Scotch Eggs are a popular snack or appetizer made by wrapping a hard-boiled egg in spiced ground meat and then frying until crispy. While Scotch eggs did not originate from Nigeria, they are so popular that they can be considered a Nigerian delicacy. This article will guide you through making authentic Nigerian Scotch Eggs at home, ensuring a flavorful, savory, and simple experience with just a few ingredients!
A Nigerian scotch egg is also known as an African egg roll or African scotch egg. Some British who settled in Western Africa brought scotch eggs with them and Africans adapted it to suit their needs with convenient and affordable ingredients.
Traditional scotch eggs enjoy a sausage and breadcrumb coating and then are deep-fried. Best of all, you can chop the ingredients, and let them simmer while your eggs boil. Blend it with a touch of oil before frying the dough-wrapped eggs.
If there is one thing that you must serve with scotch eggs in Nigeria, it’s African pepper sauce. The spicy sauce enhances the buttery, savory boiled egg and slightly sweet, crunchy outer shell like nothing you’ve ever tasted.
There are lots of spices and herbs that will give your sausage meat a delicious punch e.g chilli, nutmeg, parsley, thyme, pimento, curry powder, ginger, garlic, cloves, rosemary, black pepper etc.
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Here’s how to make these delectable treats.
THESE SCOTCH EGGS ARE DIFFERENT! | SCOTCH EGG RECIPE | DIARYOFAKITCHENLOVER
Ingredients
- 4 medium eggs
- 500g sausage meat
- 1 cup bread Crumbs (panko or cornflakes crumbs)
- 1 egg (beaten)
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dry chilli pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder (optional)
- Finely chopped herb of choice (optional)
- Vegetable oil for frying
It is important to use good quality sausage meat for Scotch Eggs. So, make sure you’re not cutting corners.
Instructions
- Boil the Eggs: Gently place the eggs in a pot of water. Place over medium-high heat and cook for 5-12 minutes depending on how you like your eggs, from runny to hard-boiled. Put your eggs in cool water and let the eggs and water come to a boil together. Place boiled eggs in a bowl of cold water and leave to cool down. Peel eggs, and set aside. Dry eggs with paper towels.
- Season the Sausage Meat: Into the sausage meat, add salt and chilli powder. Mix and set aside. If using sausage links just remove the wrapping and mash up the meat with your hands. If your sausage is already seasoned with salt and other ingredients, you might want to omit the addition of extra salt, onion powder and herbs. On the other hand, if you have plain sausage, use any spice or herbs of your choice to season it.
- Prepare the Coating: In 3 separate bowls, place flour, beaten eggs and breadcrumbs. For the coating, you can use breadcrumbs (seasoned or unseasoned), crushed cornflakes or Japanese panko. Because I love the extra crispy crunch of panko, I use it regularly. Double dipping is another thing I am guilty of when making my easy Scotch egg.
- Wrap the Eggs: Coat a Boiled Egg with the Flour and dust lightly. Scoop some of the Sausage Meat onto a flat surface, flatten the sausage meat to make a round shape, you can use your palm as well. Roll eggs in flour, dust hands in flour and wrap eggs in sausage meat. Roll scotch egg in beaten eggs then roll in breadcrumbs. You can double dip, roll in beaten eggs then in breadcrumbs again. Try using plastic wrap to aid your egg wrapping. Lay plastic wrap on a flat surface, spread sausage meat on it, place your dusted boiled egg in the middle and roll to wrap, smooth with your hands. Remove the plastic wrap.
- Fry the Scotch Eggs: Pour the vegetable oil or your preferred cooking oil into a wok or deep saucepan. Heat up your vegetable oil in a deep frying pan or fryer. Place on medium heat. Do make sure the heat is neither too high nor too low. If it’s too high, the scotch eggs won’t cook all the way through and may soak in too much oil if it’s too low. When hot, using a slotted spoon carefully lower your eggs into the oil and fry for 8 minutes until golden brown. Don’t overcrowd the pan to avoid lowering the oil temperature too much for soggy Scotch eggs.
