bubble & squeak

Bubble and squeak was a popular dish during World War II, as it was an easy way of using leftovers during a period when most foods were subject to rationing.


All the leftover potato and veg from the Sunday lunch is chucked into a frying pan with some bacon fat and fried until it's brown and crispy.

It's call B&S because it makes bubbling and squeaking sounds during the frying. It is often served with cold meat from the Sunday roast, and pickles or brown sauce.

The earliest recipe I could find was published in 1753, not in a cookery book, but in another irreverent collection of satirical verse and prose called The Midwife, or Old Woman’s Magazine by one Mary Midnight - again a pen name, this time used by the eccentric poet Christopher Smart (1722-1771). 

Obviously the potato had not been discovered at this time, so it was mainly veggies and meat...

Mary Midnight's style of writing is peppered with juvenile humour, much of it downright silly and often outrageous - a kind of Georgian Monty Python. The recipe had probably been around for decades and may have originated as a sailor's way of dealing with salt beef or pork. It is quite fitting that a recipe for a dish with such a ridiculous name first appeared in such an absurd journal. Mrs Midnight's 1753 recipe, reproduced below, is really a spoof, a satire on the life style of the Oxford and Cambridge students of the day, but it does work. 

Nowadays we have non-stick pans, but in the old days frying pans were made of cast iron and were anything but non-stick... 

The process of making bubble and squeak required as much scrapping as it did frying. 

A specialised tool called a bubble and squeak scraper (below) was once used for making the job easier. 

However, the true purpose of these beautifully designed utensils has now been entirely forgotten. As well as having a sharp edge for scrapping the crunchy bits that stuck to the pan, they also allowed you to chop the vegetables as they fried. Their craftily designed handles enabled you to use them without being obstructed by the sides of the pan.