Slice a Hairy Bikers scotch egg pie and you find whole boiled eggs in peppery sausage meat, sealed in a lard and butter shortcrust. With Perfect Pies serving it to 6, I make it about 1 hour 20 minutes and roughly 720 calories a slice.
Their pitch is “a deconstructed Scotch egg in a pie”, so the breadcrumbs go into the sausage meat instead of round the outside. And they add that “if this doesn’t scream brown sauce, nothing does”, which settles what goes on the table with it.
The eggs sit in 6 hollows pressed into the first layer of sausage meat, each with its pointy end facing the centre. After that the rest of the meat goes over the top, so every egg is fully wrapped before the lid seals it in.
Hairy Bikers Scotch Egg Pie
Description
Sausage meat squeezed from its skins is mixed with breadcrumbs and black pepper, and half is spread over a pastry base. Then six peeled hard-boiled eggs are pressed in, covered with the rest and baked under a glazed pastry lid.
Ingredients
For the filling
For the shortcrust pastry
Instructions
- Boil the eggs: Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the fridge-cold eggs and boil for 9 minutes. Then drain and cool them under cold running water.
- Make the filling: Separate the sausages, untwist the skins and squeeze the meat into a bowl with the breadcrumbs. Then season with lots of black pepper and squish it all together with clean hands.
- Make the pastry: Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6, then pulse the flour, butter and lard in a food processor until it looks like breadcrumbs. With the motor running, add the egg and water and process until it forms a ball.
- Line the plate: Halve the pastry and roll one piece on a floured surface slightly thicker than a £1 coin, then line a 23 to 25cm pie plate. Then leave the excess overhanging and spread half the sausage filling over the base, right to the sides.
- Add the eggs: Make 6 evenly spaced hollows with the back of a spoon, then peel the eggs and set one in each, pointy end to the centre. Then cover with the rest of the sausage meat.
- Lid and bake: Roll out the rest of the pastry, brush the case edge with egg and lift the lid over the filling, then press, trim and seal. Next glaze the top, make a small hole in the centre and bake on a baking tray for 45 to 55 minutes. Once the pastry is golden brown and the filling cooked right through, serve it hot or cold.
FAQs
Do you eat scotch egg pie hot or cold?
Either, since they say to serve it hot or cold. And their Mums Know Best Scotch eggs are “perfect for a coach trip or a picnic”, so I’d slice this cold too.
How long do you boil the eggs for scotch egg pie?
The eggs go into boiling water straight from the fridge for 9 minutes, then cool under cold running water. But their Mums Know Best Scotch eggs start in cold water and boil for just 5 minutes, for a slightly runny middle. And the pie recipe doesn’t say why it goes so much longer, so I’d simply follow its 9 minutes.
How do you know when scotch egg pie is cooked?
They give it 45 to 55 minutes at 200°C, until the pastry is golden and the filling is cooked right through to the centre. So at 45 minutes I check the middle with a probe thermometer, looking for 75°C in the sausage meat.
What twists do they do on a scotch egg?
Their Mums Know Best scotch eggs suggest swapping half the sausage meat for black pudding, or trying smoked haddock. And the same book has nargis kebabs, which they call an Indian version rolled in a crunchy sesame seed coating.
Plus Chicken & Egg wraps pickled eggs in sausage meat and a crushed-crisp and panko crust, inspired by drinkers in Scottish bars.
What pastry does scotch egg pie use?
It’s a shortcrust made with 100g of butter and 75g of lard, bound with a beaten egg and a tablespoon of cold water. For hot water crust instead, their Perfect Pies ham and egg pie hides 12 quails’ eggs in ham hock and pork.
And if you like sausage meat in pastry without the eggs, their sausage plait from Mums Know Best wraps it in criss-cross strips.
