Recipes

Chef Craig Flinn's Scotch Egg with East Coast Shellfish

Halifax chef, restaurant owner, and cookbook author Craig Flinn is a huge supporter of fresh, local, and high-quality food. Try his East Coast Shellfish “Scotch” Egg—a dish that will certainly impress your guests and family.

Serves:
6
Prep Time:
40 min
Cook Time:
5 min

Ingredients

Shellfish sausage mixture

  • 10 oz ( 285 g ) raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
  • 8 oz ( 230 g ) fresh scallops
  • 1 tsp ( 5 mL ) salt
  • ½ tsp ( 2.5 mL ) white pepper
  • 3 dashes of Tabasco
  • 1 egg white
  • 2 cup ( 500 mL ) breadcrumbs
  • ¼ cup ( 60 mL ) 35% whipping cream
  • 6 oz ( 175 g ) fresh lobster or crabmeat
  • 4 green onion tops, finely chopped
  • 3 sprigs fresh tarragon or dill, finely chopped
  • Half lemon zest and juice

Scotch eggs

  • 1 cup ( 250 mL ) flour
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1 1/2 cups ( 375 mL ) panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 tsp ( 5 mL ) salt
  • 1 tsp ( 5 mL ) pepper
  • 6 hard boiled eggs, cooled and peeled
  • 6 cups ( 1.5 L ) canola or vegetable oil for frying
  • Ice cubes for ice bath

Instructions

For the shellfish sausage mixture

  1. In a food processor, add half the shrimp and scallops, salt, white pepper, Tabasco, and egg white. Add breadcrumbs and pulse until the shrimp and scallops are chopped up a bit, and then turn on high and add the cream in a slowly, blend until the mixture is smooth like a mousseline.
  2. Finely chop the remaining shrimp, scallops, and lobster or crabmeat and add it to the bowl of mousseline. Add the chopped green onions, tarragon or dill, and lemon juice and zest. Fold everything together until smooth. Refrigerate the shellfish mixture until ready to assemble the scotch eggs.

For the scotch eggs

  1. Place the flour, eggs, and panko breadcrumbs in three separate bowls. Season the flour and eggs with half of the salt and pepper and mix well. Divide the shellfish sausage mixture into 6 equal sized portions.
  2. Dust your hands in the flour to help prevent sticking. In one hand, flatten out a thin portion of sausage in your palm. Roll one egg in the flour and then place it in the middle of your hand, folding the sausage around it using a spoon until it wraps the egg completely. Repeat this for the remaining 5 eggs and place them in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to firm up slightly before breading.
  3. Roll each Scotch egg in flour, then the beaten eggs, and finally the panko breadcrumbs. Heat the oil in a steep sided pot to 340°F (170°C). Carefully submerge each egg into the oil using a slotted spoon and fry until deep golden brown, or about 4 to 5 minutes, rolling them around in the oil as they cook.
  4. Remove from the oil and rest on a plate lined with paper towel to absorb any extra oil. Slice each egg open to reveal the golden, slightly soft egg yolk in the center and season the yolk with a little sea salt and pepper. Serve with some tangy cocktail sauce or simply a wedge of lemon.