19 Comments

Haven't had a traditional scotch egg since my Mum used to make them. We cut them in half and ate with our hands. Not sure whether to discuss my experience with a smoked mackeral scotch egg or quit while I am ahead...😏

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Soft rather than runny. The pork MUST, like a pork pie, be well seasoned with salt & white pepper; chillies unnecessary. Ale or stout is good, and a quail’s scotch egg is consumed in a oner hereabouts as a delicious canape with good quality champagne.

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I'm drooling now. Interesting you mention white pepper specifically...

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There was an excellent deli called Hobbs in S Audley St thirty years ago which made (according to the great gourmand Clement Freud) the best pork pies in the world. Quite superb hot water crust pastry, ample piquant jelly and a sensational pork filling with only plenty of white pepper added. My daily staple for several years. Now an estate agency, natch.

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Finally tackling the hard hitting issues of the day!

For the record, runny, with unadulterated meat and hot, possibly with a rose?

'Eggoistes'! - Brilliant!

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I must point out an egregious factual error in this story. You claim that Scotch eggs are "the finest food ever created" when they are in fact, the worst abomination ever to befoul the cuisine of any nation. The reason is sadly due to its key ingredient, the egg. A slimy, smelly, and fragile creation whose ultimate purpose is to create yummy feather covered creatures that are very tasty stuffed or deep-fried in batter. The egg itself can be used in baked goods but it's taste must be disguised by sugar, chocolate and other much tastier substances.

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Dead to me Douglas

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Compasses. That is all.

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As I said elsewhere I am a fan, however "the finest food"? A stretch perhaps. I would suggest vegetable pakora as an alternative.

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On the improvised weapon front, I’m not sure how the Pakora stacks up- Indian throwing star?

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Can’t comment. Doesn’t look like a pasty. Smell like a pasty or taste like one. However, a runny egg makes fine Napalm when chucked whereas a good pasty is like a Mills bomb. The frag is devastating. 🤣👍🏽👍🏽

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In these difficult times - splendid to be able to focus on this culinary icon -

I prefer the hard boiled egg version , served with coleslaw and potato salad ( yes I was single for an awfully long time)

My favourite are the ones at The Horeshoe Ebbesbourne Wake and as per a previous post on this thread , the Black Pudding ones are sensational

My preferred accompanying drink is a pint of bitter or if attempting to stage a recovery from the night before a Bloody Mary

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A bloody mary and scotch egg? I haven't lived!

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The Scotch Egg should be served warm, not hot, and never straight from the fridge. The one pictured in your local has the perfect yolk consistency. And, even though a really good Scotch Egg is really good, I'm passionately fond of the black pudding ones. What do you wash it down with? Why, Scotch. Just normal cooking whisky, not your best malt. Now, I must question your statement that Chicken Tikka Masala was an import from India. Most now believe it was created in either a restaurant in Glasgow or one in Birmingham. There is a great rivalry between said restaurants as to who created it. The Glasgow story is that someone asked for a curry without much heat in the sauce. The chef/owner made a typical base of chicken, onions etc, and then added a can of Heinz Cream of Tomato soup. As to tripe, if cooked properly it is delicious. I particularly like it done in the Madrid style, and most bars there have it available. If you can get tripe from your local butcher it is expensive. Just like Calves Liver and Cod Roe. Another great article, Mr Walters. More power to your elbow. 👍

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Living in France, scotch eggs are not generally available. I made some last year which I thought were successful. Eggs laid by our own chickens, hard boiled ( only just), minced pork meat seasoned with pepper and herbs de Provence and bound with an egg, home made bread-crumb coating. Eaten tepid if possible, halved, with salad, rosé wine or beer, would be my preference. And they are perfect picnic food like Arancini!

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I should be working on my literature review so this is a welcome excuse to procrastinate. I've had three exemplary Scotch eggs fairly recently: at the Compasses at Chicksgrove, The Old Ale House in Salisbury, and best of all at The Havelock in Brook Green (though I may just have been hungriest when I had that one). A nice, slightly runny yolk is always a good sign. An IPA to wash it down. Perfect.

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Haven't bought a Scotch egg for ages! I think many from shops are made with mechanically retrieved meat which makes one's stomach rather turn when I find a tiny bit of bone or gristle in one. Perhaps high time I made some myself... Read in to-day's The Daily Telegraph Business section that "Egg farmers are at risk go going bankrupt within months as surging feed prices and a supermarket price war leave them battling unsustainable losses, the industry has warned. The crisis in Ukraine has sent feed prices rocketing to £400 a tonne, according to the British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA), the same price the industry sells its eggs for on their own." Like the soaring price of fresh chickens, maybe we had better enjoy the humble Scotch egg now before it becomes a luxury item or eggs could be as rare as hen's teeth.

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A fine ode to a great food. For me, soft but not runny (slowly oozing is ideal). Just plain sausage, served with piccalilli and a pint…

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Slightly warm with some cold meat & salad & either tonic water or a cold stubby beer, and only in warmer weather. That’s the only way to eat a scotch egg for me! Husband differs slightly in that he’ll eat one any way it’s offered on a day with a Y in it.

Mind you that curry thing doesn’t look like a complete mess, open your mind Guy! Just like tripe done properly (fried with chilli & garlic since you didn’t ask) is actually quite nice a curried scotch egg might be surprising!

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