Ted gets egged on ..

Apparently the “Scotch egg” contrary to its name, did not originate in Scotland.  It is claimed by Fortnum and Mason (long time fancy providore of London Piccadilly) that they invented it as far back as 1738.  Supposedly it was a portable snack for rich folk to take on long coach journeys. Not everyone agrees with this though and there are other theories about where it came from, such as it was inspired by an Indian dish called Nargisi Kofta.  Another one is that it was a northern variation on the Cornish pasty, and was indeed made by Scottish farmers of small land holdings who would have had the necessary raw ingredients. 

So what exactly is a Scotch egg then Ted I hear you say (yes you did I heard you) well to quote wicked pedants, sorry I mean Wikipedia, it is made up of a hard boiled egg, wrapped in a pork sausage meat mixture, coated in breadcrumbs, and deep fried.  Regarded usually as a snack or picnic food, nowadays it is generally served cold, although the Victorians were known to have regularly served it hot as well.

There are many variations on the classic theme.  There is the Blackwatch made with black pudding. There is haggis, venison, vegetarian, gluten free, english breakfast with tomato and bacon, and even a haddock version (yes fish!!). There are some called wee ones made with quail’s eggs instead of hen’s eggs, and some have crisps or cornmeal replacing the breadcrumbs on the outside.

The weirdest sounding ones I reckon are the “Manchester egg” – a pickled egg wrapped in a mixture of pork meat and black pudding and the “Worcester egg” – the egg is first pickled in Worcestershire sauce.

The Scotch egg has made its way to many places around the globe, including America, where it now regularly appears as bar food.  In Japan they are called “Skorchi eggs” and are a delicacy for celebrating New Year. It’s no wonder that they have become so popular in Japan as their other traditional New Year food is a glutinous rice cake called “Mochi” which is quite difficult to swallow and consequently manages to kill a few elderly folk each New Year. Mochi roulette anyone??