Cook by the Book: Scotch Eggs

Ok, friends! I mentioned a few weeks that my friend, Missy, and I were planning something fun and here it is:

COOK BY THE BOOK!

On several occasions during the last few years, Missy and I have commented to each other on how even though we have such great cookbooks, the convenience of internet has caused us to fall into the habit of quickly searching the web for a recipe rather than perusing the pages of our now dusty cookbooks. Anyone else?

So, we’re bringing back the cookbook! We’re setting a goal to use our cookbooks (culinary magazines count too) regularly and post our recipe reviews on our blogs.

For my first cookbook spotlight, I’d like to introduce you to A Literary Tea Party: Blends and Treats for Alice, Bilboa, Dorothy, Jo, and Book Lovers Everywhere and the Scotch Egg! I’ve been wanting to try a scotch egg for some time now and I figured it would take a few tries with different recipes. But this first recipe was a winner! Simple instructions, great flavor, and fun to make.

Scotch Eggs

Ingredients:

7 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp. salt, divided

3/4 cup Panko crumbs

12 oz. finely ground breakfast sausage

1/2 Tbsp. finely chopped green onion

1 Tbsp. bacon bits

1/4 tsp. pepper

4-6 cups vegetable oil

Instructions:

Lightly beat 1 egg and set aside. Add the remaining eggs to a pot with 1 tsp. salt. Fill the pot with water until the eggs are covered and place it over medium heat. When the water begins to boil, remove it from the heat and cover for 6-8 minutes. Drain and rinse the eggs in cold water repeatedly until they reach room temperature. Peel and discard the shells.

(*Instead of boiling the eggs, I pressure cooked the eggs using my instant pot with this recipe but decreased the time to 4 minutes on the cooking time and 4 minutes on the vent time to keep it a soft egg. Next time I might try 3 minutes on each.)

Place the beaten egg and Panko crumbs in 2 separate bowls. Remove the sausage from its casing and add it to a medium-sized bowl. Knead the green onion, bacon bits, 1/2 tsp. salt, and pepper to the sausage.

Heat the oil in a large pot until sizzling.

While the oil heats, wrap the eggs as thinly as possible in the sausage. Do this by dividing the sausage into 6 equal parts rolled into balls and then flattening them.

Place an egg in the center and work the sausage around the egg until completely encased (This worked well!).

Repeat for the remaining eggs.

Roll the sausage-wrapped eggs in the beaten egg. Then roll them into the Panko crumbs.

Lower 2-3 eggs into the oil and cook 2-3 minutes or until golden brown (I flipped them at 1 1/2 minutes). Cut into the sausage layer of 1 egg to check for doneness.

Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon or tongs and set them on a paper towel-lined plate and drain for 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining eggs.

Y’all, this recipe was so delicious, and it got the approval of my husband and kids. We are all big fans of the Scotch Egg now! The addition of the green onion and bacon bits in the sausage added more depth to the flavor, not that sausage needs more flavor but, boy, was it so good! It will most definitely go in the rotation.

And this cookbook has so many other fun recipes, especially if you’re a lover of books and tea and tea tasties!

I hope you enjoyed my very first Cook by the Book post and that you’ll join me again for another cookbook and recipe next week! Be on the lookout for upcoming cookbook posts from Missy as well! We might not always post our recipes on the same day so be sure and subscribe to her blog The Woods at Whippoorhill so you don’t miss her new recipes!