Scotch egg

Scotch egg

Scotch egg, halved
Type	Picnic food
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Main ingredients	Hard-boiled egg, sausage, bread crumbs
Cookbook: Scotch egg  Media: Scotch egg

A Scotch egg consists of a hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated in bread crumbs and baked or deep-fried.

Origin

The London department store Fortnum & Mason claims to have invented Scotch eggs in 1738,^[1][2] but they may have been inspired by the Mughlai dish nargisi kofta ("Narcissus meatballs").^[3]

The earliest printed recipe appears in the 1809 edition of Mrs. Rundell's A New System of Domestic Cookery. Mrs. Rundell—and later 19th-century authors—served them hot, with gravy.^[4]

Serving

Scotch eggs are a common picnic food. In the United Kingdom packaged Scotch eggs are available in supermarkets, corner shops and motorway service stations. Miniature versions are also widely available, sold as "savoury eggs", "picnic eggs", "party eggs", "snack eggs", "egg bites" or similar. These contain chopped egg or a quail's egg, rather than a whole chicken egg, and sometimes contain mayonnaise or chopped bacon.

In the United States, many "British-style" pubs and eateries serve Scotch eggs, usually served hot with dipping sauces such as ranch dressing, hot sauce, or hot mustard sauce. At the Minnesota State Fair Scotch eggs are served on a stick.^[5] Scotch eggs are available at most Renaissance Festivals from Maryland to Texas.^[6][7]

In the Netherlands and Belgium, Scotch eggs may also be called vogelnestje ("little bird's nest") because they contain an egg or eierbal ("eggball").

Regional variations

Several local variations exist. The Manchester egg uses a pickled egg wrapped in a mixture of pork meat and Lancashire black pudding,^[8] and the Worcester Egg, where the egg is first pickled in Worcestershire sauce and then clad in a mixture of local sausage meat and white pudding.

In the Netherlands a similar snack item called an eierbal is served hot, mostly in the northern and eastern regions of the country.

See also

• kwek-kwek
• Jalapeño popper, a similar dish involving Jalapeno pepper.

References

1. "Single Hen Scotch Egg". Fortnum & Mason. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
2. Glancey, Jonathan (5 November 2007). "A facial at Fortnums? Never!". The Guardian.
3. Oxford Companion to Food, s.v. kofta and Scotch egg
4. Oxford Companion to Food, s.v. Scotch egg
5. "Food Finder". Mnstatefair.org. Archived from the original on 30 August 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
6. "#9: Eat a scotch egg, ride a slide ... at the Renaissance Festival | 30 things before 30". 30thingsbefore30.wordpress.com. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
7. "The Texas Renaissance Festival’s "Five Bucket" List Delights to Die For | Eat Drink SETX – Southeast Texas Restaurants and Bars – Food – Drink – Event Guide". Eatdrinksetx.com. 25 November 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
8. Naylor, Tony (29 April 2010). "A plan is hatched: the Manchester egg". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 July 2010.