Mr. Rochester’s Breakfast: Toast with Fried Ham and Poached Eggs

Posted January 21, 2021 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

This year I have a special cooking goal. I want to delve into historical recipes and cooking methods, so I can create food from fiction that’s more accurate to the period in which the characters lived. Today’s recipe is inspired by a scene in JANE EYRE where Mr. Rochester is convinced Jane is a ghost or figment of his imagination. To prove herself, Jane promises to make him a breakfast of eggs and fried ham. Of course, there’s no harm in just throwing some eggs and ham in a hot skillet and calling it done. They’re good no matter how you make them! However, in this scene I saw the perfect opportunity to learn how people would have made such a breakfast in 1820’s England.

Today’s recipe comes straight from an 1812 English cookbook: THE PROFESSED COOK by B. Clermont. I found it in an online database of free and fully searchable digitized 18th and early 19th century cookbooks created by Townsends. I’m so glad someone thought to make such a powerful research tool! I zipped through several cookbooks until I found just what I needed: Toasted Bread and Ham with Eggs.

This recipe calls for frying bread and ham in butter and topping with a poached egg. Sounds simple, right? Yet as I made this dish, I realized why it was such a perfect thing for Jane to promise to make. You need to be attentive to each item, present at the stove the whole time. Leave the toast half a minute too long, it will burn (I used the brown bread from my last post for even more historical accuracy). If you cook the ham too hot, the butter will burn before the meat is warm. You can’t let the water get too hot when poaching your eggs, or they won’t come together. This completed breakfast isn’t complicated, but it requires time, attention, and presence. It’s a labor of love.

I served some to the Mister as a thank you for watching the kids on Saturday morning while I toasted, fried, poached, plated, arranged, and photographed. We sat across from each other as we ate, much the same way I imagine Jane and Mr. Rochester did, and I asked him if he liked it. His response: “Faaancy!” 😁

It definitely feels quite fancy, even with such humble ingredients. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, this dish is the perfect way to show your special someone you love them. . . and that you’re not a ghost. 😉

NOTE: The ingredient proportions and instructions below are my take on the recipe. They’re more detailed than the original for ease of use for newer cooks. You can find the original instructions here and a complete copy of the book here. The original calls for a sauce made using cullis (meat drippings). I didn’t have any on hand, but if you do, feel free to make it and let me know what you think!

A

Toast with Fried Ham and Poached Eggs

“You shall not get it out of me to-night, sir; you must wait till to-morrow; to leave my tale half told, will, you know, be a sort of security that I shall appear at your breakfast table to finish it. By the bye, I must mind not to rise on your hearth with only a glass of water then: I must bring an egg at the least, to say nothing of fried ham.”

— Jane Eyre

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup butter, divided
2 3/4-inch thick slices brown soda bread (recipe available here)
2 2.5-oz ham steaks, cut to the size of the bread
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 eggs, the fresher the better

Makes breakfast for 2

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. To make the toast, put 2 Tbsp butter in a large saucepan and melt over medium heat. When hot, add the bread. Toast for about 1 minute on each side. Transfer bread to serving plates and cover to keep warm. Remove pan from heat and wipe clean. This has the double benefit of avoiding bread crumbs on our ham AND gives the pan time to cool down enough that it doesn’t immediately brown the next batch of butter.
2. To fry the ham, melt remaining butter in the pan on medium-low heat. When fully melted, add the ham and cook 7-9 minutes until nicely browned, flipping often. Place ham on top of toast and replace cover.
3. To poach the eggs, add 6 cups water and the lemon juice to a medium pot and bring to a light simmer. While you wait, place a strainer over a medium bowl. Crack 1 egg into the strainer and shake it gently (this will help prevent the poached eggs from having a tail). Tip the egg into a small bowl and set aside. Repeat with remaining egg.
4. Using a slotted spoon, swirl the water to create a vortex in the center. Tip 1 egg quickly into the vortex and stir gently around it for 2 1/2 minutes. Place the egg on top of a piece of ham and repeat with the second egg.
5. If desired, top with a sprinkle of salt and some chopped parsley for garnish.
6. Serve to Mr. Rochester to convince him you’re not a ghost.