{{Short description|Breakfast served in Great Britain and Ireland}} {{redirect|Bacon and eggs|other uses|Eggs and bacon (disambiguation){{!}}Eggs and bacon}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}} thumb|upright=1.35|Main plate of a typical full English breakfast, consisting of bacon, fried egg, sausage, mushrooms, baked beans, hash brown and grilled tomatoes {{Meals}} A '''full breakfast''' or '''fry-up''' is a substantial cooked breakfast meal often made in Great Britain and Ireland. Depending on where it is served in either of those islands, a full breakfast, or one of its variants, may also be referred to as a '''full English''',<ref name="full English">{{cite web |title=The full English |url=http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pork-recipes/the-full-english |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728111930/http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pork-recipes/the-full-english |archive-date=28 July 2014 |access-date=26 February 2014 |publisher=Jamieoliver.com}}</ref> '''full Scottish''',<ref name="full Scottish">{{cite web |title=Traditional Scottish Food |url=http://www.visitscotland.com/about/food-drink/traditional |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140213034050/http://www.visitscotland.com/about/food-drink/traditional |archive-date=13 February 2014 |access-date=26 February 2014 |publisher=Visit Scotland}}</ref> '''full Welsh''',<ref name="walesonline.co.uk">{{cite news |date=25 October 2005 |title=So what is a 'full Welsh breakfast'? |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/what-full-welsh-breakfast-2374227 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502004835/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/what-full-welsh-breakfast-2374227 |archive-date=2 May 2014 |work=Wales Online}}</ref> '''full Irish'''<ref name="tse 2024-09-29">{{cite web |last1=Lemm |first1=Elaine |title=What Makes Up a Traditional Full Irish Breakfast? |url=https://www.thespruceeats.com/full-irish-breakfast-435557 |website=The Spruce Eats |access-date=25 March 2026 |date=29 September 2024}}</ref> or '''Ulster fry'''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bell |first=James |date=29 January 2014 |title=How to... Cook the perfect Ulster Fry |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/recipes/how-to-cook-the-perfect-ulster-fry-29962910.html |access-date=26 February 2014 |newspaper=Belfast Telegraph}}</ref> Other variants of the full breakfast are made elsewhere.
The typical ingredients of a full breakfast are bacon, sausages, eggs, black pudding, tomatoes, mushrooms, and fried bread or toast and the meal is often served with tea. Baked beans, hash browns, and coffee (in place of tea) are common contemporary but non-traditional inclusions.
Fried breakfasts became popular in Great Britain and Ireland during the Victorian era; while the term "full breakfast" does not appear, a breakfast of "fried ham and eggs" is in Isabella Beeton's ''Book of Household Management'' (1861).
==History== Many of the ingredients of a full breakfast have long histories, but "large cooked breakfasts do not figure in English life and letters until the 19th century, when they appeared with dramatic suddenness".<ref name="O'Connor">O’Connor, K. (2009). Cuisine, nationality and the making of a national meal: The English breakfast. In Nations and their histories: Constructions and representations (pp. 157-171). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.</ref> Across the British Isles, early modern breakfasts were often breads served with jams or marmalades, or else forms of oatmeal, porridge or pottage.<ref name="Anderson">Anderson, H. A. (2013). Breakfast: a history. AltaMira Press.</ref> Eggs and bacon started to appear in breakfasts in the seventeenth century,<ref name="Anderson" /> but they were not the only meats consumed in breakfasts at that time.<ref name="Anderson" /> The rising popularity of breakfast was closely tied to the rise of tea as a popular morning drink.<ref name="O'Connor" /> Of note were the lavish breakfasts of the aristocracy, which would centre on local meats and fish from their country estates.<ref name="O'Connor" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Shaw Nelson |first1=Kay |title=The Gastronomic World of Sir Walter Scott |url=https://electricscotland.com/familytree/frank/scott.htm |publisher=Electric Scotland |access-date=3 August 2023}}</ref>
The fried breakfast became popular in Great Britain and Ireland during the Victorian era. Cookbooks were important in the fixing of the ingredients of a full breakfast during this time,<ref name="O'Connor" /> and the full breakfast appeared in the best-selling Isabella Beeton's ''Book of Household Management'' (1861). This new full breakfast was a pared-down version of the country breakfasts of the upper class, affordable to the emergent middle classes and able to be prepared and consumed in a shorter time before a day's work.<ref name="O'Connor" /><ref name="Anderson" /><ref name="EBS">{{cite news |title=History Of The Traditional English Breakfast |agency=English breakfast society |url=https://englishbreakfastsociety.com/full-english-breakfast.html |access-date=21 October 2021}}</ref> The full breakfast reached its peak of popularity in Edwardian Britain,<ref name="EBS" /> and despite a decline following the food shortages of World War II,<ref name="O'Connor" /> new technologies of food storage and preparation allowed it to become a staple of the working class in the 1950s.<ref name="EBS" /> Since then the full breakfast has declined in popularity as a daily meal, due to perceived concerns about health and its lengthy preparation compared to convenience-food breakfasts.<ref name="O'Connor" /> However, the meal remains popular as an occasional, celebratory or traditional breakfast.<ref name="O'Connor" /><ref name="EBS" />
