Scotch Egg Of The Week

One of life’s little mysteries is why a scotch egg which has no obvious associations with Scotland is so called and as with many irritating questions, there seems to be no definitive answer. One theory is that it is a reference to the process of scotching which involved the mincing of meat, an important step in making a scotch egg.

Another theory is that the name references the practice in the 19th century of dipping eggs in a lime powder solution to preserve them ahead of shipping. This was also known as scotching and as the eggs were discoloured it is suggested that wrapping them in meat was a way to disguise their appearance. Alternatively, one of the early suppliers of scotch eggs was William J Scott & Sons of Whitby, although the eggs were originally covered in fish paste rather than sausage meat, It is suggested that the name Scotties eventually evolved into Scotch eggs.

Be that as it may the scotch egg is one of my favourite snacks, although even I would have blanched at the whopper knocked up by Phoenix Ross and Oli Paterson in Enfield on June 17th this year (2025). Weighing 7.81 kg and with a circumference of 79.5 centimetres, some 11.5 cm wide and with a wall of sausage meat 6 cm thick, it has been crowned by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest Scotch egg, a record that had been held for twenty years by a creation weighing a puny 6.2 kg.

 The duo succeeded in creating their monster at the second attempt. Using an ostrich egg as the basis, it was hard boiled, the shell becoming so sturdy that they had to use a hammer to crack it, and then it was wrapped in sausage meat, covered in bread crumbs, and then deep fried. The first one fell apart but once the second attempt came out of the fryer, it was weighed and then cut open with a sword, naturally.

After the obligatory photo shots of the duo sinking their teeth into the egg, both are social media foodies, the rest was cut up and made up into burritos for freezing and later consumption.

Well done!