The American breakfast, just like the English one, is considered the most important meal of the day and, consequently, the most substantial.
Compared to the continental breakfast, it involves the consumption of predominantly savory foods.
The American breakfast starts with sweet courses, such as muffins, orange juice, sweetened whole milk, cereals, buttered toast (French toast), jam, and honey.
Then comes the turn of the savory, with sausages, fried eggs, bacon, as well as vegetables and fruit.
At the end of the breakfast, you find the classic pancake, which is entirely covered with maple syrup.
A fundamental part of the American breakfast is eggs.
Just visit one of the thousands of diners scattered across the country and read the menu to understand the importance of this food for Americans.
Diners are the equivalent of our hot tables, specialized in breakfast preparation, where you can find eggs for all tastes: scrambled eggs, eggs Benedict, fried, well-done, soft-boiled, etc.
During our travels in the United States, many American breakfasts are always consumed in diners.
If you go for breakfast in a diner, you can order a complete American breakfast, which consists of eggs, meat, bacon and sausage, hashbrowns, and toast or pancakes.
These are more or less known and easy recipes to prepare, but I would like to delve into hashbrowns, which I love a lot; according to some theories, hashbrowns were created starting from rösti, a typical Swiss farmer’s dish based on potatoes.
During the war, a variant of hashbrowns, also known as squeak, became famous, which included canned meat and vegetables, often leftovers.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 8 People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1.1 lbs Potatoes (preferably Russet)
- to taste Butter
- to taste salt and pepper
Hashbrowns Preparation:
Wash the potatoes thoroughly in cold water, then peel and grate them with a vegetable or cheese grater inside a cloth that will be used to squeeze them.
Heat a large skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat. Add the butter and let it melt. When the butter has completely melted, add the grated and dried potatoes, salt, and pepper.Cook briefly over high heat and then lower it for 20 minutes, making sure it does not burn.
When the potatoes are well coated with the butter, flatten them with a kitchen spatula.Serve the hashbrown on a plate, accompanied by eggs, bacon, and/or a nice pancake with maple syrup.
Breakfast aboard MSC Divina.
Eggs Benedict and hashbrowns aboard MSC.
American breakfast in the diner
COWBOY SKILLET BREAKFAST with diced potatoes, bacon, sausage, bell pepper, onion, sunny-side-up eggs, Cheddar, served with English muffins.
“Skillets” is not a single dish, but a very common type of preparation in American breakfast, served directly in a cast iron skillet.
Generally, a skillet breakfast is composed of:
• Fried potatoes (often “home fries” or hashbrowns)
• Eggs (scrambled, sunny-side-up, or poached)
• Melted cheese
• Vegetables (e.g., bell peppers, onions, spinach)
• Meat (like bacon, sausage, or ham)
Everything is cooked together or assembled in the skillet, served hot and often very plentiful. It is a rich and hearty breakfast, typical of American diners or brunches.The skillet breakfast has roots in the practical and rustic American tradition, especially linked to country kitchens, ranches, or diners. It is an evolution of single meals cooked once to feed those working long hours on the land or at ranches in the West, where a sturdy skillet was used to prepare everything together: potatoes, salted meat, eggs, and spices.
With the arrival of more comfortable kitchens and diner restaurants in the 20th century, this type of dish became popular even in informal establishments, where it is often ordered as a hearty breakfast or brunch.It is considered a typical American breakfast/brunch dish, especially in diners and informal tables.
It is not tied to a single region of the United States, but it is very common especially in the Midwest, South, and rural areas, where the concept of a “hearty breakfast to face the day” was traditional.
🍳 Popular Variants
• Country Breakfast Skillet: rich version with bacon, sausage, and cheese.
• Cowboy Breakfast Skillet: inspired by cowboy breakfast with available ingredients.
• Mexican Breakfast Skillet: with jalapeños, bell peppers, and often Mexican salsa.
Curiosity:
The American breakfast traces back to the breakfast of the early American pioneers, cowboys, and ranchers who needed a hearty breakfast to face a hard day of work in the fields or with livestock.
Breakfast was the main meal of the day and had to last until dinner time since lunch was only a few sandwiches or some bread and beans.
Breakfast was the main meal of the day and had to last until dinner time since lunch was only a few sandwiches or some bread and beans.
Today, Americans who work in the morning usually have breakfast at home or quickly stop at a bar and then eat on their way to the office; it rarely happens that they have time to sit down and enjoy breakfast.
For this reason, waffles, muffins, and donuts are the preferred choices of employees because they are easy to carry around and practical to eat while going to work along with the inevitable big cup of American coffee.
For this reason, waffles, muffins, and donuts are the preferred choices of employees because they are easy to carry around and practical to eat while going to work along with the inevitable big cup of American coffee.
For this reason, waffles, muffins, and donuts are the preferred choices of employees because they are easy to carry around and practical to eat while going to work along with the inevitable big cup of American coffee.
For this reason, waffles, muffins, and donuts are the preferred choices of employees because they are easy to carry around and practical to eat while going to work along with the inevitable big cup of American coffee.
THE BRUNCH:
The word originated in England at the end of the 19th century and became popular in the United States in the 1930s.
The current name only emerged in 1895 when writer Guy Beringer in the article “Brunch: A Plea” fused the words breakfast and lunch.
It refers to a meal consisting of a blend between early and late Saxon breakfast, usually consumed mid or late morning.
Served between 11 and 3 and consists of all the typical sweet breakfast elements, with the addition of cold meats, cured meats, cheeses, cakes (sweet or savory), or fruit.
In a brunch there is always a wide choice of beverages: coffee, tea, herbal teas, juices, smoothies, extracts.
In a brunch there is always a wide choice of beverages: coffee, tea, herbal teas, juices, smoothies, extracts.
What is the recipe for the cowboy skillet breakfast?
Quantity for 2 hearty people (or 3 normal)
Ingredients
• Diced potatoes (with or without skin): 10.5 oz
• American sausage: 5.3 oz
• Sliced bacon: 3.5 oz
• Eggs: 2-3
• Cheddar: 2.8 oz
• Diced bell pepper: 1 small
• Onion: 1/2
• Vegetable oil or butter: 1-2 tablespoons
• Salt, pepper, smoked paprika to taste
• Fresh parsley or chives for garnish
Procedure
1. Cook the potatoes: in a cast iron skillet, heat the oil and brown the potatoes for 10-12 minutes until golden. Add salt and paprika. Set aside.
2. Cook the bacon: in the same skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Remove and pat dry on paper.
3. Brown the sausage: add the meat to the skillet, crumble it, and cook for 5-6 minutes. Add bell pepper and onion, cook another 5 minutes.
4. Combine everything: return potatoes and bacon to the skillet, mix well.
5. Add eggs: create 2-3 wells and crack the eggs inside. Cover and cook until the whites are set but the yolks remain soft (5-6 minutes).
