Over the weekend, I was with my boyfriends family at the beach. His mom very kindly made us breakfast, and one morning, she made what she called a Marty Wilson. A what? Apparently, thats what she grew up calling what I have always known as toad-in-a-hole or egg-in-a-hole: that delicious, ubiquitous dish of an egg fried in bread. And those names? They are so, so far from the only names for this breakfast dish.
The good folks at Eater did a deep-dive into the origins of the simple breakfast. The first time a recipe for the dish appeared in print, in Fannie Farmers Boston Cooking School Cookbook, it was called “egg with a hat,”calling for the breads center cut-out to be served on top of the egg, as its “hat.” And its popped up again and again in popular culture: in the movie Moonstruck, where its called uova nel cestino, or “egg in a trashcan,” in the film Moon Over Miami, in which its called “gashouse eggs” (which may come from the German gasthaus, or “guesthouse”) and in the movie V for Vendetta, they called it “egg-in-the-basket.”
For those of you keeping score, thats seven different names already. And were just getting started. I scoured the internet for all the different names people have for the dish, including go through nearly 350 comments on a SeriousEats thread, 171 comments on a New York Times Cooking recipe, and already compiled lists by HuffingtonPost and Chicago Foodies. I only included names that had more than one nod. Ready?
Egg-in-a-hole is a recipe that started appearing in the U.S. around the 1890s, and it’s been passed down through generations ever since. Egg-in-a-hole goes by many names, which is probably one of the reasons why we might’ve grown up thinking that our parents or grandparents invented the dish.
Egg-in-a-hole goes by many names, which is probably one of the reasons why we mightve grown up thinking that our parents or grandparents invented the dish. But whether you call it “basket eggs,” “eggs with a hat,” “bird-in-the-nest,” or “toad-in-the-hole,” this easy and satisfying dish has a long history of delighting kids, and kids at heart.
If you want to feel like a kid again at breakfast, theres an easy shortcut: break out the sliced bread and an egg and make a few slices of egg-in-a-hole. This simple dish is just what it sounds like, bread with a hole cut out and an egg cooked in the hole. What kind of bread do you use? Any kind of bread youve got. Do you need any other special ingredients? Nope, just a fresh egg and a little bit of butter or oil to keep everything from sticking to the pan. But where did this magical breakfast come from? No, your parents and grandparents didnt invent it, even though you probably believed that for a least a while. Egg-in-a-hole is a recipe that started appearing in the U.S. around the 1890s, and its been passed down through generations ever since.
After that, things likely really took off when sliced bread hit the grocery store shelves and took American kitchens by storm in the 1930s. It might seem commonplace now, but there was a time when bread was only sold as a whole loaf and you had to cut the slices yourself, hence the old saying, “Its the greatest thing since sliced bread.” Once people could have a slice of bread anytime, all one needed to do was pop a hole out of the slice with a cup or cookie cutter and add an egg. The only exception was the time during WWII when sliced bread was briefly banned.
The exact origins of egg-in-a-hole are a little murky, but it seems to have been brought over to the U.S. by European immigrants (per Eater). Multiple cultures, it seems, were already making the dish, most notably Italians who made a version with peppers and tomatoes called “uova fritte nel pane.” Its first official appearance with an American-sounding name, however, seems to be as a recipe for “eggs with a hat” in an 1890 printing of the “Boston Cooking School Cookbook” by Fannie Farmer.
“We call it a Walter Winchell,” said one commenter on The New York Times. Another grew up calling it “frog in the pond.” Over on Reddit, one person said, “I know that it makes absolutely zero sense, but in my family, we call it hole in the egg.” And another added, “Different family members called it a frog in the hole, egg in a basket or toad hole.” Dont, however, confuse it for the British recipe for “toad-in-a-hole,” which is made with sausage and a popover.
(Almost) every single thing you could call eggs fried in bread:
- Egg-in-a-hole
- Egg-with-a-hat
- Egg-in-a-trashcan
- Egg-in-the-basket
- Egg-in-a-nest
- Egg-in-the-middle
- Egg-in-a-cage
- Egg-in-a-window
- Egg-in-a-pocket
- Egg-in-a-well
- Egg-in-a-boat
- Egg-in-a-frame (or Framed egg)
- Egg-in-a-blanket
- Egg-on-an-island
- Egg-in-jail
- Birds nest
- Bird drop
- Birdie-in-a-basket
- Toad-in-a-hole
- Toad-in-the-road
- Frog-in-the-pond
- Bulls eye
- Ox eye egg
- Camels eyes
- Elephant tracks
- Marty Wilson
- Betty Jane
- Mary Jane
- Adam and Eve on a raft
- The Popeye
- One-eyed Susie
- One-eyed Jack
- One-eyed Pete
- One-eye pirate
- Lazy-eyed pirate
- One-eyed Egyptians
- One-eyed Texans
- A man in a raft
- Firemans toast
- Cowboy eggs
- Hobo toast
- Rocky Mountain toast
- Polish eggs
- Lighthouse eggs
- Birmingham eggs
- Hot house eggs [Ed. note: Mentioned in D is for Dahl by Roald Dahl.)
- Guesthouse eggs
- Gashouse egg
- Gaslight egg
- Knot-hole eggs
- Goldmine egg
- Circus toast
- Sunshine eggs
- Hol[e]y eggs
- Hole-in-one
- Hocus Pocus egg
- Peek-a-boo eggs
- Bregg
- Toast Tits
- Spit in the eye
- Cartwheel
- Diamond toast
- Baby in a buggy
- Doughnut egg
- Toast with a tummy (or Belly-Button egg)
- Moon Over Miami eggs
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Quick And Easy Egg In A Hole
FAQ
Where did egg in a hole come from?
Where does eggs in a basket come from?
What is another name for egg in a hole?
What is the British name for egg in a hole?
What is egg in a hole?
Egg in a hole (also known as egg-in-a-basket) is like the breakfast equivalent of your favorite comfy hoodie – super simple, but trusty and so wonderful. It’s just bread, butter, and eggs, but when that egg fits snugly in the bread and gets all runny and delicious, it’s magic! If you’ve never tried it before, here’s your sign to.
Do eggs contain iron?
The egg is not the main source of iron, but it contains it in its heme form, which has a higher percentage of absorption. Each 100-gram of egg has approximately 1. 2 mg of iron.
How did egg in a hole get its name?
But how did the humble dish, served across European cultures, end up with myriad names on restaurant menus everywhere? While egg in a hole (or egg in a basket, or egg in a frame, if you prefer) originated at the turn of the last century around the same time as eggs Benedict, the latter has a firmer origin story.
How to make egg in a hole?
The first step in making Egg in a Hole is to cut out the center of the bread. Do this by using a small round cookie cutter or small biscuit cutter to cut the center out of the slice of bread. However, if you don’t have a round cutter, you can use a small rimmed glass or even a pair of scissors or a sharp knife.