- Serve: Serve hot, warm or cold with hot sauce, mayonnaise or spicy ketchup, a salad and potatoes. Nigerian scotch eggs, as a snack, need some flavor-packed sauces. African pepper sauce is my go-to as you’ve probably noticed. My son even loves them with my homemade burger sauce.
Scotch Eggs are either fried or baked, I prefer to share the fried version as the baked version can be a tad bit clumsy and if not done properly, you’ll end up with split and messy Scotch Eggs.
For baked Easy Scotch Egg I haven't tried baking scotch eggs, although I will give it a shot one of these days. In case you want to bake yours, bake 200 deg C for 20-35 minutes. Start checking at the 20 minutes mark.
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Tips and Notes
- Coating your Easy Scotch Egg twice makes it crisper.
- You can crisp it further in the oven after frying.
How to make meat-free Nigerian Scotch eggs
Can we only make a Nigerian scotch egg recipe with meat? I don’t think so! But if you prefer a meat-free version, definitely try this recipe.
Making Egg Rolls
Egg Roll is a popular appetizer, snack, or pastry that is common in some countries in Africa like Nigeria, Cameroon, and Ghana. These are the countries I know of. An Egg Roll is simply hard-boiled egg coated with dough and deep-fried or baked. I have never baked my eggrolls, I find the deep-fried version more enjoyable. Feel fry to air fry or bake for healthier options. You will often see this at parties, gatherings, or special occasions. Trust me, I don't wait for all those, any time I crave egg rolls, I go straight to the kitchen and use this recipe. This recipe has many positive feedbacks on Youtube and Instagram, so relax and be confident because you will be a pro at making these. Eggrolls are super crunchy on the outside and soft inside. Pat dry with a paper towel before coating with dough.
Ingredients for Dough
- Baking powder: I prefer baking powder more than yeast because, with yeast, the dough is very light which I don't like.
- Melted Butter: I prefer melted butter because it creates a tender, firmer, more buttery crust. Most often I use melted butter for any deep-fried dough recipe.
Instructions for Dough
- In a bowl, combine the 2 eggs, milk, sugar and melted butter. Mix till well combined.
- In another seperate bowl, add flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Use a whisk and stir till combined.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients until a perfect dough is formed. The dough will be stretchy and slightly sticky but can be handled.
- Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes. Transfer to a floured working surface and divide into 10 equal portions.
- Flatten out each portion, place the egg, and fold, ensuring no surface of the egg is exposed. Roll, then gently press the sides to seal. See the image above.
- Deep fry on medium heat till golden brown. Make sure the oil is about 3 inches deep. That is about 4-6 cups of oil.
There are two methods for sealing the dough around the egg:
- Flatten out the dough into a circle, place the egg in the middle then fold to seal and smoothen on the working surface.
- Flatten the dough into an oval shape, place the egg on one end, bring the edges together then roll and gently press the edges like in the picture below. My favorite method.
Make Ahead and Storage Instructions
Feel free to make Scotch eggs a day or two ahead. Scotch eggs are best eaten same day as the crispy coating softens over time so I don't recommend making more than 12 hours in advance.
Refrigerate leftover African egg rolls in an airtight container for 3-5 days. To reheat, air fry Scotch eggs for a few minutes or bake them in a 350℉ (180℃) oven. Store cooked scotch eggs in the refrigerator in an airtight food container. They will keep for up to five days though the texture will become much softer during this time. For best results, reheat in the oven or an air fryer.
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Although scotch eggs can keep in the freezer for up to three months, freezing them is not recommended as the texture is all but lost during the freezing, thawing, and reheating process.
Don’t forget to come back with a feedback when you’ve replicated this yummy and easy Scotch Eggs recipe, Look forward to hearing from you.
