You know when you want to make something for a long time but you don’t have all the ingredients and then your husband just happens to bring home almost the ingredients you need and you make it from what you’ve got? Well, that is the story of these Scotch Eggs. I call them …kinda Scotch Eggs because they are not breaded nor deep fried. Still, these are delicious and could easily be the centre piece of a meal. They are the size of a baseball… though this could be because I had a heck of a time rolling the meat around my soft boiled eggs (important, so as not to have a rock-hard yolk after baking), breaking the first yolk ruined meat-rolling my confidence (the rest were perfect though). And feel free to use actual sausage meat, though I really enjoyed adding the spices myself.

Scotch Eggs

INGREDIENTS

• 4-6 eggs (more or less, depending on your meat-rolling skills)
• 2 lbs ground pork (or use sausage meat and skip the spices)
• 3/4 cup ground cheese of choice (I used habanero cheddar)
• 2-3 hot peppers of choice, diced (optional)
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp crushed red chili pepper flakes
• 2 tsp ground sage
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 6 strips of bacon

DIRECTIONS

1. Soft boil your eggs! First, start a medium pot of water on high heat. When it comes to a boil, use a spoon to gentle drop in your eggs. Let them boil for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit in the water for 10 minutes. Drain the boiling water and shake the pot to crack the eggs against the side, making sure the all have some cracks, pour cold water overtop and let sit for 5 minutes. Peel, rinse, and set aside to totally cool.
2. Heat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the pork with the spices, getting in there with your hands, mix it until the spices are evenly distributed.
4. Take a ball of meat, slightly larger than your eggs and flatten it in your hand, the length of your hand, if not a little longer. I was terrible at this part, so don’t feel like you are doing it wrong. Add more meat if needed.
5. Sprinkle some cheese into the centre of the meat, add some hot pepper.
6. Place the egg gently on the meat and bring the sides up to cover the egg, smooth gently to enclose the egg totally. Place on prepare baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the eggs.
7. Sprinkle some cheese on top of each egg. Take your strips of bacon and wrap lengthwise around the Scotch eggs, tucking the ends under the eggs.
8. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the pork is cooked.
9. Serve with a salad, soup, alone, for breakfast, you get it.

All that’s missing in this picture is the cheese, oh and the spices and bacon. Honestly, the combo pictured here would’ve almost been delicious enough.

This is a terrible picture, I know, but I had meaty hands and was trying to balance the giant camera. In any case, the peppers are hiding under the cheese.

Rolled, wrapped, and ready to roast!