Start St. Patrick's Day by celebrating with a good breakfast

Planning for a St. Patrick’s Day meal typically revolves around corned beef and cabbage, maybe some Irish soda bread, maybe serving a pint or two of Guinness.

This year, how about enjoying an Irish breakfast instead?

Fadó Irish Pub corporate chef Bryan McAlister says with a last name like McAlister and his fair skin, it’s likely his ancestors have some connection to Ireland and Scotland. And those are countries with a tradition of large breakfasts, not unlike those he grew up with in South Carolina.

“It’s not for every day, but visiting Ireland and immersing myself in Irish culture, I came to appreciate a large weekend breakfast down at the pub watching sporting events. I enjoyed the food and the camaraderie, and that’s what we try to bring to Atlanta at Fadó.”

Ordering Irish breakfast at Fadó will bring you a full plate. There’ll be Irish sausages, rashers, slices of black and white pudding, mushrooms, tomatoes and a slice or two of Guinness cheddar bread alongside two eggs, most likely over easy.

Fadó sources its meats from Dan Desautels, a third-generation sausage maker in Shelburne, Vermont.

“Years ago, we imported Irish bacon, rashers and the puddings, but that became very difficult,” McAlister says. “Dan started producing meats as close as possible to what you would find in Ireland. Now he puts our label on his meats and we use them in the pubs. They’re so authentic in flavor and texture and how they’re produced.”

If you want to produce a similar Irish breakfast at home, you can buy their Irish sausage, rashers (a bacon similar to the Canadian variety), and black and white pudding at any Fadó Irish Pub location.

The black and white pudding slices are like pork sausage patties, but black pudding is a blood sausage, usually thickened with oats or barley. White pudding is the same sausage but without blood as an ingredient. “Blood sausage was made in almost every culture before refrigeration became widespread. Using pork blood is part of whole animal butchery, and it actually makes the sausage taste that much better.”

The Guinness bread Fadó serves is a variation of the soda bread people are familiar with. “We think the flavors go really well with our hearty breakfast.”

And Irish coffee? Well, a pot of tea would be the traditional beverage, but Irish coffee is a drink that will certainly warm everyone up.

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MORE RESOURCES

For more on Irish cooking, flip through the more than 400 pages of “The Irish Cookbook” by Jp McMahon (Phaidon, $49.95).

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EVENT PREVIEW

To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at Fadó Irish Pub, 273 Buckhead Ave., Atlanta:

St. Patrick’s Day outdoor block party

Saturday, March 14

General admission: $20 in advance

Doors open at 7:30 a.m. for viewing international sports events including Six Nations rugby and EPL sports. Outdoor events begin at noon with food trucks and outdoor beer and cocktail stations.

St. Patrick’s Day Kegs and Eggs

7:30 a.m.-2 a.m. Tuesday, March 17

Order off the menu and enjoy Irish dancers throughout the day with live music beginning at 8 p.m.

More information: fadoirishpub.com/atlanta/st-patricks-day/

RECIPES

Sure, these recipes from Bryan McAlister of Fadó Irish Pub make for a fun St. Patrick’s Day meal, but they’d all be quite delicious any time of year, whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

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Fadó Irish Breakfast

Irish sausage is a mildly spiced, fine textured pork sausage frequently bound with eggs and breadcrumbs. At the restaurant, the sausages are fried. We’ve adapted the recipe for home cooks without a fryer.

Rashers are Ireland’s answer to bacon, but more closely resemble Canadian bacon than American-style bacon. They’re cut from pork loin, but unlike Canadian bacon, still have an edge of fat around each piece.

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Fadó Guinness Cheddar Bread

A 12-ounce bottle of Guinness will yield 1 1/2 cups of beer, so you’ll need to open a second bottle for the full amount needed here. Open your beer ahead of time and give it time to lose its foamy head before using.

This recipe makes a very stiff batter. Be sure to stir ingredients just until combined, without overbeating.

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Fadó Cranberry-Thyme Scones

Scones may not be a part of the traditional Irish breakfast plate, but they are the perfect accompaniment for the traditional pot of tea.

We found we needed just a tablespoon or two more of milk to make a dough that held together. Start with the 1 cup specified here and add just a little more milk at a time until you produce a dough that just holds together. That’s the key to tender scones.