It is so popular in Great Britain and Ireland that many cafés and pubs offer the meal at any time of day as an "all-day breakfast". It is also popular in many Commonwealth nations. The full breakfast is among the most internationally recognised British dishes along with bangers and mash, toad in the hole, shepherd's pie, fish and chips, roast beef, Sunday roast, cream tea and the Christmas dinner.<ref>{{cite book |last=Spencer |first=Colin |title=British Food: An Extraordinary Thousand Years of History |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-231-13110-0}}</ref>
==Variants== ===England=== {{redirect|English breakfast|the drink|English breakfast tea}} {{Redirect|Full English|other uses|The Full English (disambiguation)}} [[File:Alex Cafe, Islington - geograph.org.uk - 453902.jpg|thumb|right|The British cafe (such as this one in Islington, London, with a "breakfast served all day" sign) typically serves the full breakfast throughout the day.]] [[File:Set breakfast (1) - Café Belchers.jpg|thumb|Full English breakfast with fried bread served at a cafe in Brighton]] There is no fixed menu or set of ingredients for a full English breakfast.<ref name="O'Connor" /><ref name="EBS" /> A common traditional English breakfast typically includes back bacon, sausages (usually pork), eggs (fried, poached or scrambled), fried or grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, black pudding, baked beans, and toast or fried bread.<ref name="EBS" /><ref name="Good Food">{{cite web |title=Full English Breakfast Recipe |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/stressfreefullenglis_67721 |access-date=17 March 2022 |publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref name="Oliver">{{cite news |date=29 March 2018 |title=The Full English |url=https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pork-recipes/the-full-english/ |agency=Jamie Oliver.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=EXCLUSIVE: Expert declares key ingredient doesn't belong in Full English for savage reason |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/food-drink/expert-declares-fried-bread-not-32565795 |work=Daily Mirror |access-date=10 June 2024 |date=12 April 2024}}</ref> The beans may be put on top of the toast to create beans on toast.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Welsch |first=Michelle |date=2022-09-09 |title=Why Beans On Toast Is So Popular In England |url=https://www.tastingtable.com/1000301/why-beans-on-toast-is-so-popular-in-england/ |access-date=2026-05-16 |website=Tasting Table |language=en-US}}</ref> Bubble and squeak is a traditional accompaniment but is now more commonly replaced by hash browns.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bubble and shriek! Why war has been declared on the humble hash brown |url=https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/apr/03/bubble-and-shriek-why-war-has-been-declared-on-the-humble-hash-brown#:~:text=No%20less%20than%20the%20English,place%20of%20bubble%20and%20squeak. |work=The Guardian | date=3 April 2023 |access-date=3 August 2023}}</ref>
Black pudding is a type of blood sausage originating in the British Isles. It is made from pork or occasionally beef blood, with fat or suet, and a cereal. Its high proportion of cereal, along with the use of certain herbs, such as pennyroyal, distinguishes it from other blood sausages.<ref name="davidson and jaine">{{cite book |last1=Davidson |first1=Alan |last2=Jaine |first2=Tom |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |isbn=0192806815 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |date=2006}}</ref>{{rp|104}} Bubble and squeak is an English dish made from cooked potatoes and cabbage, mixed together and fried. Its name, according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (OED), alludes to the sounds made by the ingredients when being fried.<ref name=oed>{{Cite OED|bubble and squeak}}</ref>
A poll by YouGov in 2017 found the following to be on more than 50% of 'ideal' Full English breakfasts: bacon; sausage; beans; bread (either toast or fried); eggs (fried, scrambled or poached); hash browns; mushrooms (fried or grilled); and tomatoes (fried, grilled or tinned).<ref name="YouGov">{{cite web |title=Breakfast |url=https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/s5tcb6u1l8/InternalResults_Full%20English_W.pdf |publisher=YouGov |access-date=3 August 2023}}</ref> Black pudding was the least popular of the traditional ingredients, chosen 35% of the time,<ref name="YouGov"/> and 26% of people included either chips or sautéed potatoes.<ref name="YouGov"/>
Buttered toast, and jam or marmalade, are often served at the end of the meal, although toast is generally available throughout the meal.<ref>{{cite news|title=How to make the perfect full English breakfast|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/11029015/How-to-make-the-perfect-full-English-breakfast.html|date=25 June 2015}}</ref>
