#91 Baked Scotch Eggs

 

You will probably never meet a woman who loves eggs more than I do. I was told several times to eat no more than two eggs a week, but I still do eat a lot more. In college, I survived on eggs and rice. Not all year, but there were many weeks while alone during school months when I nourished my younger self happily with big bowls of steamed rice, and a vicious cycle of boiled, fried and scrambled eggs every day, always with soysauce & crushed fresh hot chili on the side. And some days that was the only main dish, it was easy to make, inexpensive and it took care of my hunger. I cannot believe how I ate like that at one point in my life. LOL, so lazy! A few years ago during lunch at work, I told my manager that I need to make eggs every dinner, no matter what other food I had on the table, and one of my co-workers who overheard the conversation could not believe it. Imagine if I told them how bad my egg addiction was. Well, things have changed, I have since regulated my stomach. This journey is my Gastronomy 101. :) It has  indeed refined my egg consumption, I actually add fresh herbs and spices to my eggs now, I even wrap it with meat like how I did it with my new discovery: Baked Scotch Eggs. Scotch egg is made by wrapping a hard boiled egg with sausage meat and then by deep frying in oil. I showed a picture via text message to a friend after I made it, and he texted back: "What.is.that?", "It's eggs and it's Scottish.", I replied. :)  Later on, I discovered that Scotch eggs actually did not originate in Scotland; Fortnum & Mason, a London department store claims to have invented Scotch eggs in 1738, which maybe inspired by nargisi kofta ("Narcissus meatballs"), a Moghul dish. There were also claims that it originated in North Africa or India, and the technique made it's way to Britain via France; the book: Culinary delights of Yorkshire by Peter Bone (R Fyfe & Co, 1981) claims that it originated in the Whitby area of Yorkshire in the 19th century at an eatery named William J Scott and sons, the book claims that the dish was originally  called "Scotties" which were covered with fish paste instead of sausage meat. The earliest printed recipe is the 1809 edition of Mrs. Rundell's:  A New System of Domestic Cookery. Whoever invented it, my biggest thanks to you! It is delicious!  Because I always strive to cut unnecessary fats in our diet, I made this dish by using a recipe that consists of fresh turkey meat instead of sausage, and baked it instead of deep frying, I also used panko instead of fine breadcrumbs since that is what I had available. The meat flavored with cloves, dalmatian rubbed sage, and thyme was absolutely amazing.  My fellow food lovers, meet my Home-made Scotch Eggs. :)

Yield: Serves 4

BAKED SCOTCH EGGS

Ingredients:

 

1 lb  ground turkey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/8 teaspoon ground clove
4 large eggs, hard boiled (not too large)
flour
1 large egg
2 cups fine dry breadcrumbs 

Directions:

1. Mix the meat thoroughly with the seasonings and divide into four equal portions.
2. Have the four eggs hard boiled, for about 12 minutes.
3. Peel them, dip them in water and coat them in flour.
4. Wrap each egg evenly in a portion of meat, being sure they are covered completely.
5. Beat the remaining egg.
6. Dip each egg in the beaten egg then coat thoroughly in breadcrumbs.
7. Chill for one hour.
8. Bake until golden brown on a cookie sheet at 400°F; about 30 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Jenny Sanders, Food.com

 

dalmatian rubbed sage

clove

 

thyme

mix it, 

dip it, 

coat it

wrap it

bake it

Done! Simple and easy.

In  the UK it is a popular picnic food, and is often sold pre-packed at grocery stores . 

Here in the United States some British style pubs and restaurants serve it.

And now you can make it too!

I ate it with hot sauce..it is so good, I LOVE IT!!!!