British Food 101 - Scotch Eggs

So, apparently, as explained by a few friends of mine who come from or resided in London and by the general stereotype, British food is bland and boring. A recount of my first British food experience. My friend Mark told me the first thing I need to do at Heathrow is march into M&S, and have a scotch egg. I like food, and trying new things, so that is exactly what I did.

Honestly, it was pretty gross. The egg was really really hard boiled, the sausage was ok, but the outer crust was moist and chewy. Granted, it was probably on the shelf for a week, and if it wasn't please PLEASE, don't judge scotch eggs from M&S or any supermarket.

What is a scotch egg? A scotch egg is consists of a hard boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried. I know, sounds amazing. Well, guess what? When they are made fresh, they really can be some of the finest of British cuisine.

Black Pudding Scotch Egg

Some of the best scotch eggs that I have devoured are from EAT MY PIES at Broadway market. They usually have a choice of about 8 different eggs ranging from a traditional pork sausage to more adventurous flavours such as Red Thai curry pork, Haggis and my personal favourite, Black Pudding. At the market, they slice them open, sprinkle with cracked pepper and salt, and down the hatch.

My favourite scotch egg thus far must be from The Bull and Last.  This place is my favourite pub in London, the food is amazing (and will have its own blog entry at some point), and they make the best scotch eggs ever. When I make a reservation here, I always order scotch eggs over the phone. They use great tasting pork, and when they half it and serve it to you with some Coleman's mustard, the yolk is nice and runny for an ultimate flavour explosion.

Note: Just to see if anyone really reads this thing, and for anybody interested. This Sunday I will be donning my apron and taking a crack(hopefully not the egg) at homemade scotch eggs. I will start basic with pork sausage most likely, but once I perfect it, you will want to come around for breakfast! Stay tuned for the results.

There you have it. Scotch eggs = nomnomnom. If you have a favourite in London, please let me know, and I will go there and compare to my findings. Please leave your comments and happy eating!