As nearly everything is fried in this variant of the meal, it is commonly known as a "fry-up". In the UK it is sometimes referred to as a "Full Monty". One theory for the origin of this term is that British Army general Bernard Montgomery, nicknamed 'Monty', was said to have started every day with a "Full English" breakfast while on campaign in North Africa during the Second World War.<ref>Parkinson, Judy (2011). ''Spilling the Beans on the Cats Pyjamas: Popular Expressions – What They Mean and Where We Got Them''. Michael O'Mara Books</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Dent |first1=Susie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JfJbeGQkja0C&q=%22full+monty%22 |title=What Made The Crocodile Cry?: 101 questions about the English language |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780191650604 |pages=151–152}}</ref>
Vegetarian or vegan alternatives can be made or are available in cafes and restaurants.<ref name="Vegan news">{{cite web |title=Wetherspoons launches full English breakfast for vegans |date=5 October 2018 |url=https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/news/wetherspoons-launches-full-english-breakfast-for-vegans/ |publisher=Vegan Food and Living |access-date=4 August 2023}}</ref> Meat alternative sausages and bacon may often be used,<ref name="Vegan news" /><ref name="Good Veg">{{cite web |last1=Nice |first1=Miriam |title=Vegan fry-up |url=https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/vegan-fry |publisher=BBC Good Food |access-date=4 August 2023}}</ref><ref name="EV">{{cite web |title=Vegan Traditional Full English Breakfast |date=15 October 2019 |url=https://www.theedgyveg.com/2019/10/15/full-english-breakfast-vegan-traditional-full-english-breakfast/ |publisher=The Edgy Veg |access-date=4 August 2023}}</ref> with either scrambled tofu<ref name="Good Veg" /><ref name="EV" /> or egg substitutes.<ref name="EV" /> The role of the mushroom and tomatoes is generally larger in these versions.<ref name="Good Veg" /><ref name="EV" />
In 2012, the English Breakfast Society was established as a learned society.<ref name="ebs about">{{cite web |author1=<!-- not stated --> |title=About the English Breakfast Society |url=https://englishbreakfastsociety.com/about-us |website=English Breakfast Society |access-date=27 March 2026 |language=en}}</ref> Headquartered in Hertfordshire, England, it is "... dedicated to the history, standards, and cultural tradition of the [full] English breakfast."<ref name="ebs about"/> According to its website, it was founded, and has a mission, to research and document that breakfast, and make authoritative reference material about it publicly available.<ref name="ebs about"/> Its activities also include the promotion of {{nowrap|2 December}} every year as "English Breakfast Day",<ref name="ebs ebd">{{cite web |author1=<!-- not stated --> |title=English Breakfast Day |url=https://englishbreakfastsociety.com/english-breakfast-day |website=English Breakfast Society |access-date=27 March 2026 |language=en}}</ref> and the organisation of an annual English Breakfast World Championship "open to anyone, anywhere", with entries to be submitted by email, or via a direct message on social media.<ref name="ebs ebwc">{{cite web |author1=<!-- not stated --> |title=English Breakfast World Championship |url=https://englishbreakfastsociety.com/world-championship |website=English Breakfast Society |access-date=27 March 2026 |language=en}}</ref>
===Scotland=== thumb|A Scottish breakfast There are some distinctively local elements of the full Scottish breakfast, including Scottish style or Stornoway black pudding, Lorne sausage, Ayrshire middle bacon and tattie scones.<ref name="davidson and jaine"/>{{rp|185}}<ref name='memphisflyer2'>{{cite news|first=Paul|last=Gerald|title=The Full English|date=12 July 2012|publisher=Contemporary Media, Inc.|url=http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/the-full-english/Content?oid=3222629|work=Memphis Flyer|access-date=30 July 2012|quote=The Scots like to have tattie (potato) scones, fruit pudding (actually a sausage made with very little fruit), and, of course, their curse on the earth, haggis.}}</ref><ref name="foyster and whatley">{{cite book|isbn=978-0748621576|title=A History of Everyday Life in Scotland, 1600 to 1800 |last1=Foyster |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Whatley |first2=Christopher A. |page=139|year=2009|publisher=Edinburgh University Press}}</ref><ref name="maw broon's">{{cite book |title=Maw Broon's Cookbook |date=18 October 2007 |publisher=Waverley Books |isbn=978-1-902407-45-6 |page=18}}</ref> Commonly, a full Scottish breakfast is offered on a menu as an 'all day' dish.<ref name="full Scottish"/>
