Last week I mentioned that I would be making Scotch eggs. I am still going to make them today, but I discovered this past week that they are not actually Scottish! Who knew?
In fact, according to Encyclopedia Britannica,“Scotch egg[s], [are] a traditional British dish consisting of a shelled hard-boiled egg that is wrapped in sausage, covered in breadcrumbs, and then deep-fried or baked until crispy. It is a popular pub and picnic dish and is commonly served cold in Britain. The Scotch egg has competing origin stories. Fortnum & Mason, a London department store known for its food products, maintains that it created Scotch eggs in 1738 for wealthy travelers on carriage rides. Another theory asserts that the dish evolved from northern India’s nargisi kofta (an egg covered in minced meat and served with curry), which returning soldiers and others introduced to England. A third story claims that it was invented by Scottish farmers as an inexpensive dish.”
If that is not confusing enough, I then read somewhere else that they may have been a North African invention, brought to England by way of France. And still, another site stated that their origin is rooted in the coastal Yorkshire town of Whitby. So your guess is as good as mine, reader!
For this endeavor, I chose to use a recipe by Jamie Oliver as my guide. His recipe is for eight servings; however, I decided to half this since that is a little much for just me and Mr. C. I made a few modifications to the wording of the recipe, but otherwise, it is essentially the same as Mr. Oliver’s. Oh, and here is a shoutout to my sweet Mr. C, who helped a great deal with these last night. And who persevered even when the first batch nearly burned and I got mad at him. He’s a keeper.
Ready? Alright, then let’s start cooking our British-but-not-Scottish dish!
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