Egg in the basket

Egg in the basket — also known by many other names (see below) — is an egg fried in a hole of a slice of bread.^[1][2][3] The slice of bread can also be substituted with a waffle or bagel.^[4][5]

Description

The dish is typically bread with a egg in the center and then cooked with a little butter or oil.

It is commonly prepared by cutting a circular or square hole in the center of a piece of bread. The bread, sometimes buttered prior to cooking, is fried in a pan with butter, margarine, cooking oil, or other fat similarly to how bread is cooked in a grilled cheese sandwich. When browned, the bread is flipped, and the egg is cracked into the "basket" cut into the toast. Alternatively, the egg may be dropped into the bread before the bread is browned. The time the egg is placed in the bread is dependent on desired consistency.

To obtain even cooking, the dish is often either covered or flipped while cooking. It is also important not to cook the dish at too high or low a temperature, or the bread may burn before the egg is fully cooked, or vice versa. It is generally seasoned with salt and pepper and sometimes other seasonings. People often cook the cut-out circle of bread alongside and place it back on the finished toast and egg, adding a type of "lid" or "hat" to the "basket".^[6][7]

Names

This dish is known by many names, examples being: egg in a basket, Alabama eggs,^[8] bird's nest,^[6] bull's eye eggs,^[9] cowboy eggs,^[7] egg-in-the-hole,^[10] egg in toast,^[11] egg(s) in a frame,^[12] eggs in a blanket,^[13] elephant egg bagel (when made using a bagel rather than bread),^[5] frog in a hole,^[14] toad in a hole,^[15] gas house eggs,^[16] Guy Kibbee eggs,^[17] one-eyed monsters,^[18][19] one-eyed jacks,^[20][21] moon eggs,^[22] and Rocky Mountain toast.^[23][24]

See also

• Boiled egg
• French toast
• Fried egg
• Scrambled eggs

References