I have to admit that the first time I "made" scotch eggs, in culinary school, I failed miserably, and that scared me off from the dish until The Truffleist asked me to develop this recipe. And honestly, I was quite sad about it, because I love scotch eggs! I'd never heard of the dish until I moved to England, and then was absolutely fascinated by it. I mean, it's meat-wrapped eggs, deep fried...what could be bad about that?! Even better, it's generally served at pubs, which means you're encouraged to enjoy a nice beer along with it!
So I took on this challenge sort of expecting to fail again, but determined to get it right this time. And holy moly did I ever. I'm no longer scared of making scotch eggs, and they might even be a new regular addition to brunches in a post-covid future.
TRUFFLE SCOTCH EGGS
makes 4 scotch eggs
6 ea eggs
1 lb ground pork, or mild sausage meat
1 Tbs The Truffleist truffle sauce
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp garlic powder
½ c flour
¾ c panko
1 qt neutral oil (grapeseed, vegetable, canola, etc)
Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Gently drop four of the eggs in, and set a timer for 6-7 minutes, depending on how well done you like your eggs (6 min will be fairly runny in the center, 7 will be jammier). Once the eggs are done, transfer them to a bowl of ice water to stop them cooking, or run continuously under very cold water for about 5 minutes. Keep the eggs cold while you work.
While the eggs cook, combine the ground meat, truffle sauce, salt, and garlic powder in a mixing bowl, and use your hands to thoroughly mix. Loosely cover with cling film and set aside.
Prepare your dredging station: add the flour to a plate, and the panko to a second plate. Beat the remaining two eggs in a bowl, and place between the two plates. In addition, set up a baking sheet lined with a wire rack.
Pour the oil into a small - medium sized pot. The oil should come up to about an inch from the top of the pot — high enough to submerge the scotch eggs, but with enough room that the pot won’t overflow. Heat the oil to 350F, using a thermometer or the “breadcrumb test’: place a tiny pinch of breadcrumbs in the oil, and if they begin to bubble and fry quickly, the oil is hot enough. If you’re not using a thermometer, you’ll want to keep adjusting the heat to the pot as you fry the scotch eggs, so they don’t cook too quickly.
To prepare the eggs, divide the meat into four even portions. Peel the eggs and pat dry if they are wet at all. Handle them gently, as the center isn’t cooked all the way and they’ll be fragile. Work with one egg at a time. Take a portion of the truffled meat and flatten it in the palm of your hand, then place the egg in the center and wrap the meat around to seal it in. Take care to make sure that the egg is fully sealed in by the meat, with no gaps.
Place the meat-wrapped egg in the flour, rolling around to coat it, then gently tap off the excess. Dip into the beaten egg, letting any excess drip off, and then roll around in the breadcrumbs. Use a slotted spoon to gently drop the egg into the oil, and fry until golden on both sides, about 3-5 minutes, carefully rolling them over halfway through to make sure they cook evenly.
Use the slotted spoon to remove the scotch egg from the oil and transfer to the wire rack, to allow any extra oil to drain off. Repeat with the remaining eggs.
Serve with The Truffleist truffle mustard for extra truffle goodness!
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