Scotch Eggs

I am a HUGE fan of Scotch Eggs. There is a lovely pub in downtown Des Moines that we visit 4-6 times a year just for their excellent fish & chips and Scotch Eggs. Having actually been in British and Irish pubs I can honestly say that they have a great ambiance and we don't feel a bit bad about taking our girls there.

What is a Scotch Egg? It is, quite simply, a hard boiled egg wrapped in sausage, coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried. Sounds divine, no?

Last week I was playing with my dinner spinner (have an iPhone or iPod Touch? Get this free app!) and trying to figure out what to do with all the sausage we got from a hog we purchased and butchered. I was impressed with the options that popped up, but the one that most caought my attention was Scotch Eggs. After browsing the various recipes I chose this one. I made a few changes, which I will detail below in italics, in the recipe.

These were great! Paired with a pint of Magners or Guinness and some Coleman's spicy mustard. Mmmmm... Delish.

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

* 1 pound pork sausage meat
* 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
* 4 hard-cooked eggs, peeled
* 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 egg, beaten
* 2/3 cup dry bread crumbs
* 1 quart oil for deep frying

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the pork sausage and Worcestershire sauce. Combine the flour, salt and pepper; mix into the sausage. If you are using plain sausage and like more flavor, add spices. I added some garlic, a bit of onion and some basil.

1.5 Make sure the eggs and the sausage are cold. I used the flour on my counter top to make the sausage patties. It helps keep it from sicking quite so much.

2. Divide the sausage into four equal parts. Pat flat on floured surface. Mold each part around one of the hard-cooked eggs, rolling between your hands to shape. Place the beaten egg and bread crumbs into separate dishes. Dip the balls into the egg, then roll in the bread crumbs until coated. Shake off any excess.

3. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or deep fryer to 365 degrees F (180 degrees C), or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil turns brown in 1 minute. Lower the eggs carefully into the hot oil. Fry for 5 minutes, or until deep golden brown.
OR
Preheat oven to 350. Heat 2 T olive oil in large pan over medium high heat. Brown all sides of the Scotch Egg adding more Olive Oil as necessary. When all are nicely browned place on foil covered baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Still crispy on the outside, just not deep fried so less greasy and a tiny bit better for you. Not much, but a tiny bit.

Garnish with cheddar cheese, lettuce leaves or chopped tomato.




How to hard cook eggs:

Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool, and peel.