Baked Scotch Eggs

I never heard of these until I moved to the UK. I used to buy them all the time, I especially loved the mini-snack ones. I dip them in yellow American mustard and sometimes ketchup, but Ranch Dressing is good too. They are basically an egg covered in sausage and then rolled in breadcrumbs and then deep fried. I opted to bake mine because it’s easier and just ever so slightly more healthy. These make a fantastic lunch, brunch or snack. They are great for picnics too. I also make a vegetarian version I call Eastern Eggs.

Ingredients

Sausage

• 1 lbs bulk ground pork
• 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp rubbed sage
• 1 tsp fine sea salt or table salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dry thyme, ground or crushed with your fingers
• 1 tsp light brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Coating

• 1 cups panko breadcrumbs
• 1 TBSP olive, coconut or avocado oil
• 1/2 tsp dry parsley flakes
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
• big pinch of fresh ground black pepper

The Rest

• 4 medium-soft boiled eggs; peeled, cooled, and thoroughly dried
• 1/2 cup plain white all-purpose flour
• 1 raw egg beaten with 1 tsp of water

Dipper Suggestions

• Ketchup
• Ranch Dressing
• Honey Mustard
• Dijonnase
• BBQ Sauce
• American Yellow Mustard

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix all the sausage ingredients gently but thoroughly. Chill in the fridge for an hour, or up to 24.
2. While the meat is chilling, make the breadcrumbs.
3. Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat, once hot add 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs and drizzle over one tablespoon of oil. Cook and stir until you reach your desired level of toastiness. I like mine about 50/50. Remove them from the pan as soon as they are done. Cool for a few minutes, then place into a food processor (I use my mini chopper) and add the seasonings and spices. Blend to a fine crumb, then place them back into the bowl and cool at room temperature until needed.
4. Line a baking sheet with foil, and place an ovenproof cooling rack on top. Set aside.
5. Divide the sausage meat into 4 equal portions and shape each portion into a flat disk.
6. Roll a boiled egg in the flour, shake off the excess, and then add it to the middle of one portion of the prepared sausage meat. Gently coax it around the egg so that the egg is evenly encased. The meat won’t so much stick to the eggs as to itself. Make sure the egg does not show through the meat and that the meat is fairly even all the way around. Pat the covered egg to compress the meat around it. Repeat with the rest of the sausage and eggs.
7. Then, roll each sausage-covered egg in flour and dust off the excess. Then, dip each into the egg, then roll in breadcrumbs, coating well and evenly. Place each of the finished eggs on the prepared cooling rack/baking sheet. Wrap loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to a few hours.
8. Once the eggs have chilled and you are ready to bake them, preheat the oven to 400f.
9. Bake the eggs in the middle of the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
10. Leave to cool on the cooling rack/baking sheet for a few minutes before serving. To serve cold, cool for 30 minutes on the rack and then place each egg into a cupcake wrapper. Then, place them in a single layer into a deep container and cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Once they are cold, cover tightly with a lid or plastic wrap. The properly chilled eggs will last for up to 4 days in the fridge.
11. Serve hot, warm or cold, with “dippers” of your choice.

Makes 4 Servings as a Meal, 8 Servings as a Salad Topper, and 16 Servings as an Appetizer

Notes

• Your eggs need to be not quite hard-boiled because they’ll cook more in the oven. If you overcook them they’ll be hard, dry and unpleasant. Hard-boiled eggs should never have a gray line around the yolk, that is a sign they are overdone.
• Feel free to add a little orange food coloring to the breadcrumbs, if this makes you feel more at home. Why would this make you feel more at home? Ask a British person!
• You can eat this like an apple, or cut it in half or into wedges. Wedges work best for salads and as an appetizer. You can add a little squiggle of ketchup or other sauce (think hot dog style) to the wedges if you serve them at a party.
• Of course, you can use store-bought sausage meat and seasoned breadcrumbs. It’ll be much faster and easier, it just won’t be homemade or taste as good. Plus, you get lots of wonderful added chemicals, fillers, dyes, and other “all natural ingredients”. Doesn’t that sound delicious?!