Tasty Advice

Black pudding Scotch Eggs – love them!!

February 27, 2015 9:00 am

On the third Saturday of each month we have a Farmers Market in our town. Our favourite stall is run by a young couple who make Scotch eggs. The come in all sorts of flavours. Apart from the original they make Piri piri, sweet chilli, onion and black pudding eggs. By far the best is the black pudding scotch egg. We all love it, even our 5-year-old Grandson!

I have made Scotch Eggs many times before so I used my basic method but added a little fried onion for sweetness and chopped black pudding to the sausage meat. The eggs were absolutely delicious. I believe even those who do not like black pudding will love.

The Scotch egg’s origins are obscure. According to an article in the Telegraph (Feb 2011) the exclusive London trader Fortnum & Mason claims it invented the portable snack for rich coach travellers in 1738. “The eggs would have been smaller in those days,’’ says the company’s archivist Dr Andrea Turner. “They would have been pullet’s eggs rather than hen’s eggs, and the meat would have been gamier, like a strong Victorian pâté.’’

She believes that the eggs then filtered down the social ranks, first becoming a Victorian savoury using cheaper meats, and finally arriving at the mass-produced egg served in the pubs, cafés and at picnics in second half of the last century.

An alternative theory, suggested by Annette Hope in her book A Caledonian Feast, claims that the Scotch egg evolved from Nargisi Kofta, an Indian dish that is also made from minced meat and a boiled egg.

Neil Chambers’s explanation seems more likely: that it was a northern variant of the Cornish pasty produced by Scottish smallholders, who would have kept chickens and pigs. “It was a poor man’s lunch produced from leftovers that was easy to transport,’’ Neil says.

Meanwhile, the Scotch egg’s fame has spread abroad. “Skorchi eggs” have become a Japanese New Year delicacy and they are a best seller for the Nigerian food chain Mr Bigg’s.

Black pudding Scotch eggs Makes 3

1/2 small onion, finely chopped
oil
200g good quality pork sausage meat
100g good quality black pudding, finely diced
3 eggs
plain flour
1 egg, beaten
Dried natural breadcrumbs
Oil for frying

Fry the onion in a little oil until softened but not coloured. Remove from the heat and add to the sausagemeat in a bowl.
Add the black pudding and mix carefully until the black pudding is evenly distributed in the sausagemeat mix. Divide the mix into three balls then wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour to rest.
Boil the eggs for approximately 6 minutes then cool in iced water and peel.
Flatten each ball of mix until it is about 1 cm thick then wrap around the egg and mould so it is covered completely.
Put some flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs into separate bowls then coat the covered eggs firstly with flour, then beaten egg then breadcrumbs.
Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer to 160- 180C. If you are using a pan use a deep pan and 3/4 fill with oil to prevent it boiling over during cooking. Heat to the same temperature as before (best measured by a cooking thermometer). Carefully lower the eggs into the oil and cook for about 9 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Carefully remove from the oil and stand on kitchen paper to absorb any excess fat.
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