Perfect for the
breakfast
tailgate! These Scotch Eggs
come out spherical and can be molded to
look like footballs and such. So feel
free to give them your own,
sports-oriented name, i.e. "Hail Mary's"
or "John Kruks."
Time Required: 1-2 hours
Skill Required: Moderate cooking
skills needed
Ingredients:
1 dozen eggs
3 packages of Jimmy Dean type
sausage; the kind that comes in the
tube, not the links.
2 packages of
bacon
1 package Canadian bacon, thinly
sliced; Note: Scrapple may be
substituted here and, in the opinion
of this cook, should be.
1 box/can of oatmeal; not the
instant stuff; real, actual oatmeal
Also needed: wax paper, aluminum
foil, and a baking sheet.
Steps:
Step One:
Hard boil 1 dozen extra-large eggs.
Place the eggs in a bowl of ice
water. This makes them easier to
peel.
When they are cool, peel the eggs.
Step Two:
Place the wax paper on a large
counter or table.
Unwrap the 3 sausage packages and
divide each one into fourths. On the
wax paper, flatten out each sausage
portion into a patty about 5 inches
by 8 inches. Don't worry about small
holes or tears.
If my calculations are correct,
you should have 12 sausage patties
to correspond with your 12 eggs.
Step Three:
Place two pieces of Canadian bacon
(or scrapple) on each sausage patty;
not one on top of the other, but
side-by-side, lengthwise.
Step Four:
In a skillet, brown the normal,
American, bacon just slightly (about
90 seconds on low heat).
Remove and place on a plate, not a
napkin. A napkin will rob the bacon
off its flavor and fatty goodness.
Place the bacon lengthwise on the
sausage patties (2-3 strips per
patty).
Step Five:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place the oatmeal in a bowl big
enough to get both of your hands in comfortably. You'll need room to
maneuver and coat the eggs with the oatmeal.
The tricky part: Take one egg at a time and roll the
sausage, Canadian bacon and American
bacon around it all at once. Think
of rolling sushi or, uh, your own cigarettes. It's tough, but it
doesn't need to be perfect. The
sausage will stick to the wax paper and the
Canadian bacon will keep poking
through the sausage. But try mashing it
together like a big, fat hamburger.
This is a tailgate, not Tavern on the
Green.
When it has the desired shape, or
close to it, carefully put it in the
oatmeal. Coat the egg with the
oatmeal and, as you do, keep mashing
it to give an even better form. Continue
to generously coat the egg until no
more oatmeal will stick. Oatmeal helps
keep it together, so get as much as possible on each egg.
Place the egg on the baking sheet.
Repeat eleven times. Your
technique will improve tremendously.
Step Six:
Place the eggs in the oven (375
degrees) for about 45 minutes. Turn
them frequently or else the bottoms will
burn and some of the fat or grease
may be lost on the pan.
Step Seven:
Take them out of the oven. As you
do, wrap each one in aluminum foil individually. Refrigerate or head
straight to the tail gate with them.
(Note: They'll keep for at least a
week in the fridge.)
Step
Eight: The tailgate.
Once the grill is going, place the
Scotch Eggs on it and cover the
grill.
Are you still with me? Good. The
aluminum foil will keep them from
burning while they reheat. Reheating times
will vary depending on the grill.
Slicing one in half to test for a
hot yolk is a good indicator of
readiness. A hearty sizzle of fat and other
nutrients is a good sign also.
Step
Nine:
When ready, remove from grill,
unwrap and enjoy!
