Scotch Eggs

What are Scotch eggs?

Scotch eggs are a popular picnic food in the UK. They consist of a hard boiled egg, wrapped in sausage meat, then covered in bread crumbs and either deep fried or baked. They can be served warm or cold.

Ingredients:

500g (1.1 pounds) sausage mince.
6 hard boiled eggs (see related recipe on how to boil an egg)
2 cups of bread crumbs.
1 extra egg, beaten.
1/2 cup of flour.
Salt & pepper to taste.
Cooking oil.

Method:

1. Hard boil the eggs, then peel and cool.

2. Divide the sausage meat up into 6 portions.

3. Pour the bread crumbs on to a  plate. Season well with salt and pepper.

4. Coat one hard boiled egg in flour.

5. Take one portion of sausage meat and on a floured surface, flatten into an oval shape. Wrap around the hard boiled egg, making sure it is completely wrapped in sausage mince.

6. Dip the egg/sausage mince in the beaten egg, coating thoroughly.

7. Roll the egg/sausage in the bread crumbs, coating thoroughly.

8. Repeat steps 4 to 7 until all eggs have been wrapped in sausage meat & crumbed.

Cooking scotch eggs:

Most recipes call for the eggs to be deep fried. I personally prefer to bake them. Either way is fine. Below are instructions on how to cook.

To deep fry, heat the oil  to 350F (180C) in a deep fryer. To check if it is hot enough, add a sprinkle of breadcrumbs to the heated oil, if they sizzle, the oil is at temperature. Gently lower two scotch eggs at a time. Cook until golden brown, this should take around 8-10 minutes. Set aside to cool & then refrigerate.

To bake, preheat oven to 350F (180C). Place all the scotch eggs in a baking tray and liberally brush with cooking oil. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until golden, turning once during cooking. Set aside to cool & then refrigerate.

Optional extras:

You may also choose to include some finely chopped herbs (thyme, oregano etc) or some finely chopped spring onion in the bread crumbs.

Scotch eggs can also be made from quails eggs.