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Egg in the basket

Egg in the basket with a "hat" or "lid"
Place of origin	United States
Main ingredients	Bread, eggs
Media: Egg in the basket

Egg in the basket—also known by many other names—is an egg fried in a hole in a slice of bread. A waffle or bagel (with a large enough hole) can also be substituted for the slice of bread.

Names

Variant names for the dish include "elephant eyes", "bread with hole in the middle," "bullseye eggs," "eggs in a frame," "egg in a hole," "eggs in a nest," "gashouse eggs," "gasthaus eggs," "hole in one," "one-eyed Jack," "one-eyed Pete," "pirate's eye," and "popeye". Also known as “load in the hole”. The name "Gashouse Special" is used in the 1975 book The Kids' Kitchen Takeover by Sarah Stein. The name "toad in the hole" is sometimes used for this dish, though more commonly refers to sausages cooked in Yorkshire pudding batter.

Description

The dish is made up of bread, with a hole cut in a middle, filled with egg and cooked with 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. When browned, the bread is flipped, and the egg is cracked into the hole in the toast. Alternatively, the egg may be dropped into the bread before the bread is browned. The time the egg is cracked in the bread is dependent on desired egg consistency.

The pan is often covered and the bread flipped while on the heat to obtain even cooking. The dish requires a degree of skill and temperature control to prevent burning either the egg or bread while cooking to the desired consistency.

Appearance in pop culture

The dish is prepared by actor Guy Kibbee in the 1935 Warner Bros film Mary Jane's Pa, leading to it sometimes being known as "Guy Kibbee eggs". It is also called "Betty Grable eggs", from the actress’ preparation of "gashouse eggs" in the 1941 film Moon Over Miami. It is prepared by both Hugo Weaving and Stephen Fry's characters in the 2005 film V for Vendetta, the latter referring to it as "eggy in the basket". Other film appearances include Moonstruck (1987) and The Meddler (2016).

On television, the dish is prepared in a 1996 episode of the sitcom Friends by the character Joey Tribbiani, who refers to it as "eggs with the bread with the hole in the middle, à la me!" In the seventh episode of season two of Lucifer, it is prepared with Hawaiian bread and oyster leaves. Other television appearances include Frasier (1993), The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2019), Atypical (2019), and Once Upon A Time (2011).

See also

• Boiled egg
• French toast
• Texas toast
• Fried egg
• Khachapuri
• List of bread dishes
• List of egg dishes
• List of toast dishes
• Pigs in blankets
• Scrambled eggs

References

1. Books, Madison. 1,001 Foods to Die For. Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-0-7407-7043-2.
2. Schrank, Rita (1998). Science, Math and Nutrition for Toddlers: Setting the Stage for Serendipity. Humanics Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-89334-280-7.
3. Morgan, Jodie (2004). The Working Parents Cookbook: More Than 200 Recipes for Great Family Meals. Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-0-8118-3685-2.
4. AEB.org page: "Fried Egg in Toast recipe."
5. AuntiBagel.com: "The Elephant Egg Bagel Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine."
6. ^ "A Way with Words - Names for an Egg in Toast Dish".
7. Serious Eats (22 June 2009). "Egg in Toast: What Do You Call It?".
8. "Eggs in a Nest inspired by Lots of Stuff". Binging With Babish. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
9. Stein, "The Kids' Kitchen Takeover", Workman Publishing Co., 1975, ISBN 0-911104-45-3
10. "Ariel". Once Upon A Time. Season 3. Episode 6. November 3, 2013. ABC.
11. "Space Quest". Frasier. Season 1. Episode 2. September 23, 1993. CBS.

• Egg dishes
• Bread dishes