Scotch Egg Breakfast

Yummy Scottish picnic food for breakfast!
     Scotch Eggs are a nice treat for breakfast, snacks or picnics.  A Scotch Egg is a hard boiled egg that is coated with sausage and bread crumbs, then deep fried.  A lighter colored Scotch Egg can be made by partially frying the egg and then baking the egg at a low temperature.  Why bother?  Markets and shops in Scotland fry the Scotch Eggs dark!  Scotch Eggs are usually sold as picnic or snack food, so frying till dark helps preserve the Scotch Egg.
     When I was a kid, we called Scotch Eggs by the name of Dinosaur Eggs.  What else would lay an egg that looks like this!
     Most Scotch Egg recipes call for loose un-cased sausage.  I used some nice lean ground pork and seasoned it with common sausage herbs and spices.  The result was a nicely flavored pork coating, without an over seasoned store bought sausage flavor.
     Trichinosis is a food borne illness that has been practically eradicated in American domestic pork.  There has not been a case of domestic pork trichinosis in America since the 1960's.  The cooking temperature standards for pork have been lowered a few times in the last twenty years.  In fact, there are several American chefs that offer pork tartare on menus.
     If you noticed the pink part of the pork coating in the pictures, you'll see that a small area was cooked medium rare.  I didn't try to recook the Scotch Egg, because I was not concerned with trichinosis contamination.  Outside of America, I would highly suggest cooking the ground pork, till it reaches a temperature of at least 155 degrees.  If I was cooking this Scotch Egg for customers, it would have been cooked till it was well done, so no menu disclaimer would have been required.
     Menu disclaimers are required by law for any meat that is served raw to medium.  I am Serve Safe certified nationally, so I know the requirements.  Las Vegas casino resorts usually only hire Serve Safe certified chefs, because of insurance liability and public relation reasons.  The Serve Safe test is not easy to pass and the standards are very high.    
   
Scotch Egg Recipe:
Cook an egg in salted boiling water, till it is hard boiled.
Cool the egg and remove the shell.
Set the egg aside.
Place about 5 to 6 ounces of lean ground pork in a mixing bowl.
Add 2 pinches of rubbed sage.
Add 1 pinch of marjoram.
Add 2 pinches of whole fennel seed.
Add 1 pinch of nutmeg.
Add sea salt and black pepper.
Mix the ingredients together.
Refrigerate the seasoned ground pork for 20 minutes, so the flavors meld.
Press the ground pork into a 1/2" thick large patty shape.
Set the hard boiled egg on the middle of the patty.
Pick the egg and patty up together and wrap the patty around the egg.
Gently press the ground pork against the egg evenly and try to form the pork into a large egg shape.
Roll the pork coated egg in fine bread crumbs.
Heat some vegetable frying oil in a deep sided pot to 360 degrees.  The oil must be at least 6" deep.
Use a fryer net to lower the Scotch Egg into the hot oil.
Fry the egg for 2 minutes and remove the egg from the frying oil.
Allow the Scotch Egg to set for 2 minutes.
Return the Scotch Egg to the hot oil and deep fry, till the pork coating is fully cooked.  (By frying in two stages, the inside of the Scotch Egg will heat evenly.)
Place the Scotch Egg on a dry towel and drain off any excess grease.

For Picnic or Snack:

Simply pack the Scotch Egg in a container with your choice of condiments like relish, pickles, chutney, hot sauce, mustard or mayonnaise.

For Breakfast:


Home Fries:
Heat a saute pan over medium heat.
Add 4 pats of unsalted butter.
Add 1 medium size blanched peeled russet potato that is cut into bite size pieces.
Season with sea salt and black pepper.
Add 1 green onion that is cut into bite size pieces.
Saute till the potatoes become a light golden color.
Set the home fries aside and keep them warm.

Grilled Tomato:
Lightly bread the top and bottom of a thick slice of plum tomato.
Season with sea salt.
Heat a saute pan over medium heat.
Add 2 pats of unsalted butter.
Grill the tomato on the top and bottom, but do not cook until it becomes soft.

Presentation:
Place a ring of the home fries around a plate, but leave the center bare.
Place a bed of Italian parsley sprigs on the center of the plate.
Place the grilled tomato on the parsley sprigs.
Place the Scotch Egg firmly on the grilled tomato pedestal.
Serve with condiments of your choice.

This Scotch Egg was delicious!  There was no overbearing over seasoned sausage flavor.  The seasoned ground pork has a nice comfortable sausage flavor.  The Scotch Egg is dark like they are in Scotland.  The carbonade flavor of the breaded pork coated egg is quite basic and appealing.  The simple home fry potato and grilled tomato are fitting for this Scotch Egg breakfast platter.  Delicious!  ...  Shawna