Eunice Power's Scotch Eggs
I was first introduced to these beauties in Britain when I was sowing my wild seeds in the 90s. I love them.
SERVES
8
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
45
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
15
MINUTES
Ingredients
8 medium eggs (small eggs are ideal but not always easy to find so I went for medium)
1 large egg, beaten (for the coating)
454g pack of sausage meat
1 teaspoon for smoked paprika
Handful of picked flat parsley leaves, finely chopped
100g sundried tomatoes finely chopped
For the seasoned flour
1 heaped tbsp plain flour
1 tsp fine salt
¼ tsp black pepper
100g panko breadcrumbs (Panko give a lovely crispy finish, stale sourdough blitzed into crumbs work well also)
Vegetable oil, for deep frying
Method
Bring a saucepan of water to a rolling boil. Gently lower in eight eggs and boil for exactly five minutes; the whites will be fully set but the yolk will be slightly soft and jammy in the centre.
Immediately transfer to a bowl of iced water and leave for five minutes.
Then gently peel the cooled eggs under cold running water. Pat dry with kitchen paper and set aside. Handle them carefully, medium-boiled eggs are a little more delicate than hard-boiled ones.
Combine the plain flour, salt, black pepper — the seasoned flour is key, it gives the sausage meat something to grip onto and stops it sliding off the egg.
Mix the sausage meat with the smoked paprika, sundried tomatoes, and parsley, and divide the pork sausage meat into eight equal portions. Flatten each portion into a thin patty in your palm. Roll each egg thoroughly in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess, then place it in the centre of a sausage meat patty.
Mould the meat up and around the egg, pressing firmly and making sure there are no gaps or thin spots. The flour coating is what helps the sausage meat stick to the egg.
Set up a coating station: Seasoned flour in one bowl, beaten one large egg, beaten in another, and panko or fine dried breadcrumbs in a third. Roll each sausage-wrapped egg in the flour, then dip in egg, then roll in breadcrumbs, pressing to coat evenly.
Cook the eggs at 170C in a deep fat fryer 2 for seven to eight minutes, turning occasionally, until deep golden brown all over and the sausage meat is cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
Leave to rest for two to three minutes before cutting in half to reveal that beautiful jammy yolk. Serve with a good chutney.
And yes, before you ask, even though I don’t have one, I am reliably informed that these can be cooked in an air fryer at 190C . Spray with oil and cook for 12-15 minutes until crispy.
