The Difference Between A Full English And A Full Irish Breakfast

In both Ireland and Britain, you can order a full breakfast, but the classic meals have some differences. Both are substantial morning fare full of protein and very filling. With meat, eggs, vegetables, bread, and beans, it's important you come to the table hungry, whether you're having an Irish or British fry-up. 

Both regional breakfasts offer almost every food group and make a delicious, leisurely start to the day. These meals are not meant to be scarfed down before running out the door. It's a full breakfast with heavy offerings meant to be savored. As the name implies, the meals are typically eaten in the morning, but you can also enjoy them later, for brunch or lunch. The primary difference between the English and Irish full breakfast is that the Irish version includes white pudding, potatoes, and often soda bread, which adds a hearty, rustic twist. To decide which one you'd like to try first, it's helpful to know exactly what goes into each breakfast.

The full Irish breakfast has been a staple in Irish cuisine for centuries. As with big breakfasts in many cultures, the hearty meal was a way for Irish farm workers to get plenty of food to start their day and give them energy for the tough working hours. Today, the Irish breakfast has become a cultural tradition that is often enjoyed on weekend mornings or at pubs.

While the meal may differ slightly depending on who's cooking, an Irish breakfast typically includes bacon and sausages, fried eggs, fried button mushrooms, baked beans in sauce, cooked tomato slices, toast or dense Irish soda bread, and black or white pudding. But some of those ingredients aren't what an American would expect.

Irish bacon is more like Canadian bacon than the thin and crispy slices served in the States. And the baked beans have decidedly less flavor than the molasses- and barbecue sauce-drenched recipes popular in the American South. Most notably, the pudding is pretty much the polar opposite of the sweet dish Americans picture when someone says "pudding." In Ireland and the United Kingdom, both black and white puddings are savory, sausage-like foods made with oatmeal, suet, and seasonings stuffed in casing. To complete the meal, spread butter and marmalade on the toast or bread and wash it down with plenty of Irish tea.

The English also have their version of the full breakfast fry-up. Like the Irish version, the full English breakfast is a very filling dish, perfect to fuel you for a busy day. The traditional English meal includes eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, tomatoes, mushrooms, and baked beans. If you're American, the idea of serving baked beans for breakfast may seem quite strange, but they also aren't the sugary version we're accustomed to. 

The most notable change from Irish to English is that the British version doesn't always contain a pudding, and when it does, it is always black pudding. That said, the inclusion of black pudding in England is purely regional, common in places like the Black Country (in the Midlands) and the North West of England. While white pudding and black pudding are similar, black pudding contains ingredients white pudding doesn't, namely cow or pig blood. Fried bread and hash browns are also potential regional variations.

Enjoying one of these large breakfasts is one of the best ways to get a taste of the culture. It's a lot of food, so if you're planning to make a breakfast fry-up at home, avoid the most common egg-frying mistakes and pick a sausage brand with the best ingredients to ensure no food goes to waste.