Stornoway black pudding is a variety of black pudding ({{langx|gd|marag-dhubh}}) made in the Western Isles of Scotland.<ref name="pgi-app">{{cite web | url = http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/12/08144650/2 | publisher = The Scottish Government | title = Application to register the name 'Stornoway Black Pudding' as a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) under the EU protected food name scheme | date = 8 December 2010 | accessdate = 4 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212123527/http://scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/12/08144650/2|archive-date=2012-02-12|url-status=dead }}</ref> Lorne sausage, also known as square sausage or slice sausage, is a traditional Scottish food item made from minced meat, rusk and spices. Although termed a sausage, no casing is used to hold the meat in shape, hence it is usually served as square slices from a formed block.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://foodanddrink.scotsman.com/food/a-history-of-square-sausage-including-a-recipe-for-making-your-own/|title=A history of the square sausage, including a recipe for making your own |date=2016-03-10|newspaper=Scotsman Food & Drink|language=en-US|access-date=2016-11-05}}</ref>
A tattie scone (tottie scone) or potato scone is a regional variant of the savoury griddle scone, and is especially popular in Scotland. Tattie scones are typically made with mashed potato and a small quantity of plain flour.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.rampantscotland.com/recipes/blrecipe_potato.htm | title = Traditional Scottish Recipes — Potato Scone | access-date = 12 September 2009 | publisher = rampantscotland.com }}</ref>
Occasionally a full Scottish breakfast will also include haggis, white pudding, fruit pudding<ref name='memphisflyer2'/> or oatcakes.<ref name="foyster and whatley"/><ref name="davidson and jaine"/>{{rp|185}}<ref name="maw broon's"/>
Early editions of ''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'' referred to a ''Scotch breakfast'' as "a substantial breakfast of sundry sorts of good things to eat and drink".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brewer|first=E. Cobham|author-link=E. Cobham Brewer|title=Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable|publisher=Harper & Brothers|location=New York|page=812|url=https://archive.org/stream/brewersdictionar000544mbp#page/n819/mode/2up}}</ref>
===Wales=== Two key ingredients that distinguish the full Welsh breakfast from the other "full" variants are cockles and laverbread.<ref name="wol how to">{{cite news |title=This is how to cook the perfect full Welsh breakfast |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/how-cook-perfect-welsh-breakfast-14946791 |access-date=6 August 2019 |work=Wales Online}}</ref>
The common cockle (''Cerastoderma edule'') is a species of edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Cardiidae, the cockles.<ref name=Dauvin>Dauvin, Jean-Claude. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=yBG4RPkRSyYC&pg=PA25 Biological heritage and food chains] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007181055/https://books.google.com/books?id=yBG4RPkRSyYC&pg=PA25#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=2023-10-07 }}'', p. 25 (Quae, Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement, 2006).</ref> It is found in waters off Europe, from Iceland in the north, south into waters off western Africa as far south as Senegal.<ref name=Davidson>{{cite book |last=Davidson |first=Alan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bIIeBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA201 |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007181101/https://books.google.com/books?id=bIIeBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA201#v=onepage&q&f=false |archive-date=2023-10-07 |page=201 |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-104072-6 }}</ref><ref name=Considine>Considine, Douglas and Considine, Glenn. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=t4jjBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA2086 Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007181148/https://books.google.com/books?id=t4jjBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA2086#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=2023-10-07 }}'', p. 2086 (Springer Science & Business Media, 2013).</ref> Laverbread is a purée made from laver, an edible seaweed (littoral alga) consumed mainly in Wales as part of local traditional cuisine. It is often mixed with oatmeal and fried.<ref name="wol how to"/><ref name="eatweeds">{{Cite web |title=Laver Seaweed – A Foraging Guide to Its Food, Medicine and Other Uses |url=https://www.eatweeds.co.uk/laver-porphyra |access-date=22 March 2021 |website=eatweeds.co.uk|date=30 August 2018 }}</ref>
Fried laver with cockles and bacon was the traditional breakfast for mine workers in the South Wales Coalfield, but a breakfast in that area may have also included Welsh sausages, mushrooms and eggs.<ref name="walesonline.co.uk"/><ref name='wales.com'>{{cite web|url=http://www.wales.com/en/content/cms/english/about_wales/food/food.aspx|title=Wales.com – Food|access-date=30 July 2012|author=Welsh Government|publisher=Government of Wales|quote=Laverbread, not actually bread at all but seaweed, is rolled in oatmeal, fried into crisp patties and served with eggs, bacon and fresh cockles for a traditional Welsh breakfast.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601015050/http://www.wales.com/en/content/cms/English/About_Wales/Food/Food.aspx|archive-date=1 June 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Rodenas |first1=Angeles |title=Welsh caviar: should we all start eating laver? |website=TheGuardian.com |date=13 July 2021 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/13/welsh-caviar-should-we-all-start-eating-laver |access-date=13 July 2021}}</ref> In modern Welsh breakfasts, smoked fish may be included instead of black pudding.<ref name="walesonline.co.uk"/>
