Saturday, April 15, 2017

Kosher for Passover Scotch Eggs

Passover always presents a culinary challenge. Eliminating flour is one thing, but cutting the traditionally avoided kitniyot (beans, corn, rice, and other grains) is quite another. My reliance on bean-related ingredients (fermented and otherwise) usually means I do little cooking during the week of Passover. My only contribution this year was chicken kebabs and brussels sprouts. Ariel suggested I make a kosher for Passover version of Scotch eggs. Scotch eggs were one of my earliest posts, and remain a family favorite, so this sounded like a fun experiment.


I will always maintain Scotch eggs are deceptively easy to make. The only trouble is the moderate hassle of deep frying. The basic recipe involved the time-honored breading technique of flour, egg wash, then breadcrumbs that I've used in several other recipes. The flour and breadcrumbs are replaced by two Passover-friendly ingredients: matzo cake meal and matzo meal. The cake meal is made of ground matzo, and is roughly the consistency of flour, while the matzo meal generally resembles breadcrumbs. This is my first time using these ingredients, so they are still somewhat "exotic" to me, the results were great. I used a basic bulk breakfast sausage here, but as I noted on the original recipe, any will do. 


Ingredients
  • 4 hard boiled eggs
  • 3/4 lb. sausage
  • 1 raw egg
  • Matzo cake meal
  • Matzo meal
  • Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

Preheat oil in a deep fryer, wok, or saucepan to about 375 degrees F. Use enough oil to mostly submerge the eggs. 

Divide the sausage into four equal balls. Flatten and wrap around each egg. Carefully work the sausage until eggs are completely encased. Roll the balls around in palms to make sure covering is even and sealed. 

Spread a little cake meal on a plate and dredge the sausage-covered eggs all over. Beat the raw egg in a bowl. Spread out the matzo meal on a plate. Dip each Scotch egg in the beaten egg, roll around to coat, then dredge in the matzo meal until thoroughly coated.

Carefully drop the eggs into the hot oil and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. I cooked them in pairs in my small deep fryer. Cut in half for serving. I use a serrated bread knife to cut, as this allows cutting through the crunchy exterior cleanly. I served with a mix of mayonnaise and Sriracha sauce.

5 comments:

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  2. They look perfect. I wonder how some Scotch eggs have a soft center. Chill a soft egg after cooking? Wouldn't the pork sausage be a big no-no for being Kosher?

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    1. I usually boil the eggs well ahead of time, so they are coming right from the fridge.

      As far as I understand it, kosher and kosher for Passover are entirely distinct concepts. While most U.S. Jews do not keep kosher (which prohibits pork), it seems that most do follow the kosher for Passover rules, which is essentially replacing all grains with matzo. It would be necessary to use a kosher sausage if you wanted to go "all the way" with this one, but we obviously don't do that.

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    2. Some options include Kosher-for-Passover sausage (though these are generally frozen links, not refrigerated bulk) or treating kashered ground kosher-meat-of-your-choice with Kosher-for-Passover seasonings.

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