Scotch Eggs ~ Deep-Fried, Sausage-Covered Hard Boiled Eggs
Scotch eggs may be a British dish, but despite the name, they are not Scottish. Apparently they were invented in England by Fortnum and Mason!
Don’t ask me why these are called Scotch eggs, as they’re not Scottish and they don’t contain whisky!
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Are Scotch Eggs Scottish or Irish?
Apparently, neither! Scotch eggs were invented at the very English Fortnum and Mason shop in London. Clearly, they were a huge success as they are now known around the world.
Scotch eggs are very tasty and a unique and nutritious treat for breakfast (although this is not typical in the UK), brunch, lunch or a snack. Remember those Scottish sausage rolls I made? Here they are and they’re great alongside a Scotch egg.
Do you Serve Scotch eggs Hot or Cold?
While Scotch eggs are known as a pub or picnic food and are most normally served cold, I will advocate that eating them hot or warm is absolutely a scrumptious experience, especially with a runny yolk!
You can make another batch of sausage to make these lovely Scotch eggs, or use any kind of breakfast or British sausage meat instead.
You can also make Scotch eggs with a runny center, if you like, just use a soft boiled egg. Here’s how I make perfect soft boiled eggs every time!
The best way to reheat Scotch eggs is in the oven or an air fryer (this is my preference), but if you make them with the intention of reheating them, try not to make them deep golden brown. A lighter fry the first time will make them perfect upon reheating.
How to Eat Scotch Eggs
As noted above, Scotch eggs may be eaten hot or cold, so they’re perfect for packed lunches (kids love them) and picnics. There’s no need to pair the eggs with any sauce (they’re a meal on their own), but they are traditionally eaten while enjoying a beer. I mean, it is a pub food! Dip them in HP Sauce or even mustard.
Another pub meal is steak pudding, which also goes with beer.
Another way to make them that’s popular in the UK, and especially Scotland, is to use black pudding around the egg either mixed with, or instead of, the sausage. Ta dah, a black pudding Scotch egg!
Note: if you’ve heard of a Manchester egg, it may look rather like a Scotch egg, but it’s made with a pickled egg and in the manner of the black pudding wrapped egg. I don’t know about you, but I can’t eat pickled eggs, so this is a hard no from me.
And here’s my potato twist on a Scotch egg!
I have many more English and Scottish recipes if you’d like to peruse them, you can always use the drop down menu on the RECIPES tab at the top of the page. Just hover over it, and choose your options!
I hope you give these Scotch eggs a try. It may seem like a difficult recipe, but it truly isn’t. I think you’ll flip for them once you taste them!
Scotch Eggs
Recipe by Christina Conte makes 6
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Ingredients
- sausage meat (made using beef or pork for this recipe)
- hard-boiled eggs (or soft boiled, if you prefer)
- flour
- egg
- breadcrumbs
- oil for frying
Step by Step Directions to Make Scotch Eggs
Peel the hard boiled eggs.
Shape sausage meat into flat round shapes in the palm of your hand to wrap around each egg. Don’t be skimpy with the sausage meat or they will burst open. Better to have a less thick sausage wrap that isn’t forced to fit around the egg. It should wrap around easily.
Heat oil in a deep pan or wok, so the eggs can be deep fried.
Dip each sausage-wrapped egg in flour, then beaten egg and breadcrumbs, regular breadcrumbs are better than Panko.
When oil is hot (about 350F/175C), fry each Scotch egg until golden brown, making sure to cook them long enough so that the sausage meat is fully cooked. Edited to add, these can be cooked in an air fryer, too. Spray them well with olive oil and put in the air fryer at 375F/175C for about 6 minutes, turn and continue cooking for another 6 or 7 minutes, or until golden brown and the sausage is completely cooked.
Remove and drain on paper towel. Serve hot or cold.
Delicious any time of day and even make a great appetizer!
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Scotch Eggs ~ Deep-Fried, Sausage-Covered Hard Boiled Eggs
Ingredients
- 1 lb sausage meat (made using beef or pork for the sausage roll recipe below)
- 6 hard-boiled eggs (or soft-boiled, peeled)
- ½ cup flour
- 1 egg (beaten)
- 1 cup breadcrumbs (or more)
- light olive oil (enough to deep fry the Scotch eggs)
Instructions
- Follow the recipe for: Sausage meat
- Shape sausage meat into flat round shapes to wrap around each egg.
- Heat oil in a pan or wok, so the eggs can be deep fried.
- Dip each sausage-wrapped egg in flour, then beaten egg and breadcrumbs.