===Ireland=== ====Connacht, Leinster and Munster==== thumb|right|A full Irish breakfast {{Redirect|Irish breakfast|the tea|Irish breakfast tea}} In most of Ireland, full breakfasts often include brown soda bread, fried potato farls, white pudding and boxty.<ref name='memphisflyer1'>{{cite news|first=Paul|last=Gerald|title=The Full English|date=12 July 2012|publisher=Contemporary Media, Inc.|url=http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/the-full-english/Content?oid=3222629|work=Memphis Flyer|access-date=30 July 2012|quote=The Irish might have soda bread, a potato pancake called boxty, white pudding (what you're used to, but with oatmeal in it) or black pudding (the same, but with blood cooked in).}}</ref>
Soda bread is a variety of quick bread in which sodium bicarbonate is used as a leavening agent instead of yeast; its basic ingredients are flour, sodium bicarbonate, salt, and buttermilk.<ref name="tg 2014-02-05">{{cite news |last1=Cloake |first1=Felicity |title=How to bake the perfect soda bread |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/feb/05/how-to-bake-perfect-soda-bread |access-date=10 March 2026 |work=The Guardian |date=5 February 2014}}</ref><ref name="Ulsterfry">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zgk7mp3 "Is the Ulster fry the best cooked breakfast in the UK?"]. BBC. Retrieved 29 October 2018 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624205952/http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zgk7mp3 |date=24 June 2019 }}</ref> Different versions of it can be found all over Ireland, north and south.<ref name="Ulsterfry"/>
"Farl" is an old word that means, literally, fourth or quarter.<ref name="Ulsterfry"/><ref name="johnson 2012">{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Margaret M. |title=Flavors of Ireland : Celebrating Grand Places & Glorious Food |date=2012 |publisher=Ambassador International |location=Greenville, SC, and Belfast |isbn=9781935507796 |url=https://sportingroad.com/other-than-french-recipes/irish-recipes/ulster-fry-with-fadge/}}</ref> A potato farl is a form of flatbread in which potato flour or potato replaces a portion of the regular wheat flour, although the wheat flour can also be replaced with another flour such as rice or chickpea for a gluten-free version.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Mu | first1=T. | last2=Sun | first2=H. | last3=Liu | first3=X. | title=Potato Staple Food Processing Technology | publisher=Springer Singapore | series=SpringerBriefs in Food, Health, and Nutrition | year=2016 | isbn=978-981-10-2833-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O9mSDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA9 | access-date=January 9, 2017 | page=9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Hensperger | first=B. | title=Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook: A Master Baker's 300 Favorite Recipes for Perfect-Every-Time Bread-From Every Kind of Machine | publisher=Harvard Common Press | year=2000 | isbn=978-1-55832-156-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ew8rS8PCkpoC&pg=PT77 | access-date=January 9, 2017 | page=77}}</ref> Traditionally, the dough used to make a potato farl is rolled into a flat circle, cut into quarters, and then baked.<ref name="johnson 2012"/>
White pudding is a meat dish originating in the British Isles; it is broadly similar to black pudding, but does not include blood. Modern white pudding recipes consist of suet or fat, oatmeal or barley, breadcrumbs and in some cases pork and pork liver, filled into a natural or cellulose sausage casing.<ref>{{cite book | last = Ayto | first = John | title = The Glutton's Glossary: A Dictionary of Food and Drink Terms | publisher = Routledge | year = 1990 | page = 317 | url = {{GBurl|vAQOAAAAQAAJ}} | isbn = 978-0-415-02647-5}}</ref>
Boxty ({{langx|ga|bacstaí}} or {{langx|ga|steaimpí|label=none}}) is a traditional Irish potato pancake.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Brief History of Boxty, Ireland's Potato Pancake |url=https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/northern-ireland/articles/a-brief-history-of-boxty-irelands-potato-pancake/ |website=theculturetrip.com |date=5 August 2017 |access-date=27 February 2023 |archive-date=27 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227212717/https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/northern-ireland/articles/a-brief-history-of-boxty-irelands-potato-pancake/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
The "breakfast roll",<ref name='indo'>{{cite news|first=Brian|last=McDonald|title=Top breakfast baguette rolls into Irish history|date=12 May 2008|url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/top-breakfast-baguette-rolls-into-irish-history-1372872.html|work=Irish Independent|access-date=30 July 2012}}</ref> consisting of elements of the full Irish breakfast served in a French roll, has become popular in Ireland due to the fact it can be easily eaten on the way to school or work.<ref name='indo' /> The breakfast roll is available from many petrol stations and corner shops throughout Ireland.<ref name='indo' />
====Ulster==== [[File:Full Ulster fry.jpg|thumb|right|An Ulster fry served in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The potato bread is under the eggs, and the soda bread (soda farl) at the bottom.]]
