Hobbit Week: Shire Baked Scotch Eggs

Chris-Rachael Oseland

10 years ago

This hearty pub grub makes a perfect luncheon for anyone fresh back from a tiring morning adventure. Serve it alongside a hearty crust of country bread and a fresh picked salad and you won’t feel the least bit peckish until afternoon tea.

Scotch Eggs are traditionally a deep fried decadence. However, fat was often very expensive in rural communities, and even when it was available in excess, only wealthy households or taverns had the kitchen technology necessary to safely boil a whole pot of it. In honor of frugal hobbits, I present this more everyday baked version of the fried treat. If you’re feeling bold and decadent, you can certainly pop these into your deep fryer instead of baking them and enjoy delicious results.

Shire Baked Scotch Eggs

3 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ tbsp salt + 1 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground black pepper
3 1/2 tbsp paprika
1/3 tbsp fennel seed
1 tbsp savory (or rubbed sage)
1 tbsp rosemary
2 c / 300 g coarse breadcrumbs*
6 hard boiled eggs
1 raw egg
2 1/4 lbs / 1 kg ground beef, pork, or a mix of both

Mix the garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, fennel, savory and rosemary.

Add 1 tbsp of the spice mix plus the extra 1 tsp salt to the breadcrumbs.

Mix the raw egg and the rest of the spice blend into the ground beef to create a sticky dough.

Divide the meat mix into six portions. Flatten them out then wrap the meat tightly around each hard boiled egg until you have six baseball sized meatwads.

Whisk together the raw egg and 1 tbsp water.

Set up an assembly station. You want one bowl with the raw egg, another with the seasoned breadcrumbs, and an aluminum foil lined baking sheet with a meat rack on it at the end.

Roll the meatballs in the beaten egg. Once they’re nice and sticky, roll them in the seasoned breadcrumbs.

Arrange the breaded scotch eggs on the meat rack. This keeps the Scotch Eggs from sitting in their own juices as they bake. If you don’t put them on a rack, they’ll end up somewhat greasy and the bottom crust will be soggy.

Bake at 375F/190C for 45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes.

If you’ve used properly fatty meat, you’ll have a nice pool of seasoned grease beneath your meat rack. Go ahead and sop some up with a hunk of crusty bread. It’s delicious.

Serve the Scotch Eggs cut in half with a sprinkle of pepper and a dab of hot mustard.

GLUTEN FREE OPTION

To make these gluten-free, substitute ground, gluten-free cornflakes for breadcrumbs. About 6 cups of cornflakes pulsed in a food processor or blender should give you two cups of crumbs. This won’t be entirely true to Tolkien, since new world foods were strictly prohibited from the Shire. However, the cornmeal crust will play nicely with your digestive system while also resulting in somewhat crunchier baked Scotch Eggs.