Why not liven up classic Scotch eggs with the gorgeous, deep flavor of black pudding and a hint of sweetness from fresh cox apple. This tasty twist on the picnic must-have is sure to impress and is surprisingly easy to make, great for snacks or even as a starter
Recipe Ingredients
- 8 eggs
- 1 x 500g pork mince
- 200g black pudding, finely chopped or crumbled
- 1 cox apple, coarsely grated
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- ½ teaspoon smoked Paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried Thyme
- 2 tbsp plain flour, for dusting
- 100g (3 1/2oz) panko breadcrumbs
- 1.5 ltr (2 1/2pt) sunflower or vegetable oil, for deep frying
Notes
- I found that using lean pork does not work as the less fat the harder it is to bind together to form a nice solid ball shape, fattier mince works best
- You do not want big thick pieces of Black pudding as again makes it harder to bind together when balling up the meat around the egg
- Smaller eggs the better (Bantam eggs are perfect)
- Once grated the apple (no need to peel) squeeze in a cloth (paper works well) as much of the juice as possible, otherwise creates too much moisture.
- The cooking time for the eggs depends if you want a runny yolk or not. The runnier the yolk the harder to wrap the meat around. If you want hard-boiled then just boil for longer and then peel
Method
- Put 6 eggs in a large pan of boiling water and simmer for 4-5 minutes (this can depend on the egg size), then drain and cool under cold, running water. When cool enough to handle, shell the eggs.
- Meanwhile, combine the pork mince, black pudding, apple, paprika and thyme in a large bowl, mixed together, you can use a spoon but binds better together if you get your hands in there! Season the mixture well with salt and pepper and divide into 6 patties.
- Flatten the patties and wrap one around each egg, moulding the mixture with your fingers until the egg is completely covered. I use a burger press to help give an even round shape, but just as easy to press into shape. Be very careful when wrapping the patty around the egg, the yolk is still soft and runny, so take time doing this and squeeze and pinch around to make sure there are no cracks.
- Beat the remaining eggs in a bowl.
- Put the flour and breadcrumbs into another two separate bowls. One at a time, dip each egg in the flour, followed by the egg and then in the breadcrumbs, turning to coat.
- In a deep pan, heat the oil to 170C. If you don’t have a kitchen thermometer, test the temperature by dropping in a cube of bread – if it turns golden in 30 seconds, the oil is hot enough. Cook the eggs in batches (scooping out any burnt breadcrumbs floating in the oil in between) for 6 minutes, until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper; leave to cool. Enjoy either hot or cold!
