Scotch Eggs

 

To those who are not familiar with them, scotch eggs are hard-boiled eggs that have been wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs and either fried or baked. The origin of this dish is in the UK and the recipe is said to date back as far as 1738. In the UK, these are a popular picnic food. In my home in Kenya, my Mother used to make them for us for breakfast on special holidays. This was a recipe taught to her by an English nun in boarding school, but I've just tweaked it with the addition of some of the spices used here. Mother's Day is coming up and I thought I'd share this recipe with those looking to make Mom something special for Mother's Day brunch. The coating is perfectly crispy with the spices used delivering a load of fantastic flavor with each bite. The inside provides all the familiar comforts that a hard-boiled egg is known for. My favorite part, of course, being the creamy yolk :). This is sure to put a smile on your Mom's  face. What better way to tell your Mom that she's special than cooking her up these delicious eggs? Give them a try. Here's how it's done...

Serving Size: Makes 6 Scotch eggs.

Equipment:

-Frying pan.

-Skimmer.

-medium bowl.

-small bowl.

-Baking sheet lined in Aluminium foil.

Ingredients:

-6 hard-boiled eggs, cooled and peeled.

-1 1/2 lbs ground sausage meat at close to room temperature. If you can't find this in your area, buy about 6 large sausages, cut open at one end and squeeze the ground sausage out of the casings.

-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

-1 teaspoon coriander powder.

-1 teaspoon onion powder.

-1/4 teaspoon ground mustard (optional).

-1/4 teaspoon cumin.

-1/4 teaspoon paprika.

-Salt and pepper to taste.

-2 tablespoons chopped parsley.

-Oil for shallow frying.

-2 cups plain bread crumbs (I used panko bread crumbs for more crunch).

-2 eggs, beaten.

-1 cup all-purpose flour.

Instructions:

-Combine your ground sausage with the chopped parsley and all the spices. Mix well to combine.

-Place your breadcrumbs in a shallow plate and season it with salt and pepper (use as much or as little as you'd like).

-Take your hard boiled egg, roll it around in the small bowl containing the flour. Shake off any excess flour.

-Dust your hands with a little flour so that the sausage does not stick to your hands.

-Take a heaped tablespoon of the ground sausage and place it in the palm of your hand. Pat it down until it's a flat round (about 5-6 inches in diameter). Place the dusted egg into the center of the flattened sausage patty. Wrap the egg completely in the sausage. Make sure the sausage coating is snug over the egg. Also make sure that there are no cracks or it'll fall apart when cooking.

-Now dip the sausage-covered egg into the bowl with the eggs. Let any excess eggs drip off of the sausage-covered egg.

-Next, roll the egg in the bread crumbs until there are no more wet spots left. If you want an extra crunchy scotch egg, repeat the above two steps again (that is optional).

-Place the egg onto the prepared baking sheet until you're ready to cook them. Repeat this with the rest of the eggs.

-Place about 2 inches of your cooking oil in your frying pan and heat over medium heat.

***Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celcius).***

-Place the prepared eggs into the hot oil. Do not place more than three in the pan at a time. Do not disturb the eggs at all for the first 2 minutes. Give the sausage coating time to brown before you can flip it over. The total frying time for each egg should be 5-7 minutes. The objective for frying is to brown the outside.

-Once the eggs look like the ones in the picture below,transfer them to an oven-safe baking dish and allow the scotch eggs to finish cooking in the oven for an additional 20-25 minutes. 

 These are best eaten warm out of the oven. They taste great with some Dijon mustard, honey-mustard or ranch drizzled over them. Enjoy!