In Ulster, the northern province in Ireland, the "Ulster fry" variant is so popular that it topped a poll to determine the province's favourite dish.<ref name="Ulsterfry"/> It is eaten not only at breakfast time but throughout the day.<ref name="johnson 2012"/><ref name="bt 2014-05-06">{{cite news |last1=Corrie |first1=William |title=Tele Recommends: The Ulster fry |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/tele-recommends-the-ulster-fry/a/117494889.html |access-date=10 March 2026 |work=Belfast Telegraph |date=6 May 2014}}</ref>
Traditionally, an Ulster fry includes soda farls and potato bread.<ref name="Ulsterfry"/><ref name="bbc thb"/><ref name="gfi 2012-08-21"/><ref name="tie 2011-02-16">{{cite news |last1=McDermott |first1=Peter |title=Shane’s chef satisfies Woodside diners |url=https://group.irishecho.com/2011/02/shanes-chef-satisfies-woodside-diners-2/ |access-date=26 March 2026 |work=The Irish Echo |date=16 February 2011}}</ref> An Ulster variant of the Scotch pancake is a frequent addition to those two items, and can be used to soak up egg yolk.<ref name="Ulsterfry"/><ref name="nsf 2010-03-23">{{cite web |author1=Miss South |title=It's my party and I'll fry if I want to... |url=https://www.northsouthfood.com/its-my-party-and-ill-fry-if-i-want-to/ |website=North South Food |access-date=10 March 2026 |date=23 March 2010}}</ref>
Soda farls are farls made from soda bread.<ref name="Ulsterfry"/><ref name="johnson 2012"/> Their integration into the traditional Ulster fry has helped them achieve near-legendary status in Ulster, where they can be purchased in bakeries, shops, and supermarkets everywhere.<ref name="Ulsterfry"/> Potato bread is a dense flat bread made from cooked potatoes, flour, baking powder and buttermilk.<ref name="Ulsterfry"/> In an Ulster fry, it is often served in the form of potato farls.<ref name="Ulsterfry"/><ref name="johnson 2012"/>
Ulster fry has been described in reliable sources as being from Northern Ireland,<ref name="tse 2024-09-29"/><ref name="Ulsterfry"/><ref name="bbc thb">{{cite web |author1=The Hairy Bikers |title=The Ulster fry recipe |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/theulsterfry_92143 |website=BBC Food |access-date=25 March 2026}}</ref><ref name="gfi 2012-08-21">{{cite web |author1=<!-- not stated --> |title=Frying up in Ulster |url=https://goodfoodireland.ie/frying-ulster/ |website=Good Food Ireland |access-date=25 March 2026 |date=21 August 2012}}</ref><ref name="tk 2023-02-14">{{cite web |last1=Holland |first1=Tara |title=What Is an Irish Breakfast? |url=https://www.thekitchn.com/what-is-an-irish-breakfast-23505603 |website=The Kitchn |access-date=25 March 2026 |date=14 February 2023}}</ref> but three of the nine Ulster counties, namely Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan, are in the Republic of Ireland.<ref name="twe ulster">{{cite encyclopedia |last= |first= |date=2001 |title=Ulster |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/places/britain-ireland-france-and-low-countries/british-and-irish-political-geography/ulster |encyclopedia=The World Encyclopedia |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=689 |archive-url=https://archive.org/details/worldencyclopedi00oxfo/page/689/mode/2up?q=ulster |archive-date=8 November 2013 |url-status=live |access-date=25 March 2026 }}</ref><ref name="dus cam">{{cite map |author= |date= |year= |map= |map-url= |title=Discover Ulster-Scots in Cavan and Monaghan |url=https://discoverulsterscots.com/sites/default/files/documents/2021-08/Cavan%20%26amp%3Bamp%3B%20Monaghan%20Ulster-Scots%20Heritage%20Trail.pdf.pdf |format= |scale= |series= |language=English |cartography= |location=Belfast |publisher=Ulster-Scots Agency |inset= |section=13 Ulster Scots and Politics |sections= |isbn= |id= |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=25 March 2026 |ref=}}</ref> In 2021, Jim Murty, travel journalist,<ref name="e.ie murty">{{cite news |author1=<!-- not stated --> |title=Jim Murty |url=https://extra.ie/author/jim-murty |access-date=25 March 2026 |work=Extra.ie |publisher=DMG Media}}</ref> wrote in his blog that he used to eat Ulster fry as a youth in Donegal, and, "when on best behaviour", still did so in Monaghan (and in Belfast, Northern Ireland).