This egg in a hole with salmon is the perfect breakfast / brunch dish to use up leftover salmon! So easy and incredibly flavorful.
Warm, buttery toast with a rich, runny egg in a hole, served with juicy salmon and topped with crunchy bits of pan-fried salmon skin and a tangy, spicy tartar sauce!
Egg in a hole toast
“Just put an egg on it” is pretty much my life motto when it comes to savory breakfast recipes, or any meal for that matter. One of my favorite breakfasts is a simple egg with toast. Especially, an egg in a hole toast!
It’s such a simple idea. I think of it as a two-dimensional version of something like my egg stuffed breakfast scones or bacon and egg pie. And that actually makes it that much more fun!
Plus, egg in a hole can be jazzed up in so many different and delicious ways! One of the easiest ways in which I make my egg in a hole toast better is by using previous night’s leftovers. Whether it’s some shredded chicken curry or beef curry, or potatoes, or like in this case, some juicy slow roasted salmon.
Egg in a hole with salmon is a delicious leftover salmon recipe
So say hello to egg in a hole with salmon. This is a great leftover salmon recipe (or you can use any other type of leftover fish or even fish curry too).
If not leftover salmon, you can also use freshly slow roasted salmon, or hot smoked salmon or even cold smoked salmon.
The toast is pan-fried here, and it’s really buttery and encases a perfectly cooked egg with a runny yolk!
This egg in a hole toast is perfect on its own, but when topped with juicy, lemony, slow roasted salmon, crispy skin and a spicy tartar sauce, this is just breakfast/brunch/lunch heaven!
If you have a griddle, you can make multiple toasts at the same time. Or you can make two at a time on a large non-stick pan.
While it’s easier to make egg in a hole in the oven, the pan-friend version tastes better because it’s just so buttery and crispy.
In my recipe for slow roasted salmon, I talked about how you may miss out on crispy salmon skin by slow roasting the salmon.
But for this egg in a hole with salmon recipe, I actually separate the salmon flesh from the skin and then fry the skin until it’s nice and crispy, and then it’s chopped into strips and sprinkled over the salmon toasts, like little bits of salmon skin chips! This is optional of course, but totally recommended. 🙂
And since both K and I love spicy food, I decided to pair the salmon with a spicy tartar sauce.
You can use store-bought sauce to make it easy, but this semi-homemade spicy tartar sauce is also quite easy and tastes fabulous with heaps of chopped pickles, capers, chives, dill, lemon and a good kick from cayenne pepper and pickled jalapenos.
Tips for perfecting egg in a hole toast
- Use bread that you can cut yourself if possible – I prefer to cut nice thick pieces of my white bread (about 1 inch thick), so that I can cut a smaller hole in the middle which can accommodate the whole egg. If you use thin slices of pre-cut bread, you have to cut a larger hole to fit your egg, and then you end up with less bread. Not ideal.
- The perfect hole for a large egg is 2 inches wide and 1 inch deep. Use a cookie cutter to get perfectly cut circles. DO NOT press the cookie cutter into the bread hard, because that way you will push the bread down in the middle. Instead, gently press the cookie cutter into the bread WHILE rotating the cookie cutter. This will give you nicer, cleaner cuts.
- Use a timer. Timing is everything for that perfectly cooked egg. My timing for making PERFECT egg in a hole toast is 2 min – 2 min – 1 min (2 mins on one side of the toast, 2 mins on the other side with the egg, then 1 min on the first side again to seal in the egg).
- Butter does make this taste better. It really does. But if you don’t eat butter or want to avoid butter, you can use oil instead. If you want to add even more flavor however, use garlic butter spread (or garlic-infused or garlic-mixed oil) instead. Takes this toast to a whole new level!
This step by step recipe for egg in a hole salmon toasts with tips should make the whole process easier for you guys AND give you the BEST results!
And since I’m not reheating the leftover salmon here, I really love the contrast of warm buttery toast and egg with the cold (or room temperature), juicy salmon, and crunchy bits of salmon skin, topped with some tangy, spicy tartar sauce and lemon juice too.
All that paired with the rich, runny egg yolk inside buttery toast will be the most satisfying breakfast/brunch you could make with leftover salmon (or any other type fish). I’ve made variations of eggs in a hole for mother’s day brunch several times, and it’s always a guaranteed crowd favorite!
Recipe
Egg in a hole with Salmon and Spicy Tartar Sauce
US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results whenever available.
Common Measurement ConversionsIngredients:
Egg in a hole toast
- 4 slices Italian bread 1 inch thick. I used Italian bread
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter plus more, if needed
- 4 large eggs
- Salt
Spicy Tartar Sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp chopped dill pickle
- 1 tbsp chopped capers
- 1 ½ tsp whole grain mustard
- 1 tbsp chopped pickled jalapenos
- ½ tbsp chopped chives
- ½ tbsp chopped dill
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper reduce to ⅛th tsp if you prefer less heat
- 1 tbsp lemon or white wine vinegar
- Salt to taste
To Top
- 4 – 6 oz slow roasted salmon or smoked salmon slices
- Chopped dill and chives
Instructions:
Egg in a hole Toast
- Using a 2 inch cookie cutter, cut out 1 hole in each 1 inch thick bread slices. Gently press down the cutters into the bread with a back and forth motion to prevent the bread from getting squashed while cutting out holes.4 slices Italian bread
- Butter both sides of the bread.4 tbsp unsalted butter
- Heat a non-stick pan or griddle to medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, place the bread slices on the pan. Pan fry for 2 minutes, until the bread turns a light golden brown. Pan fry the bread holes 2 minutes on each side until golden brown as well.
- Flip over the bread slices, and add just a little butter (optional) and salt into the hole. Crack an egg into the hole and let it cook for 2 minutes. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on top of the egg.4 large eggs, Salt
- Flip over the egg in a hole toasts to cook on the first side again for 1 minute (45 secs – 1 min), to seal in the egg. If needed, add a little butter or oil to prevent the egg from sticking to the pan.
- Remove the toasts from the pan and keep them on a wire rack to prevent them from becoming soggy.
- Top with cold or room temperature salmon (slow roasted or smoked salmon), crispy salmon skin (optional), spicy tartar sauce and chopped herbs.4 – 6 oz slow roasted salmon , Chopped dill and chives
Spicy Tartar Sauce
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Season to taste. Refrigerate until needed.½ cup mayonnaise, 2 tbsp chopped dill pickle, 1 tbsp chopped capers, 1 ½ tsp whole grain mustard, 1 tbsp chopped pickled jalapenos, ½ tbsp chopped chives, ½ tbsp chopped dill, ¼ tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tbsp lemon or white wine vinegar, Salt to taste
Crispy Salmon Skin (optional)
- If you are using slow roasted salmon – gently peel off the skin from the salmon (it should come off cleanly). Pat dry the skin to remove any excess moisture.
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a non-stick pan, and when it’s hot, add the skin and fry for a few minutes on each side until the edges start to crisp up and you get caramelized patches on the skin.
- Place the crispy skin on paper towels to drain off excess oil, and sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
- Cut strips of the skin and serve.
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
If you liked this egg in a hole with salmon recipe, don’t forget to subscribe for new (and free) recipes by entering your email address on the side bar (and get all these recipes delivered straight to your inbox), so you don’t miss out on a thing. You can find me on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, YOU TUBE and GOOGLE-PLUS too.
Leave a Reply