"scotch eggs" news and stories

Last week, while celebrating the repeal of Prohibition, I ordered myself a Scotch Egg (courtesy of the delicious Abbot on the Hill). It's been a good two years since Slashfood delved into the world of the Scotch egg, both as a portable breakfast and gargantuanly eggy ostrich task, so I thought I'd give the dish some more love.

Scotch eggs (recipe here) are hard-boiled eggs encased in a mixture of sausage and spices, then dredged, breaded, and deep-fried -- another case of tasty things getting wrapped in tasty things and then covered in more tasty things and turning out beautifully. They're delicious as a quick breakfast, and can also make a damn fine appetizer when teamed with chutney -- classic UK fare.

But it's not something you'd get from your Scottish friends and family. According to Wikipedia, the dish was whipped up by a London food shop called Fortnum & Mason, all the way back in 1851. (Anyone know why "Scotch" became part of the name?) You'll usually find this dish using regular chicken eggs, which makes it large enough to slice and share, but this dish also works amazingly with smaller eggs -- allowing for tiny niblets rather than large chunks.

Do you have a couple of hard-boiled eggs sitting around? Instead of throwing them out, assuming that you kept them refrigerated or, at least did not cook them more than a day or two ago, peel the eggs and put them to good use. Hard boiled eggs do not keep as long as their uncooked counterparts, so don't try cooking with the ones you used in an Easter egg hunt that might have been in the sun.  A large egg has about 70 calories and is an excellent source of protein, with about 6 grams per egg. There are approximately 5 grams of fat in an egg, with 3.5 of them unsaturated, and they are all contained in the yolk. For more information on eggs, look here, but if you're just looking for a recipe or two, food blogs are a great place to look.

• Deviled Eggs 
• Egg Salad Sandwich 
• Hard Cooked Egg Cookies 
• Vegetarian Scotch Eggs 
• Son-in-law Eggs

[Photo by Nicole Weston]

What we have here is a Scotch ostrich egg, prepared by Fraser over at Blogjam. My apologies to those of you that saw this when it was originally posted. It's news to me and, I think, totally worth a post for those who haven't seen it. (Incidentally, today also appears to be Fraser's birthday.) This melon-sized egg was boiled for 90 minutes before being peeled, coated with sausage, breaded and then baked (it's tough to find a fryer big enough for something like that). The results, according to Fraser, are a lot like your standard Scotch egg. Imagine that. There are some other great photos in his original post that give an idea of the scale of this project.

[Photo: Blogjam]