<ref name="mttt 2021-06-06">{{cite web |last1=Murty |first1=Jim |title=A wee Irish breakfast? |url=https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2021/06/06/a-wee-irish-breakfast/ |website=Jim Murty’s TravelTravelTravel |access-date=25 March 2026 |date=6 June 2021}}</ref> In 2024, a business in Inniskeen, Monaghan, defeated four other finalists for the title of Best Ulster Fry in County Monaghan.<ref name="ns 2024-07-12"/><ref name="tom ulster fry"/> The winner then went on to compete in the final of the Ulster Fry World Championships,<ref name="ns 2024-07-12">{{cite web |author1=<!-- not stated --> |title=Inniskeen business to compete in 'Ulster Fry Championship' |url=https://www.northernsound.ie/news/inniskeen-business-to-compete-in-ulster-fry-championship-238703 |website=Northern Sound |access-date=25 March 2026 |language=en |date=12 July 2024}}</ref><ref name="tom ulster fry">{{cite web |author1=<!-- not stated --> |title=Ulster Fry World Championship |url=https://www.tasteofmonaghan.com/ulsterfryworldchampionship |website=taste-of-monaghan |access-date=25 March 2026 |language=en}}</ref> which accepts entries from all nine Ulster counties, plus an additional entry from Belfast.<ref name="ifg 2023-07">{{cite web |author1=<!-- not stated --> |title=Could you be the Ulster Fry World Champion 2023? |url=https://www.irishfoodguide.ie/2023/07/could-you-be-ulster-fry-world-champion.html |website=Irish Food Guide |access-date=26 March 2026 |date=July 2023}}</ref><ref name="bl 2024-07-08">{{cite web |last1=Lynch |first1=Connor |title=Excitement grows ahead of the Ulster Fry World Championship this year |url=https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/what-constitutes-essential-ulster-fry-29497795 |website=Belfast Live |access-date=26 March 2026 |language=en |date=8 July 2024}}</ref>
First held in 2023, the Ulster Fry World Championships are part of the annual Donaghadee Summer Festival in County Down, Northern Ireland.<ref name="ifg 2023-07"/><ref name="fl 2024-07-24">{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=Steven |title=Chefs in Donaghadee compete to create the tastiest Ulster Fry in World Championships |url=https://www.farminglife.com/country-and-farming/chefs-in-donaghadee-compete-to-create-the-tastiest-ulster-fry-4715510 |website=Farming Life |access-date=26 March 2026 |language=en |date=24 July 2024}}</ref>
The organisers of the World Championships specify the ingredients for entries in that competition as being bacon, eggs, sausage, soda bread, and potato bread.<ref name="ifg 2023-07"/><ref name="fl 2024-07-24"/> "To make things fair, ..." they have stated,<ref name="ifg 2023-07"/> no other items, such as avocado, black or white pudding, or French toast, are permitted.<ref name="ifg 2023-07"/><ref name="fl 2024-07-24"/> As a general rule, according to Ulster fry traditionalists, only ingredients that can be fried in lard (a fat product derived from the fatty tissue of domestic pigs<ref name=merriam>"[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lard Lard]" entry in the online ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary''. Accessed on 2020-07-05.</ref><ref>{{Citation|title=lard|url=https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/lard|work=The Free Dictionary|access-date=2022-02-04}}</ref>) may be included in the dish. Traditionalists therefore also rule out baked beans, and consider hash browns to be an abomination, even though at least the former are increasingly popular as inclusions.<ref name="Ulsterfry"/>
===Elsewhere=== ====Australia==== [[File:All Day Big Breakfast, Coffee Quarter, Perth Airport, 2026 (02).jpg|thumb|right|A big breakfast served at Perth Airport, Western Australia]] A variant of the full breakfast is also commonly eaten in Australia,<ref name="bsc 2025-04-17">{{cite web |author1=<!-- not stated --> |title=Full English Breakfast v Australian Breakfast: What's The Difference? |url=https://britishsausage.com.au/full-english-breakfast-v-australian-breakfast-whats-the-difference/ |website=The British Sausage, Ham & Bacon Co |access-date=7 March 2026 |language=en-AU |date=17 April 2025}}</ref><ref name="c 2024-09-22">{{cite web |last1=Shoop-Volz |first1=Megan |title=The Traditional Australian Breakfast Looks A Lot Like A Plate From England |url=https://www.chowhound.com/1666743/what-is-traditional-australia-breakfast/ |website=Chowhound |access-date=7 March 2026 |date=22 September 2024}}</ref> where it is referred to, sometimes, as a "full Australian breakfast",<ref name="k 2025-04-29">{{cite web |last1=Kortbæk |first1=Allan |last2=Forbes |first2=Jemima |title=Australian