Egg in the basket—also known by many other names—is an

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

fried in a hole in a slice of

bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made food ...

Description

The dish consists of a slice of bread with an egg in the middle, fried with butter or oil. It is commonly prepared by cutting a circular or square hole in the center of a piece of bread, which may be buttered. The bread is fried in a pan with

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The spread was or ...

cooking oil Cooking oil is plant, animal, or synthetic liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. It is also used in food preparation and flavoring not involving heat, such as salad dressings and bread dips, and may be called edible oil ...

, or other fat. At some point, an egg is cracked into the hole in the bread. When the egg is added to the bread determines how well-done the egg and bread will be relative to each other in the final product. The pan may be covered and the bread flipped while on the heat to obtain even cooking. A

waffle A waffle is a dish made from leavened batter or dough that is cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression. There are many variations based on the type of waffle iron and recipe use ...

bagel A bagel ( yi, בײגל, translit=beygl; pl, bajgiel; also spelled beigel) is a bread roll originating in the Jewish communities of Poland. It is traditionally shaped by hand into a roughly hand-sized ring from yeasted wheat dough that is firs ...

(with a large enough hole) can also be substituted for the slice of bread.AuntiBagel.com:
The Elephant Egg Bagel
."

Names and appearances in pop culture

There are many names for the dish, including "bullseye eggs", "eggs in a frame", "egg in a hole", "eggs in a nest", "gashouse eggs", "gashouse special", "gasthaus eggs", "hole in one", "one-eyed Jack", "one-eyed Pete", "pirate's eye", and "popeye". The name "

toad in the hole Toad in the hole or sausage toad is a traditional English dish consisting of sausages in Yorkshire pudding batter, usually served with onion gravy and vegetables. Historically, the dish has also been prepared using other meats, such as rump ste ...

" is sometimes used for this dish, though that name more commonly refers to sausages cooked in Yorkshire pudding batter. The dish is also known as "Guy Kibbee eggs", due to its preparation by actor

Guy Kibbee Guy Bridges Kibbee (March 6, 1882 – May 24, 1956) was an American stage and film actor. Early years Kibbee was born in El Paso, Texas. His father was editor of the ''El Paso Herald-Post'' newspaper, and Kibbee learned how to set type at age ...

in the 1935 Warner Bros film ''

Mary Jane's Pa ''Mary Jane's Pa'' is a 1935 American drama film directed by William Keighley and written by Tom Reed and Peter Milne. The film stars Aline MacMahon, Guy Kibbee, Tom Brown, Robert McWade, Minor Watson, and Nan Grey. The film was released by ...

''. In the film, Kibbee's character refers to the dish as a “one-eyed Egyptian sandwich”. It is also called "

Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reign ...

eggs", from the actress’ preparation of "gashouse eggs" in the 1941 film '' Moon Over Miami''. It is prepared by both

Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving (born 4 April 1960) is an English actor. Born in Colonial Nigeria to English parents, he has resided in Australia for the entirety of his career. He is the recipient of six Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts ...

and

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

's characters in the 2005 film ''

V for Vendetta ''V for Vendetta'' is a British graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd (with additional art by Tony Weare). Initially published between 1982 and 1985 in black and white as an ongoing serial in the British antholog ...

'', the latter referring to it as "eggy in the basket". Other film appearances include ''

Moonstruck ''Moonstruck'' is a 1987 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and co-produced by Norman Jewison, written by John Patrick Shanley, and starring Cher, Nicolas Cage, Danny Aiello, Olympia Dukakis, and Vincent Gardenia. The film follows Lor ...

'' (1987) and ''

The Meddler ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (2016). On television, the dish is prepared in a 1987 episode of ''

Sledge Hammer! ''Sledge Hammer!'' is an American satirical police sitcom produced by New World Television that ran for two seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 23, 1986 to February 12, 1988. The series was created by Alan Spencer and st ...

'', with the title character using his revolver to shoot the hole in the bread. In a 1996 episode of ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lis ...

'', character

Joey Tribbiani Joseph Francis "Joey" Tribbiani Jr. is a fictional character, serving as one of the primary characters of the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' and the protagonist of its spin-off ''Joey''. He is portrayed by Matt LeBlanc in both series. He is an Italian ...

refers to it as "eggs with the bread with the hole in the middle, à la me!" In a 2016 episode of ''

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passa ...

'', it is prepared with Hawaiian bread. Other television appearances include ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub ...

'' (1993), ''Once Upon A Time'' (2013),''

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ''The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' is an American period comedy-drama television series, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, that premiered on March 17, 2017, on Amazon Prime Video. Set in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it stars Rachel Brosnahan as M ...

'' (2019), ''

Atypical ''Atypical'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Robia Rashid for Netflix. It focuses on the life of 18-year-old Sam Gardner (Keir Gilchrist), who is on the autism spectrum. The first season was released on August 11, 2017, ...

'' (2019), '' Search Party'' (2022). and ''Resident Alien'' (2022), Author

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime Flying ace, fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. ...

wrote numerous times of his fondness for the dish, which he referred to as "hot-house eggs".

References

{{eggs Egg dishes Bread dishes

Description

Names and appearances in pop culture

See also

References