Deep fried and delicious

My husband and I are required to undertake an annual ritual, commissioned by friends, which is both torturous and delicious. Before any strange ideas form, I am referring to the making of Scotch Eggs.

A Scotch Egg, for the uninitiated, is a particularly British invention of culinary oddity. It is a hard boiled egg, wrapped in sausage meat, bread crumbed and deep fried. If good quality ingredients are used, it is a pleasure to behold, if bad quality ingredients are used, it is disgusting. I am partly referring to the ubiquitous Scotch egg sold at service stations and gas stations in the UK. The sausage meat is the kind to remind you why sausages are bad; grisly and grey and the egg has been boiled to death, rubbery with a ring of green around the yolk. This is not Scotch egg nirvana and the reason why most people claim they do not like these delicacies.

Many attempts have been made to fancify the humble Scotch egg with gratuitous gourmet additions. Flicking through Jamie magazine only yesterday I noticed the notion of Bombay Scotch eggs being entertained. In fairness, I have not tried the recipe and Jamie Oliver usually comes up with some good ideas, but, in my opinion, a Scotch egg does not require curry paste, minced lamb or ginger. The magazine did give a tit bit of information, however, that Scotch eggs are not Scottish as the name implies, but English, being invented in London by Fortnum & Mason in 1738.

Other dubious variations include picnic eggs, available at ASDA supermarket in the UK, once beloved by my husband and I, the egg being chopped and mixed with mayonnaise, sometimes including cheese. They tasted well enough, but I will no longer eat sausage meat unless I know it is reputable.

The other quandary a Scotch egg lover has to ponder is that of accompaniment; chutney, ketchup, pickle? I think a tomato chutney works well, the sharpness and acidity of the tomato cutting across the richness of the egg and sausage meat. Mostly, though, a Scotch egg is perfect unadorned.

These are by no means a healthy food and most people scorn them as they are deep fried. Baking them instead is an option (I have never tried), but I think some of the crispness may be lost. Quails' eggs are sometimes used to make elegant canapes, but these are really fiddly to prepare.

Before you decide that these do not sound appetizing, think about the fact that in the UK and Canada, egg, bread and sausage are popular breakfast items, Scotch eggs simply let you try the whole ensemble together in a nice practical, portable package.

Whenever I take these to a friend's party, they are incredibly popular and even highlighted on the invitation for their Christmas party.

Scotch Eggs

Enough for 30 halves.

15 organic, free range eggs

2 packs of good quality, preferably organic sausages. (Any flavour you want, I use 'original breakfast' sausage).

4 extra eggs

1 cup flour seasoned with:

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp mustard powder

1/2 tsp mixed herbs

black pepper

a little salt, (celery salt would be quite nice)

2 cups of breadcrumbs with 1 tbsp of mixed dried herbs and 2 tsp paprika added and mixed.

oil for deep frying, (I use groundnut oil)

• Boil the eggs for 8 minutes, rinse under cold water and peel when cool.
• Run a knife gently down the sausages to release the skin and peel away.
• Place all the sausage meat from the skinless sausages into a bowl and squeeze together with your hands to mix it all together.

Set up your work stations:

1. Place the seasoned flour over a plate.

2. Break the 4 additional eggs together and beat together in a bowl.

3. Lay the breadcrumbs on a plate.

• Take an egg in one hand and a handful of sausage meat in the other.
• Wrap the sausage meat around the egg using your hands and the shape of the egg as a guide.
• The egg should be covered by the sausage meat.
• Dip the sausage meat covered egg into the flour, tap off excess, then into the beaten egg, cover well and then into the breadcrumbs. Again, make sure the egg is covered well. Set aside.
• Continue with the remaining eggs.
• Heat the oil in a deep pan until a small piece of bread browns in 30 seconds and add maybe 3 or 4 eggs at a time.
• Keeping the heat at medium, the eggs should be nice and golden brown in about 8 - 10 minutes.

• Remove the eggs and drain well on kitchen paper. Test the 1st egg by cutting it in half to make sure it is cooked through, (no pink in the sausage meat) this will be your guide to the cooking times of the remaining eggs.
• Once all the eggs are cooked, I usually cut them in half which is a good appetizer size.

Some notes:

• Try to keep the sausage meat tight around the egg.

• keep a bowl of water close to rinse your hands between breading as they get very sticky.
• Be careful with the hot oil, my husband once caused a mini fire because the pan was too full.
• If the oil is too hot, the outside will burn and the sausage meat will not be cooked.
• If you want to keep these for a while, wrap in paper to stay crisp. You can always give them a final fry before serving.

I have used some chili powder in the past which raised some traditionalist eyebrows, in my experience, simplest is better.

I have also made these without breading, deep frying with just the sausage meat coating as a low-carbohydrate alternative.

Try them, you may be surprised enough to reconsider that deep fried mars bars recipe.