Felicity Cloake's Scotch Eggs- The Perfect Picnic Food

 Just like I'll never forget my first trip to England, I won't ever forget my first scotch egg.  I can still see the excitement in Jonathan's face when he pulled up to the curb in front of the Wombwell bakery on my first trip to England, just so he could introduce me to one of England's finest delicacies. Well, that's what he told me at the time. I have since realized they are firstly one of Jonathan's favorite foods ever, and secondly, a true British picnic favorite. And yes, they are really delicious! We never find them here in the USA, so I have made them for my dear man.  It is a bit of a labor of love; they don't seem like they'd take much time, and maybe I'm just slow, but never mind, they are absolutely worth the effort, so give them a try and enjoy the fruits of your labor. 

Jonathan forgot to wait for me to take a picture!

Makes 4

6 eggs
200g plain sausage meat (or bulk breakfast sausage)
200g ground pork (altogether you need about 1 pound of ground sausage or ground pork or a combination of both)
3 tbsp chopped mixed herbs (I like chives, sage, parsley and thyme)
A pinch of ground mace
1 tbsp English mustard (or dijon, or just plain yellow American mustard)
Splash of milk
50g flour (little over a 1/4 cup)
100g panko breadcrumbs (about 1/2 a cup)
Vegetable oil, to cook

1. Put four of the eggs into a pan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for five minutes, then put straight into a large bowl of iced water for at least 10 minutes.

2. Put the meat, herbs, mace and mustard into a bowl, season and mix well with your hands. Divide into four.

3. Carefully peel the eggs. Beat the two raw eggs together in a bowl with a splash of milk. Put the flour in a second bowl and season, then tip the breadcrumbs into a third bowl. Arrange in an assembly line.

4. Put a square of clingfilm on the work surface, and flour lightly. Put one of the meatballs in the centre, and flour lightly, then put another square of cling film on top. Roll out the meat until large enough to encase an egg and remove the top sheet of clingfilm.

5. To assemble the egg, roll one peeled egg in flour, then put in the centre of the meat. Bring up the sides of the film to encase it, and smooth it into an egg shape with your hands. Now remove the plastic wrap and dip each egg in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs, and then repeat the egg and breadcrumbs step again.

6. Fill a large pan a third full of vegetable oil, and heat to 170C (or when a crumb of bread sizzles and turns golden, but does not burn, when dropped in it). Cook the eggs a couple at a time, for seven minutes, until crisp and golden, then drain on paper towels before serving.

This yolk is a little overdone I think, but they were still gorgeous. 

Set up your dipping station, flour, egg and panko

Weigh your meat, now is a great time to get that scale if you don't have one yet.

Roll out the sausage and place an egg in the middle of the patty. 

Using the plastic wrap, roll the sausage snugly around the egg, now remove the plastic wrap and dip the sausage ball into the flour, egg and panko-
repeat the egg and panko step again.   

It's important to get the temperature right. 

We're almost done now!

Homemade scotch eggs, now that's pretty cool.