breakfasts and what to expect |url=https://www.kayak.co.uk/news/australian-breakfast/ |website=Kayak |access-date=7 March 2026 |date=29 April 2025}}</ref> "big fry",<ref name="ofh tab">{{cite web |author1=Admin |title=Typical Australian breakfast |url=https://www.ozfoodhunter.com.au/blog/typical-australian-breakfast |website=Ozfoodhunter |access-date=7 March 2026 |language=en}}</ref> or "big fry-up",<ref name="c 2024-09-22"/><ref name="ct 2014-06-14">{{cite web |last1=McInerney |first1=Paula |title=A Typical Australian Breakfast |url=https://contentedtraveller.com/typical-australian-breakfast-taste-travel-3/ |website=Contented Traveller |access-date=7 March 2026 |date=14 June 2014}}</ref> and, more frequently, as a "Big Breakfast",<ref name="n.com.au 2025-08-26">{{cite news |last1=Wicklund |first1=Eleanor |title=‘They’re dreaming!’: Cafe slammed over ‘insane’ price of Big Breakfast |url=https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/eat/theyre-dreaming-cafe-slammed-over-insane-price-of-big-breakfast/news-story/9e173d0c0d51df4ecee23343d178e233 |access-date=7 March 2026 |work=news.com.au |date=26 August 2025}}</ref><ref name="t.com.au ultimate">{{cite web |author1=<!-- not stated --> |title=Ultimate big breakfast |url=https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/ultimate-big-breakfast/e2208c6d-11db-466d-aa6f-83f9c44977a8 |website=taste.com.au |access-date=8 March 2026}}</ref> or "big brekkie".<ref name="br 2025-09-11">{{cite web |author1=Spy on the Road |title=Truckies rave about this 'great value' big brekkie at SA roadhouse |url=https://bigrigs.com.au/2025/09/11/truckies-rave-about-this-great-value-big-brekkie-at-sa-roadhouse/ |website=Big Rigs |access-date=7 March 2026 |date=11 September 2025}}</ref> The variant has been described as a "quintessential Aussie dish".<ref name="n.com.au 2025-08-26"/>
Big breakfasts feature on the menus of most Australian cafes,<ref name="n.com.au 2025-08-26"/> in places ranging from the four biggest State capitals to much smaller locations,<ref name="k 2025-04-29"/> such as roadhouses (or truck stops) in regional areas,<ref name="br 2025-09-11"/> all around the country.<ref name="k 2025-04-29"/>
====United States==== The United States shares a similar though modified tradition. There is no commonly agreed on name but there are large heavy breakfasts with similar ingredients, sometimes called the "Lumberjack", "Traditional American", and "Farmers Breakfast". These swap out several key ingredients for heavy savory items and sweet carbohydrates, rather than the strictly savory profile of a UK or Irish breakfast. Typical components are eggs to order, meat such as bacon or sausage, servings of potatoes such as hash browns or home fries (diced potatoes pan fried with onions), and pancakes, a waffle, or French toast, or in the southern USA, biscuits with white sausage gravy.<ref>{{cite book |last=Arndt Anderson |first=Heather |title=Breakfast: A History |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |year=2013 |url=https://archive.org/details/breakfasthistory0000arnd }}</ref>
==See also== *List of breakfast topics ==References== {{reflist|30em}} ===Reference bibliography=== {{refbegin}} * {{Cite book|title=The English Breakfast: The Biography of a National Meal, with Recipes|author1-first=Kaori|author1-last=O'Connor|date=2013|publisher=Bloomsbury|isbn=978-0857854919}} * {{Cite book|title=Scotland - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture|author1-first=John|author1-last=Scotney|date=1 November 2009|publisher=Kuperard|isbn=9781857336214}} {{refend}}
==External links== * {{Commons category-inline}} * {{Wiktionary-inline}} * {{wikibooks-inline|Cookbook:English Breakfast}} * [https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/stressfreefullenglis_67721 Stress-free full English breakfast] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080512083419/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article3758517.ece Why the great British breakfast is a killer]{{subscription required}}
{{Subject bar |auto=y |portal1=Food |portal2=United Kingdom |portal3=Ireland }} {{Breakfast topics}} {{Irish cuisine}} {{Scottish cuisine}} {{English cuisine}} {{Blood as food}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Full Breakfast}} Category:Breakfast Category:British cuisine Category:Irish cuisine Category:Egg dishes Category:Pork dishes Category:Food combinations Category:National dishes