs: Fried, scrambled, or poached
Puddings: Slices of both black pudding and white pudding (essential!)
Potatoes: Potato bread or fried cubed potatoes
Bread: Slices of traditional Irish soda bread or toast
Vegetables: Fried tomatoes and mushrooms.

Full Irish breakfast vs Full English breakfast - What’s the difference?

Whilst these meals may look very similar, there are some clear differences that make it easy to differentiate between a Full Irish fry up and a Full English fry up.

White Pudding - This is the most obvious difference between the two dishes. A proper Full Irish breakfast will have slices of both black and white pudding on the plate. Whilst you might find black pudding on a Full English breakfast, White Pudding is a distinctly Irish addition
Bread - A Full English Fry-up breakfast will have either your traditional white or wholemeal bread, occasionally fried bread cooked in the same pan as the bacon and sausages. A Full Irish, on the other hand, includes Irish Potato Bread dense, golden triangles made from potato and fried in butter. An Irish breakfast might also include Irish Soda Bread, a traditional bread made with flour and buttermilk cooked on the griddle or in the oven..

What is White Pudding?

White pudding is a traditional Irish sausage made from oatmeal, breadcrumbs, onions, pork fat, and spices, packed into a sausage casing. Unlike its close relative black pudding, it contains no blood, giving it a milder flavour and its distinctive pale colour.

Sliced into rounds and fried, the outside turns golden and crisp while the inside stays soft and savoury making it one of the most underrated items on any Irish breakfast plate.

If you've never tried it before, this Full Irish recipe is the perfect introduction.

What’s the difference between an Ulster Fry and a Full Irish breakfast?

What constitutes a proper fry-up will always differ according to region, nationality, and (most importantly) personal taste. A Full Irish and an Ulster Fry are similar in more ways than they are different, but one way to distinguish between the two is the type of bread and sausages used.

Bread: The Full Irish, recipe below, traditionally features Irish Potato Bread, whereas an Ulster Fry, hailing from Northern Ireland, often has the addition of Soda farls, triangular wedges of buttermilk soda bread, griddle-cooked and then finished in butter.

Pork Sausages: A traditional Ulster Fry tends to feature plumper, butcher-style pork sausages rather than the thinner, chipolata-sized Irish sausages.

Whatever you call your fry-up, one thing is universally agreed upon - it is a gloriously indulgent breakfast best enjoyed without any rush, and the bacon and the pork sausages have to taste just right.

What to serve with an Irish Fry Up

Done properly, a full Irish breakfast is a substantial meal by itself that will keep you full for hours! But if you want to take your fry up to the next level, then we recommend serving with a healthy side of Heinz Beans, a dollop of HP Brown Sauce and a cup of Irish Breakfast Tea to wash it down.

How to make a Full Irish Breakfast

Ingredients:

1 pack Jolly Posh Irish Breakfast Sausages (10 links per pack)
2 packs Jolly Posh Back Bacon (14-16 rashers)
Olive oil
One tube, Jolly Posh Black Pudding, sliced into 6 x ½ inch thick rounds
One tube, Jolly Posh White Pudding, sliced into 6 x ½ inch thick rounds
A stick (4oz) of good European or Irish butter
6 medium sized mushrooms, whole
4 large tomatoes, halved
2 packets of Dromod Irish Potato Bread, cut into 8 triangles
6 eggs
1 tin Heinz Baked Beans

Method:

Step One: Get Organised

A fry up is all about timing! Preheat your oven to 300°F and place a large tray inside to warm.

Place your frying pans onto the range. Have all your ingredients unpacked, prepared as shown above, nearby and ready to go!

Step Two: Cook the Sausages

Heat a frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat. Add the 10 Irish pork sausages and cook, turning frequently, until golden brown and cooked through (165°F and no longer pink in the middle). These skinny sausages will not take long to cook, typically 8-10 minutes.

Tip: keep the heat to medium temperature so that the sausages cook evenly without splitting their skins.

Once cooked, place the Irish sausages into the oven to keep them warm. Place the frying pan back onto the range as it is.

Step Three: Fry the Bacon and the Black and White Puddings

Using the same pan as the sausages, fry the bacon rashers, placing each rasher into the pan individually. Tip: Rashers of Irish back bacon cook quickly, so keep an eye on it to avoid overcooking. 2-3 minutes per side should suffice.

Heat a separate pan with a little oil, then fry the slices of black and white pudding, 3-4 minutes on each side until crisp on the outside and hot all the way through.

Once cooked, place the Irish back bacon, black pudding and white pudding into the oven to keep them warm.

Place both frying pans back on the range as they are. The oils left in these pans from the bacon, sausages and puddings will add incredible flavour to the next items!

Step Four: Cook the Mushrooms and Tomatoes

Using the same pan as you cooked the puddings, melt a tablespoon of butter and fry the mushrooms for 4-5 minutes. Add the tomato halves to the pan (cut side down) and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, until the mushrooms are golden and tender and the tomatoes are softened and slightly caramelised.

Step Five: Fry the Potato Bread

Using the pan you used for the bacon and sausages, fry the triangles of Irish Potato Bread, 1 minute on each side.

Place the cooked mushrooms, tomatoes and potato bread in the oven to keep warm.

Step Six: Fry the Eggs and warm the Baked Beans

Wipe any residue from the largest frying pan, then heat a little oil and crack in 6 eggs one at a time. Fry gently until the whites are set but the yolk is still gloriously runny (about 2-3 minutes). Season with salt and cracked black pepper.

Pour the baked beans into a saucepan and heat gently over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Avoid boiling them to preserve their texture and flavour.

Tip: You can start plating up the sausages, bacon, puddings, tomatoes and mushrooms whilst the eggs and baked beans are cooking.

Step Six: Build Your Plate and Enjoy!

Now for the best part! Take a plate and build your Full Irish. Per person, each plate should contain:

2 Irish pork sausages
2 rashers of back bacon
1 slice of black pudding
1 slice of white pudding
1-2 mushrooms
half a grilled tomato
2 triangles of Irish Potato Bread - generously buttered!
1 fried egg
2 spoonfuls of baked beans

There's no strict rule on how to arrange everything, but a good Full Irish should look abundant and inviting

Serve immediately - a Full Irish Breakfast waits for no one! Best enjoyed with a strong mug of Irish Breakfast Tea, and a bottle of HP Sauce on the table for those who want it.