Although its reputation is improving, British food isn’t exactly known for being haute cuisine. Unpretentious comfort food is more like it. Some might argue that it’s a little bit too unpretentious – would a few more spices and a color scheme that wasn’t brown or beige really be so wrong? However, the lack of pretension is exactly what some find so charming about British food. This might explain why a traditional dish like Scotch Eggs is suddenly enjoying a new burst of popularity. It might also just be that a hardboiled egg wrapped in sausage meat and deep-fried until crispy is pure genius.
Really, what could be better for breakfast or an afternoon snack than a Scotch Egg? Let’s rephrase that…what could be better for breakfast or an afternoon snack than a Primal Scotch Egg? The difference is slight – a Primal Scotch Egg doesn’t roll around in flour and breadcrumbs before being fried. The result is an egg that’s slightly less crunchy on the outside but no less delicious because the ingredients that really matter – a creamy, smooth hardboiled egg and seasoned meat that’s cooked until crisp – are still intact.
If there’s a brand of store-bought sausage you love and trust, this recipe is even easier. If not, make your own sausage meat and season it how you like.
As for the frying, you can go all the way and deep-fry the egg into an extra-crispy golden nugget or instead, just pan-fry in a generous amount of oil. Pan-frying the Scotch Egg is the easier route since it involves less mess, although you might have to finish the egg off in the oven to make sure the sausage is cooked through.
With this recipe the Scotch egg, once just a staple of pubs and the lunchboxes of British schoolchildren, can now be a part of a Primal lifestyle, too.
Servings: 4 Scotch Eggs
Ingredients:
4 eggs
3/4 pound sausage meat
Oil for frying
Instructions:
To hard boil the eggs, place in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling rapidly, turn the heat off and cover the pot with a lid for 10 minutes.
Then transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. When cooled, peel the eggs.
Divide the sausage met into 4 equal portions.
Use your hands to form each portion of meat into a flat pancake a few inches wide. Wrap the meat around an egg, gently shaping it so there are no cracks and the egg is completely hidden.
For pan-frying, preheat the oven to 375. Then, pour just enough oil/fat into a deep pan to coat the bottom of the pan. Heat for 2-3 minutes over high heat on the stove until the oil is shimmering.
Cook two eggs at time. Roll the eggs around every few minutes in the oil so all sides of the meat become nicely browned. Cook each egg for about 8 minutes total.
Transfer to the oven and cook for 6-8 minutes more until the sausage is cooked through.
Eat the eggs warm or cold. Serve alone or with pickles, mayonnaise or hot sauce.