Crispy Scotch egg recipe with perfectly oozy yolk
An al fresco feast isn’t quite complete without this classic picnic food. Follow this step-by-step guide on how to make luxury homemade scotch eggs.
Image: Clarence Court
So, you’ve purchased pretty picnicware, you’ve got the perfect pinic spot in mind, but you’re undecided on what food to take. As well as cute triangle cut sandwiches and sweet summer fruits, we highly recommend bringing something a little more homemade to the picnic hamper.
No al fresco feast would be complete without scotch eggs – impress your friends by following this recipe to make a batch that are perfecly crisp with a perfectly running yolk.
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 5 Clarence Court Burford Browns eggs
- 300g good-quality pork sausage, skinned
- 1 tsp black peppercorn, crushed
- 140g cooked ham, shredded
- 25g sage, apple & onion stuffing mix
- 1 tsp chopped sage
- 1 tsp chopped thyme
- 1 tsp chopped parsley
- 100g plain flour, seasoned, plus extra for dusting
- 100g dried breadcrumb
- Sunflower oil, for frying
- Piccalilli, to serve
Method
- Bring a pan of salted water to a rapid boil, then lower 4 of the eggs into the pan and simmer for 7 minutes 30 seconds exactly. Scoop out and place in a bowl of iced water, cracking the shells a little (this makes them easier to peel later). Leave them to cool completely, then peel and set aside. Can be boiled the day before.
- Put the sausage meat, pepper, ham, stuffing and herbs in a small bowl, mix to combine, then divide into 4 equal balls. Squash one of the balls between a piece of cling film until it’s as flat as possible. One at a time, lightly flour each cooked egg, then use the cling film to help roll the sausage meat around the egg to completely encase. Repeat with the remaining sausage balls and eggs.
- Beat the remaining egg and put on a plate. Put the flour and breadcrumbs on 2 separate plates. Roll the encased eggs in the flour, then the beaten egg and finally the breadcrumbs. Can be prepared up to a day in advance.
- To cook the eggs, heat 5cm of the oil in a wide saucepan or wok until it reaches 160C on a cooking thermometer or until a few breadcrumbs turn golden after 10 seconds in the oil. Depending on the size of your pan, lower as many eggs as you can into the oil, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until golden and crispy. Drain on kitchen paper, leave to cool a little, then serve halved with some piccalilli.
This Scotch egg recipe is by Clarence Court.