Last Spring, I was on a bit of a quail egg kick. They are just so tiny and adorable, I couldn’t stop buying them! After a while, I was looking to get creative with my quail eggs, so I tried them in this “Scotch Egg” recipe and it was love at first bite. No fear though, if you don’t have quail eggs, just use regular eggs and the recipe will make about half.
Ingredients
12 quail eggs or 6 chicken eggs
2 additional chicken eggs
20 oz ground pork sausage
1 c panko bread crumbs
¾ c all purpose flour
½ tsp dry mustard
1 tsp dried thyme
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch paprika
Vegetable oil (for frying)
Sauce Ingredients
½ c mayonnaise
2 tbsp grainy mustard
1 tbsp curry powder
Directions
Fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. If using chicken eggs, cook 6 of the eggs in boiling water for 10 minutes. If using quail eggs, cook 12 of them in boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and place eggs in a bowl with ice water to stop the cooking process. Once cool enough to touch, carefully peel and dry the outside of the eggs with a paper towel.
Remove sausage from casings and combine with dry mustard, nutmeg, paprika, and thyme. Divide into uniform sized portions equaling the number of eggs you are using. Flatten one portion of sausage in between layers of plastic wrap so it looks like a thin patty (the plastic helps with sticking). Place a boiled egg in the middle of the patty and wrap the sausage around the egg until it is completely enclosed. Repeat this process with the remaining eggs and portions of sausage.
Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil to 350 degrees F in a Dutch oven or large pot. Set up a breading station with one bowl of flour, one bowl containing the 2 remaining eggs whisked with a little water, and one bowl with the breadcrumbs. Dip each egg first into the flour (shaking off any extra), then into the egg mixture, and finally into the breadcrumbs.
Working in batches, fry the eggs (no more than 4 at a time) until dark brown, 4 to 6 minutes or until the center of the meat reaches 160 F. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, and let cool.
For the sauce combine mayonnaise, mustard, and curry in a bowl and mix well. Serve with scotch eggs.