Scotch Eggs are probably one of my favourite snack foods. I’m not entirely sure why they’re called Scotch Eggs since I don’t think they were invented in Scotland (in fact, Fortnum and Mason claimed to invent them back in 1783 – thanks Wikipedia) and they’ve never been near a whisky. But, whatever their origin, they’re an iconic picnic food and fantastic for lunches – especially a packed lunch. But you don’t have to stick with your bog standard sausage meat and egg, not that there’s anything wrong with the classic, and you can spice up your Scotch Egg to how you want it if you make your own.
For this recipe, rather than using just plain sausage meat, I’ve gone for a combination of Pork Mince – with a fat content of around 20% to ensure a nice, succulent Scotch Egg – and the meat from some Chorizo sausages which you can pick up from most supermarkets these day, and then complimented them with herbs and spices and then coated in breadcrumbs twice to ensure a super crispy Scotch Egg. It really does take things up a level, but you don’t have to use the Chorizo sausages, you could use any sausages you want.
Chorizo Scotch Eggs
Print RecipeIngredients
- 8 Eggs (2 for beating)
- 300g Pork Mince
- 300g Chorizo Sausages
- 200g Plain Flour
- 175g Breadcrumbs
- 2tsp Salt
- 2tsp Black Pepper
- 1tbsp Smoked Paprika
- 1tsp Garlic Powder
- 1tsp Onion Powder
- 1tsp Sage
- Sunflower Oil, for frying
Instructions
Bring a saucepan of water up to the boil and gently lower six of your eggs into the water - to prevent cracking - and bring it down to a gentle simmer, cover with a lid and leave to boil for 4 - 6 minutes, depending on how runny you want your yolks.
Take the eggs off the hob and immediately run them under cold water to stop the cooking process and then leave to cool in the cold water for 5 - 10 minutes.
While the eggs are cooling, take your pork mince and put into a large bowl and then remove the sausage meat from the casings and add to the bowl.
Add the 1tsp of salt, 1tsp of pepper, the Smoked Paprika, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder and Sage to the meat and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon or your hands if you don't mind getting stuck in there.
Beat the remaining two eggs, I did it with a little salt to break down the egg more, and then place the flour into one bowl, the beaten eggs into another bowl, and the breadcrumbs into a third bowl.
Once the eggs are cool, take an egg and gently coat it in the little of the flour - this helps the mixture stick to the egg better - and then gently wrap the meat around the egg until the egg is completely covered and you have a ball shape. It helps if you do this with wet hands as it will allow you to handle and shape the mixture much easier.
Now, take the meat-coated egg, and roll it in the flour so it's completely coated, then dip it into the beaten egg, again making sure it's evenly coated, and then repeat this on the breadcrumbs. Now go back to the egg mixture and coat it again and then back into the breadcrumbs so you have a double coating of breadcrumbs - this helps make the eggs extra crispy.
Repeat this for all six eggs.
Now, either using a deep fat fryer or a deep pan filled with enough oil to cover the eggs, heat some the sunflower oil until it comes up to 170°C (340°F) and gently lower your eggs into the oil and cooking them in the oil for 6 - 8 minutes, depending on the size of your eggs and how runny you want the yolk to be, and the eggs are a lovely golden colour.
Once each egg is cooked, remove from the oil using a slotted spoon, and place onto some kitchen towel to drain off any excess oil.
