Full English Breakfast-style the proper way

The full English done properly — back bacon, pork sausages, black pudding, eggs, beans, mushrooms, tomato, fried bread and HP brown sauce. A weekend ritual.

Ingredients

• 4 rashers back bacon (dry-cured if possible)
• 4 good pork sausages
• 2 slices black pudding, cut into rounds
• 2 large free-range eggs
• 100 g chestnut mushrooms, halved
• 1 large tomato, halved
• 2 slices bread (sourdough or bloomer)
• 1 tin (220 g) baked beans (Heinz, accept no substitute)
• 30 g butter
• 1 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
• HP brown sauce, for serving

Method

1. Heat two pans — one for the bacon/sausages/black pudding (medium heat, no oil yet), one for the mushrooms and tomato (medium-high with a knob of butter). Get everything started in parallel.

2. Bacon first, rind on, into the cold pan. Turn the heat to medium. Render the fat slowly for 4-5 minutes per side until crisp at the edges and properly browned , not flabby, not burnt.

3. Sausages go in alongside the bacon. Cook for 8-10 minutes total, turning every couple of minutes so they brown evenly on all sides. They’re done when firm to the touch and the juices run clear.

4. Black pudding goes in last (it only needs 2 minutes per side). Get a proper crust on it without burning the outside , it should be crisp and hot through.

5. Mushrooms in butter, flat-side down for 4 minutes, then flip. Tomato cut-side down for 3 minutes until caramelised. Set both aside.

6. Fry the bread in the bacon fat. Yes, really. Both sides until golden and crisp at the edges. Drain on kitchen paper.

7. Warm the beans in a small pan , 3-4 minutes from the tin is, with a knob of butter stirred in.

8. Finally the eggs. In a clean pan with a little oil, fry until the whites are set and the yolks still runny (or however you you them).

9. Plate everything: bread on the bottom, then bacon, sausages, black pudding, eggs on top, beans in a small pot or ramekin on the side, mushrooms and tomato. Brown sauce on the table. Tea in the mug. News on the radio.

Notes

Don’t crowd the pans. A proper full English needs space for everything to crisp properly. Cook in batches if doubling up.