EITN - A Laboratory Investigation of Breakfast Preparation Methods

It's Saturday morning and old scientists are doing what they love to do.

Watch Sponge Bob?

No...well maybe. Actually they are in the kitchen lab studying that old breakfast favorite of grandkids and adult age foodies - The egg in the nest (EITN), toad in a hole, bird in a box, canary in a cage or whatever you call this breakfast dish.

With the assistance of FDB and the wonders of the internet, let's take a look at what's going on in MD's food lab/kitchen. Specifically, a side by side comparison of the egg in the nest / toad in the hole and the egg or toad on a shingle.

The materials of this study

two eggs, two slices of wheat berry bread, butter, salt & pepper, bacon, for cleansing the pallet between bites, a flipper and



a suitable skillet



We'll do the egg in a nest first. Preheat the skillet to medium low heat - hot enough to toast bread, but not so hot as to burn it or so hot it quickly cooks the yolk of a fried egg. Take a slice of bread and carefully make a hole for the toad.



Do you toast the bread you remove? I do.





We'll set it aside for later.

Now, let's get that egg into the nest.

Nest into skillet and butter in the hole. I like to lift mine up and let the butter coat the underside of the slice. Some will butter the bread before placing it butter down in the skillet and that's fine if you do it that way.

I have no opinion worth sharing regarding those who want margarine instead of butter.



Next, I'll crack an egg and drop it into the hole. Once again, I like to lift the edge of the bread and let a little of the egg migrate under the edge of the bread. Doing that seems to hold everything together.



As the egg begins to do what an egg does on a hot pan, I prep the top side with (Duh) butter.



Then flip the toasted bread and finish the dish.



Now we'll plate the egg in the nest and work on our toad on a shingle.

Start with a slice of wheatberry bread with a little butter.



Into the preheated skillet



and eventually butter the other side and flip it. (I like both sides toasted).



We'll set the completed toast aside and work on the egg/toad, which we'll cook (easy over) in butter.



Now for the photo evidence of side by side plating, also known on FDB as food porn.





A properly cooked dish leaves the yolks runny.









Time to acquire functional data for my study. Egg in nest first.



Want a taste? Sure...





Toad on a board.







So which is better?



I have no idea, but I love the research process.