Here’s a bloody good twist on the quintessentially English fry up
"To eat well in England you should have breakfast three times a day"
W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965)
Few things make a British heart sink as quickly as the sight of a continental breakfast. For three centuries the 'Full English' has provided a backbone for our great nation, guffawing in the face of paltry pastries and contemptible croissants.
According to The English Breakfast Society the 'correct' breakfast items permitted are; eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding, grilled tomato, baked beans, fried mushroom, fried bread and toast.
Hash browns, fried potatoes and (heaven forbid) french fries are served by people with 'no respect for our traditions'. Thankfully, the addition of a Bloody Mary seems very acceptable.
The noble fry-up is dished up in every corner of the land from 5-star hotels to greasy spoon cafes but the idea of a 'full' breakfast was something originally reserved only for the landed gentry.
Up until the Georgian era, an indulgent, late and leisurely breakfast of traditional Anglo-Saxon fare was the customary way to impress esteemed guests and celebrate lavish social gatherings such as marriage ceremonies, hence the term; wedding breakfast.
Victorian middle classes then adopted the ritual of an elaborately laid out breakfast — complete with daily newspapers — followed by the Edwardians who defined the list of correct food items and popularised the Full English for the masses.
Today's Sunday Brunch Bloody Mary honours our national dish's flavours and illustrious traditions. Tomato juice is invigorated with Heinz baked bean sauce, smoky paprika and HP Sauce — a breakfast table stalwart — and we top the masterpiece off with bacon and bean foam on a crispy rasher.
INGREDIENTS
50 ml Broken Clock Vodka
200 ml Tomato Juice
15 ml Heinz Bean Sauce
10 ml Lemon Juice
1 tsp HP Sauce
2 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
3 dashes Tabasco
½ tsp Horseradish Cream
1 pinch Pepper
1 pinch Sugar
1 pinch Smoked Paprika
Celery Salt and Heinz Bean Sauce Rim
Garnish
Crispy Bacon
Bacon and Baked Bean Foam
(Fried bacon fat and bean sauce shaken with aquafaba)
METHOD
Rim the glass, add ice, stir the ingredients and build the garnish.