Scotch eggs are a much loved picnic staple, but have you tried a homemade version? It's easier to make them than you think with our easy to follow recipe.
The traditional Scotch egg was created in 1738 as a
pocket-stored meal on the move. Hundreds of years later it is still
a supreme picnic snack. Ours are made with thyme infused sausage
meat and garlic - delicious!
Ingredients
4 hard boiled eggs
100g sausage meat
1 spring onion (finely chopped)
Salt & pepper to season
150g flour
150 - 200g golden breadcrumbs
2 beaten eggs
400ml vegetable oil for shallow frying
2 tsp fresh thyme
Method
Boil the eggs in a pan of salted water for 5-8 minutes,
depending on how hard boiled you want the yolks to be, remove from
the heat and allow to cool.
Shell the eggs and set aside.
Finely chop the spring onion, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper
and mix into the sausage meat.
Divide the sausage meat evenly into 4 portions and use cling
film or baking parchment to flatten into oval shaped patties.
Place the flour, breadcrumbs and beaten eggs into three
seperate bowls.
Pat one of the eggs with a little flour, then place onto a
patty. Wrap the sausage meat around the egg until no egg is
exposed, repeat with all the eggs.
Place the covered egg into the flour bowl and roll in the palm
of your hands to form a ball.
To layer the egg:
Dip into the beaten egg mix using a spoon to turn it over.
Dip into the breadcrumb mix making sure to cover the complete
egg.
Dip back into the beaten egg.
Dip back into the breadcrumb mix for the last time and set
aside in the fridge to set.
To cook:
Use a heavy based pan to deep fry or we have shallow fried
ours, add the vegetable oil and allow it to become hot before
placing the eggs in (min 110' ).
Remove the eggs from the fridge and place directly into the hot
oil, turning (if shallow frying ) to make sure all sides are
evenly fried and are golden brown in colour. This should take 4-5
minutes. Place on a piece of kitchen towel to absorb any excess
oils.
Top tips
Add a few breadcrumbs to the pan to check the temperature; if
it is hot enough for frying, they will pop and sizzle.
Try using different herbs such as coriander, basil or sage
mixed in with the sausage meat.