Vegetarian Scotch Eggs

Even with the fake sausage meat, this still isn't what I'd call health food. I served it with kippers, pickled onions, and other assorted leftovers. Scotch eggs are one of the few fried foods that stand up to being eaten cold the following day, though I'm not certain the fake meat is going to work well cold. We'll see.

This works well with pickled eggs, but I didn't think Danny would go for that, so I stuck with plain hard boiled. Danny did point out that he really doesn't care for hard boiled eggs, but that he would make an exception for these...you know, if I wanted to make a batch every day. Uh huh. Why am I not surprised?

You Will Need:

Hard boiled eggs, peeled and cooled
Fake sausage meat (I used Light Life, Gimme Lean Sausage Style)
Dry bread crumbs (I had my own, but any French bread style will do-I'd stick to unseasoned. I don't think Panko would be good here)
Oil for Frying (I used soybean because it can get quite hot without smoking and does not leave a heavy taste)


Boil your eggs. Easier said than done, I know. Here's what I do:

Place eggs in a pan. Cover with water. Add a teaspoon of white vinegar. Bring to a boil. Turn off heat and cover. let sit ten minutes on the burner, then ten off. That should do it. I have electric burners, I cannot vouch for gas.

Peel your eggs and pat the sausage substitute around the egg covering it completely. Roll it in bread crumbs and when they are all done. let them sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes before frying.

Heat a generous amount of oil for deep frying. You will want the oil quite hot (Around 350 degrees F.). KEEP AN EYE ON IT AT ALL TIMES. I shouldn't need to point that out, but I will anyway. It also helps to keep the lid to the pot handy in case you need to smother a flame quickly.

Fry the eggs a few at a time in the hot fat and drain on a rack over a baking sheet. The eggs should go at least five minutes, but as long as seven depending on the size of your eggs. I used large, and they took six minutes.

Be careful cutting into them as they can sometimes squirt a bit of oil.