A Scotch Eggstravaganza.

Chorizo-spiced pork scotch eggs.

My husband loves scotch eggs, “proper home-made scotch eggs” he tells me “are a delight” and far, far removed from the things I was used to sampling on bad cocktail party platters. I think he likes them as they remind him of his favourite pub in the world, The All Nations, Madeley in Shropshire, where they only have 3 things on the food menu (raw black pudding sandwich, pork pie and scotch egg).

I have made 2 versions of this British classic for you; the first is my own creation (I have borrowed part from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall , his ‘Tupperware Chorizo’ is a simple and tasty recipe you really should make yourself aware of). The second is a little more delicate, I found it on the wonderfully niche ‘Forever Eggsploring’ food blog, but it is actually a Jamie Oliver recipe (with a few modifications).

Ingredients for my duo of Scotch Eggs.

Giant Chorizo Spiced Pork Scotch Eggs.

Ingredients

500g minced pork

1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika

2 tsp hot smoked paprika

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tsp fine sea salt

1½ tsp fennel seeds

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

¼ cup Marsala

Freshly ground black pepper

5 large hens’ eggs

150g breadcrumbs (made by blending a stale baguette)

Oil, for deep frying

Method

Take your eggs out of the refrigerator and leave out to adjust to room temperature.

Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's
Tupperware Chorizo

Mix together the pork, both varieties of paprika, the minced garlic, salt and pepper, fennel seeds, cayenne pepper, and Marsala (the original recipe calls for wine – ‘whatever you have lying around open’…well I don’t EVER have wine lying around open, as it usually gets drunk, so I used Marsala. You can use red wine if that suits you). You should end up with a spicy, red, fragrant mixture. Cover and put this in the fridge.

Now boil 4 of the eggs to your liking; 6 minutes for soft and 10 minutes for hard yolks.

Remove the eggs from the pan and plunge directly into iced water to stop the cooking process. Shell the eggs remembering to be gentle if they are soft boiled

 

Split the pork mix into 4 equal parts and flatten each portion in the palm of your hand, place an egg in the centre and gently mould the pork around the egg so that it is completely encased and there are no gaps.

Beat the remaining egg then dunk and roll each Scotch egg in this. Transfer the Scotch eggs into the breadcrumbs and roll to coat

I don’t have a deep fat fryer, it’s not a way I generally like to cook and I hate disposing of the oil afterwards. For this, I half filled my wok with vegetable oil, and waited for the temperature to reach 180oC, then carefully lowered my eggs in, frying for around 10 minutes, I needed to roll the eggs around every now and then as they were not quite covered by the oil. You need to ensure that the eggs are a nice golden brown colour, and that pork inside is cooked.

Drain on kitchen paper to remove excess oil.

These eggs are sublime. I made mine slightly runny and the rich, creamy yolk goes sooo well with the spicy pork mince. You could make these with quail’s eggs and serve as part of a tapas platter. These big ones make a substantial supper when served with a salad and selection of condiments (mustard, chutney) maybe a platter of Spanish bread and cheese, and of course good bottle of Rioja. Ole!

Salmon and Dill Scotch Eggs.

Ingredients

250g salmon fillet, skinned
1 handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 handful of fresh dill, finely chopped
grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

½ tsp paprika
8 quail’s eggs or 4 hens’ eggs
2 more hens eggs for the coating
salt and freshly ground black pepper
150g breadcrumbs (made by blending a stale baguette)

Oil, for deep frying

Method

Take your eggs out of the refrigerator and leave out to adjust to room temperature.

Place the salmon in a food processor and blend to form a rough paste. Add the parsley, dill, a beaten egg, lemon juice and zest, season well with salt and cracked black pepper. Cover and refrigerate.

In a separate bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs and paprika and season with salt and black pepper

Take a toothpick and gently prick a tiny hole in the top of your quail’s eggs. To do this, hold the eggs steady in the pack and gently, but firmly punch the toothpick into its shell. Now boil the eggs to your liking;

§         for the hen’s eggs boil 6 minutes for soft and 10 minutes for hard yolks.

§         for the quail’s eggs boil for 1.5 minutes for soft and 5 minutes for hard yolks.

* note, have a runny yolk in the final scotch egg is a treat, but peeling a soft boiled quails egg is really painstaking and often ends up in the whole egg bursting in your hand. Decide how much you want the runny yolk in the final product. A harder quail’s egg is a lot easier to handle...

Remove the eggs from the pan and plunge directly into iced water to stop the cooking process. Shell the eggs remembering to be gentle if they are soft boiled

Split the salmon paste into 8 equal portions for quails eggs or 4 equal portions for hen’s eggs (I broke 2 of my quails eggs and so quickly soft boiled a hen’s egg to make up the numbers) and flatten in the palm of your hand.

Place an egg in the centre of the flattened salmon and wrap the paste around it, squeezing gently to seal the joins
Beat your remaining egg then dunk and roll each Scotch egg in this. Transfer the Scotch eggs into the breadcrumbs and roll to coat

I don’t have a deep fat fryer, so for this I half filled my wok with vegetable oil, and waited for the temperature to reach 180oC, then carefully lowered my eggs in, frying for around 3 minutes for the quail eggs and 5 for the hens egg, the eggs should be all golden brown in colour.
Drain on kitchen paper to remove excess oil.

These eggs are yummy hot or cold, obviously make great picnic food, but can also be plated up and served with tartare sauce, and a salad

A truly eggzellent buffet!