- When oil is hot (about 350℉/ 175℃), fry each Scotch egg until golden brown, making sure to cook them long enough so that the sausage meat is fully cooked. Edited to add, these can be cooked in an air fryer, too. Spray them well with olive oil and put in the air fryer at 375℉/ 175℃ for about 6 minutes, turn and continue cooking for another 6 or 7 minutes, or until golden brown and the sausage is completely cooked.
- Remove and drain on paper towel. Serve hot or cold.
Notes
- Sausage meat recipe (use pork, beef, turkey or a combination)
Nutrition
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i saw on another site a tip – use a sheet of cling-film to put the sausage on – pat it out, and it makes it easy to roll the egg evenly on the sausage. Worth a try!
I find it easy to put the sausage around the egg, but if it’s a pain for you, by all means use the cling film. I need to make these again! :)
Tip, wet your hands as you coat the egg with sausage. It helps avoid stickiness😉 Great for breakfast!
I am an English ex-pat and will be having a go at these this weekend as Scotch Eggs were always one of my favorite lunch foods before I left England for the USA. You say in the recipe “making sure to cook them long enough so that the sausage meat is fully cooked.” , any idea what a rule of thumb guide to that time would be? I plan on dunking them in a deep fat fryer as I think that will be safer, but want to make sure I get the sausage meat fully cooked. Thanks (I also plan on giving the sausage rolls a go as well!)
Hi Andy, so glad you found my page as I’m sure there will be many more recipes you’ll be happy to find, being an ex-pat! It’s hard to give a hard and fast time because I know not everyone has a thermometer, but I just want people to be aware of cooking the sausage long enough so it’s not just popped in for 30 seconds and pulled out. I think if the oil is hot enough, and the sausage isn’t too thick, then 3 or 4 minutes will be fine. I’d fry one, and cut into it to see how it looks and then proceed from there. You’ll see, it’s easier than you think. Good luck and let me know how they turn out! :)
Thanks Christina I’m looking forward to giving it a try and I’ll let you know how they turn out. I discovered your blog from the
“QP – All About Being British in America” community on Facebook and I’m glad I did!
OMG, I love QP!! Thank you! Let me know if you have any other questions, too! :)
WOW – what a speedy response! Thank you so much. Keep on cooking!
Haha! I don’t have anything for you yet. Stay tuned, though! CC
Just re-reading these comments and I must have forgotten to let you know that no one had heard of Dublin eggs, unfortunately, Lee. :( If you ever do find a recipe, let me know.
I make these all the time, exact same recipe as yours! I too am an ex-pat Scot, now in Utah. I wonder if you could help me find a recipe I used years ago in Scotland. We called it “Dublin Eggs” but no research I have managed has uncovered it. It involved hard-boiled eggs, bacon rashers (REAL bacon!) and either canned or fresh tomatoes, I have tried to re-create it with a marked lack of success. Perhaps you with better resources could help – IF you have time, I know you lead an incredibly busy life, so am not expecting a speedy reply! Best wishes, and PLEASE keep blogging and Facebooking, I so look forward to seeing your posts. Lee.
Hi Lee! Thank you for your support! I have never heard of Dublin Eggs, but I will definitely look into it and ask around. I have two places I can ask with a ton of ex-pats that may be the best place to start. Will get back to you soon! CC
I tried making these a few years ago, but had a hard time getting the sausage to stay together around the eggs. They were okay; I wasn’t really impressed by them but didn’t know if I messed them up. I baked them also as I thought the sausage was greasy enough that I didn’t need to fry them.. Maybe I should try them again…
Hi Cassandra, sounds as if you might not have had enough sausage to put around the egg, as it stays on quite easily if you have enough. I’ve never baked them, so I don’t know how they’d be that way. I can assure you that I’ve made these, as with all my recipes: if it’s on my blog, I’ve made it and tested the recipe, usually numerous times. Good luck! CC
Dear Christina,
How interesting! I have never had these before, but have heard of them. They look easy and delicious. I am sure they travel very well for a snack, if you have any leftover! I just looked at your post on the Scottish Sausage Rolls. I think these are beautiful as well as tasty I am sure. Never saw these before either. Definitely a must try recipe. Thanks for sharing. Blessing on a good week. Dottie :)
Thank you, Dottie! You have a blessed week, too! CC
Love Scotch Eggs! Instead of frying them, I baked them last time, and they were yummy.
What a good idea! Never thought of that! ;)
I love scotch eggs, they really are a delicious breakfast or snack. I have never made them I should they really are a treat.
They’re actually really easy to make! You should give them a try! CC