Pinch My Salt

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Egg in a Nest

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From Egg in a hole, Toad in a Hole and Eggy in a Basket to Hobo Eggs, it seems that everyone calls this breakfast treat by a different name. But from now on I will call it Egg in a Nest thanks to a comment left on my Flickr photo! An egg tucked into a piece of bread and fried? Prior to 2006, I had never heard of such a thing. The first time I saw it was not in a kitchen but inside a movie theater. Actually, it was in a kitchen in the movie. V for Vendetta to be exact. Of course I didn’t realize that it was something that people actually ate in the real world. It looked very odd and I couldn’t figure out how the egg got into the bread! Of course I feel pretty silly now because it’s so simple to make! Thanks to my friend Nicki for the tutorial!

The first time I made this, I used homemade bread and I was able to cut some nice thick slices of bread. The thicker the bread, the smaller the hole needs to be. You can cut the hole with a knife, a small glass, a biscuit cutter, or anything else that you find handy. Or you can just tear a hole out of the center with your hands. It’s up to you, it’s your breakfast! This time around, I used a biscuit cutter to make a fairly large hole because the bread wasn’t very thick. It worked perfectly. I buttered one side of the bread, placed the dry side down in a buttered cast iron skillet, cracked an egg into the hole, sprinkled with a little salt and a lot of freshly ground black pepper and let it sizzle away for a few minutes. From here you can do one of two things. When the egg starts to set, you can carefully flip the bread over and cook it to your liking. Or, you can pop the whole pan under the broiler for a minute or two. This time I chose the latter and it worked rather well. I think I’ll stick with the broiler method from now on!

It’s nice to start the day off with a smile so whether you’re cooking for the kids or just tired of another boring breakfast alone, fry up some Eggs in a Nest and have fun!

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  1. Bonnie says

    We call them "popeyes" and tear out the hole with a big pinch, we butter both sides, lay one side down in a hot skillet, drop egg in the hole, salt and pepper and cook until mostly set and turn over to cook the other side......
    Reply

  2. Sara says

    Bunny Down the Hole, or Sun in a Pocket is what I know them as :) My mom made these for my brothers and I when we were little, and I make them now as a perfect late-night study food. I use a shot glass to poke a hole in challah bread or thick italian bread--you find such useful tools in a college student's kitchen., haha.
    Reply

  3. Roxanne says

    We call them Toad in a Whole. They were my favorite breakfast. My mom use to make them for me all the time. I have tried to pass it on to my family now but it's no big deal to them. Plus it's hard because my smallest has an egg allergy. I love to pop the yolk once its on my plate and spread it over the bread. Mmmm so YUMMY!!!
    Reply

  5. Megan says

    My family always called these Egg Frames. They are my very favorite weekend breakfast! We always put a slice of cheese on top right after it comes off the stove. Delish!
    Reply

  6. kim says

    We also called them sunshine toast. My grandma would draw two eyes and a smile out of jelly and the egg would be the nose . My sister was a very picky eater and this was fun enough for her to always eat. My husband's family in the same town also called them egg in the nest, so it really doesn't matter where you are from. It's a family thing I guess.
    Reply

  8. kristen says

    We call them bull's eyes. I had actually never heard of these until my fiancee introduced them to me. I usually just did "egg on toast," but this is soo much better!
    Reply

  10. Georgina says

    I only discovered them recently too. My boyfriend cooked it for me; he calls them egg banjos. I am fully converted to them, especially with bacon alongside.
    Reply

  11. Chris says

    hehe, My parents were making this in the early to mid '70's for breakfast. Gotta love egg-in-toast. Although we make it slightly differently.
    Reply

  12. Chris says

    To further update. we dont toast the bread ahead of time and just use hands to make a hole slightly bigger than the yolk. Butter in the ban put the bread in (minus the part from the whole) let it toast a bit just to get a little color on the underside and crack the eggs into the hole. let it set a bit. add salt and pepper and flip. add a bit more butter since the other side soaked it all up and it nice and crispy brown. then take out when the yolk is set to your desired doneness. In fact my kids made this for breakfast this morning. Easy peasy.
    Reply

  13. Nicole says

    Thanks everyone for sharing your stories! Who would have known that such a simple breakfast could have so many different names! One of these days I'm going to have to write a new post listing all of the different names that you all have shared in the comments. Keep them coming! :-)
    Reply

  14. Liz says

    I call my recipe Nest Eggs -- made in a skillet w/ canola oil (vs butter), omega-3 eggs, whole wheat bread and drizzled with some pure maple syrup when it's all done. The kids love it, and it's a nice & easy hearty breakfast before they bound off to school.
    Reply

  15. Alana says

    This is one of my favorite breakfasts! In my family they're called "one eyed Johnny" and are always sprinkled with sugar. Whenever I had sleepovers as a kid and tried to convince my friends that the egg and sugar were delicious they always looked at me skeptically at first, but in the end were converted.
    Reply

  16. Laura says

    My dad used to make those for me and always called them Cyclopse Toast. I think it may have just been because he was making it for my brother and me when we were kids, but the name sure has stuck with me!
    Reply

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