How to Make Scotch Eggs: Step by Step Instructions
Baked Scotch Eggs
Scotch eggs are a very popular dish in the United Kingdom. It is a common dish to have while on a picnic. You can also go to the store and pick up individually wrapped scotch eggs for a quick snack on the go. While I was in England, my friend's mother made these for us and I really enjoyed them. I was fortunate enough that she decided to share with me how she made them.
Scotch eggs can be found in the United States and are often times served in British style pubs. However, I find that the sausage meat used in America is seasoned very differently than it is in the United Kingdom. Also, many places in America that serve scotch eggs will serve them warm and they are dipped in steak sauce, ranch dressing or some other type of condiment. In the UK scotch eggs are nearly always served cold and are associated with an outdoor event like a picnic or cook out.
Baked Scotch Eggs Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 Hard Boiled Eggs
- 1 Raw Egg
- 1 Cup Bread Crumbs
- 1 Tbs. Flour
- 1 lbs Seasoned Sausage Meat, (Any Kind)
- Oil, (For Deep Frying)
How to Boil Eggs Perfectly
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Make Peeling Eggs Easy
Peeling eggs can be a real pain, however; you can do a few very simple things to make it easier.
- Add salt and vinegar to the cooking water.
- This may sound odd, but don't use fresh eggs. Try using eggs that you bought last week or so, this will make the biggest difference in making eggs easy to peel.
- Allow your eggs to cool completely before you try to peel them. Warm eggs will fall apart too easily.
- Peel your eggs under running water. Make sure you have something to catch the eggshells so they don't clog the drain. If you have a garbage disposal you should be okay with them going down the drain.
Step 1: Boil Eggs
Have you ever boiled eggs and found that they were either not cooked long enough or maybe cooked too long? Over cooked eggs are hard, rubbery and often times the yolk turns a strange green, gray color. If you undercook your eggs the yolk will be mushy and unappetizing and possibly harmful to your health. To make sure your eggs turn out every time follow these simple steps:
1. Place a single layer of cold/refrigerated eggs in a pot and add cold water until the water is about an inch higher than the eggs. Be sure to use cold water.
2. I also add salt to the water and a splash of vinegar. The salt will make the eggs easier to peel and the vinegar will help clot eggs that might break during the cooking process.
3. Place the pot on the stove and set the temperature to medium to high.
4. Bring the water to a boil. Do not let the water reach a rolling boil, this will cause the eggs to move around in the pot and they might break.
5. When the water is boiling cover the eggs with a lid and turn off the heat. You can leave the pot on the hot burner, but make sure you turn the burner off.
6. As soon as you turn off the heat, set a 10 minute timer.
7. When time is up, remove the eggs from the hot water with a slotted spoon and place them in a pan or bowl full of cold water to stop them from cooking.
8. Your eggs should now be cooked perfectly.
Step 2: Creating and Cooking Scotch Eggs
- First you will need to hard boil 4 eggs and peel them.
- Divide your sausage meat into 4 balls.
- Flatten each ball into a flat circle. If you would like you can use a small amount of flour to keep the sausage meat from sticking to your surface.
- Roll your hard boiled eggs in flour so that they are lightly covered. I would also suggest at this time that you pour oil in a wok or pan so that it is about 1 inch deep. Start heating the wok or pan on medium heat. This way when it is time to fry your oil it will be hot.
- Now take one of your eggs and one of your flattened sausage balls and wrap the egg in the meat. Be sure the egg is completely covered in the meat. Do this for each of the eggs. Be sure that the sausage is about 1/2 cm. thick around the egg. If the sausage is too thin it will crack and fall apart as you fry it. If you make it too thick it will be difficult to cook through.
- Now roll your eggs wrapped in sausage meat in a dish full of raw, beaten egg. Make sure your ball is nicely coated in the egg.
- Take your egg coated sausage and roll it in a dish full of breadcrumbs. I always try to get a really thick coating of breadcrumbs on mine; I personally think they are better that way.
- When you have coated all your sausage balls in egg check to see if your oil is hot. You can do this by sticking the handle of a wooden spoon or chop stick in the oil. If tiny bubbles appear around the wood your oil is hot enough.
- Fry your scotch eggs for for about 5 minutes or until they are golden brown. The cooking time will depend on how thick the meat is around the eggs. You will need to keep turning the ball or it will burn.
- When the eggs are done cooking place them on a plate covered in paper towel. The paper towel should absorb some of the excess oil. Now allow the scoth eggs to cool in the refrigerator for about an hour before serving them.
- After they are cooled they are ready to be served. Enjoy!
Recipe Visual Guide
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Scotch Egg Variations
Once you have made a basic scotch egg you may want to try making them with these variations. See which way you like your scotch egg most and leave a comment below.
Bake Them: This will make the scotch eggs a bit more healthy. However, I found that this method causes the eggs to lose some of their crispy crust.
Add Bacon: A friend of mine suggested to wrap the egg in a single piece of bacon before you cover it with the sausage. This sounded like a tasty idea to me.
Pretzels: Instead of using breadcrumbs on the exterior of the scotch egg try grinding a few pretzels up and and coating you sausage in the pretzel crumbs. This would be an interesting spin on an old dish.
Different Egg: Try using a duck egg instead of a chicken egg for a different twist on this dish. You could also try using a quail egg for bite-size scotch eggs.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 Scotch Egg | |
| Calories | 577 |
| Calories from Fat | 351 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 39 g | 60% |
| Saturated fat 12 g | 60% |
| Carbohydrates 21 g | 7% |
| Sugar 2 g | |
| Fiber 1 g | 4% |
| Protein 32 g | 64% |
| Cholesterol 300 mg | 100% |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
