Here’s the recipe for our Mayo version of a Scotch Egg.

We feature it as a a special in New Antrim Street and it recently won best in Connacht in a competition entitled ‘Eggs for Anytime’ run by Bord Bia.

CAFÉ RUA KELLY’S SCOTCH EGG

Makes 4

Ingredients

– 6 eggs
– 400g sausage meat – Kelly’s breakfast sausages
– 130g Kelly’s black pudding, crumbled
– 2 tbsps chopped mixed herbs (chives, sage, parsley and thyme, rosemary are all good)
– 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
– splash of milk
– 100g flour
– 100g breadcrumbs
– vegetable oil, to cook
– 4 slices brown bread
– 50g mixed leaves

Method

1. Put four of the eggs into a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for five minutes, then put straight into a large bowl of iced water for at least 10 minutes.

2. Put the meat, pudding, herbs, and mustard into a bowl – you’ll need to add very little seasoning, as the sausage meat will already contain salt. Mix well with your hands. Divide into four.

3. Carefully peel the eggs.

4. Beat the two raw eggs together in a bowl with a splash of milk. Put the flour in a second bowl and season it with salt and pepper, then tip the breadcrumbs into a third bowl. Arrange in an assembly line.

5. Lightly flour an egg, pat out some meat mix on a lightly floured board and carefully encase the egg in it. Repeat the process for all the eggs. Dip each meat-covered egg in flour, then egg wash, then breadcrumbs.

6. Fill a deep saucepan pan a third full of vegetable oil, and heat to 170°C (or when a crumb of bread sizzles and turns golden, but does not burn, when dropped in it). Keep the heat under the oil moderate throughout cooking, so the crumbs achieve nice dark golden colour, yet the meat is cooked thoroughly. Cook the eggs, a couple at a time, for eight minutes, until crisp and golden, then drain on kitchen paper before serving.

7. Serve with mixed leaves and some brown bread.