Scotch Eggs

Ingredients

• 7 large eggs (6 for boiling, 1 for coating)
• 500g good pork sausagemeat, or sausages with skins removed
• 2 tsp chopped sage
• 1 tsp chopped thyme
• 1 tsp English mustard
• 1/2 tsp ground mace
• 75g plain flour
• 125g coarse dried breadcrumbs or panko
• 1.5 litres sunflower oil for frying
• Salt and black pepper

Before you cook

• Bring a pan of water to a rolling boil and prepare a large bowl of iced water.
• Chop the sage and thyme finely.
• Mix the sausagemeat with the herbs, mustard, mace, half a teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper, then divide it into six equal balls.
• Set out three shallow bowls: one with flour, one with the remaining egg beaten, and one with the breadcrumbs.

Steps

1. Lower six eggs into the boiling water using a spoon.
2. Boil the eggs for exactly six minutes and thirty seconds for a set white and a soft, jammy yolk.
3. Lift the eggs straight into the iced water and leave them for five minutes.
4. Peel the eggs carefully under a trickle of cold water, which helps the shell slip away cleanly.
5. Pat each peeled egg dry and roll it lightly in flour.
6. Flatten one ball of sausagemeat between two sheets of cling film into a disc about 12cm across.
7. Peel off the top film, sit a floured egg in the centre and use the bottom film to wrap the meat up and around it.
8. Seal the sausagemeat with your fingers so there are no seams or thin patches, then repeat with the rest.
9. Roll each coated egg in flour, then in beaten egg, then press it firmly into the breadcrumbs.
10. Repeat the egg and breadcrumb stage a second time for a thicker crust.
11. Chill the coated eggs for fifteen minutes to firm up.
12. Heat the oil in a deep pan to 170C, checking with a thermometer.
13. Lower three eggs into the oil with a slotted spoon and fry for seven to eight minutes, turning them once, until deep golden brown.
14. Lift them onto kitchen paper and fry the second batch.
15. Rest the Scotch eggs for five minutes, then cut them in half to show the soft yolk and serve with English mustard or brown sauce.