NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State
University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
April 2, 1998
We're not going to break any eggs here, just hard-cook a few. But like the nursery rhyme featuring Humpty Dumpty, if you don't hard-cook an egg properly, all the king's horses and all the king's men won't be able to get the blue out of your egg yolks again.
That blueish tinge sometimes surrounding the outer portion of hard-cooked egg yolks is caused by a chemical reaction which can result from either overcooking or taking too long to cool cooked eggs. For hard-cooked eggs sans the bluish hue, try this method: put eggs into a saucepan large enough to let all the eggs sit on the bottom of the pan; cover with cold water (about an inch above the eggs) and bring to a rapid boil; turn off the heat and let eggs sit on the cooling burner in the hot water for 15 to 20 minutes, after which time you plunge the eggs—immediately—into cold water, and then keep changing the cold-water bath until the eggs are cool to the touch.
A 20-minute stint in hot water is what I would recommend if you're simply going to eat the eggs as is or use as a garnish or an addition to a salad. I'd say you should cut back the time the eggs spend in the hot water to 15 minutes, or even a few minutes less, for a recipe that involves further cooking of the eggs—which brings me to Scotch Eggs.
The traditional way to make Scotch Eggs is to wrap a hard-cooked egg with a covering of highly seasoned ground meat, typically ground pork or pork sausage. From there, you're supposed to dip the balls in flour, then in beaten eggs, then in bread crumbs, and then deep-fry the balls briefly and finish by baking. I've seen some recipes that call for adding ground fennel seed to the meat mixture, which would give the eggs an Italian flare. Because Scotch Eggs are considered by many to be "pub grub," I'm inclined to stick with something that's more Celtic by design.
What follows is my adapted recipe for Scotch Eggs; it eliminates the steps involved with deep-frying and so sidesteps some added fat and calories. Granted, without that initial shape-holding trip through a deep-fryer, these egg-stuffed meatballs will squat down a bit while baking and become flat on the side contacting the baking dish. So when you cut the eggs in half before quartering, make sure you cut parallel to the flat spot. Then you can serve the eggs flat spot down.
Scotch Eggs
Yield: 12 servings, as appetizersIngredients:
1.75 pounds of fresh ground pork or turkey
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
2 tablespoons rubbed sage
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup bread crumbs
6 hard-cooked eggs
2 cups corn meal (optional)Procedure:
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine everything except the hard-cooked eggs and corn meal; work with hands until well blended and then divide meat mixture into six portions. Flatten each into a patty and wrap around an egg, pressing meat mixture so that the egg is completely covered. Roll eggs in corn meal, place on a oven-proof pan that's been sprayed with cooking oil and bake at 325 F for one hour. Cut eggs into quarters and serve warm with a spicy mustard. (Note: the corn meal adds a somewhat gritty texture to the eggs, so you may want to forego rolling the eggs in corn meal, depending upon your preference.)
What's Your Take on This, Julie?
Dr. Seuss may have been a fan of green eggs (and ham), but most people aren't. For appearance sake, eggs should be "hard cooked," in the method Dean described, not "hard boiled"—to mean cooked by boiling. The blue-green-haloed yolk you see after overcooking is due to the reaction of sulfur and iron compounds in the eggs.
Green or not, even Dr. Seuss may have been an admirer of these tasty appetizers. If you're watching your waistline, you might want to limit the number you eat. When made with pork sausage, each appetizer contains 250 calories and 17 grams of fat per serving. The recommendation for total daily fat intake is 65 grams or less.
You could slim down this recipe by using ground turkey in place of the pork. When made with turkey, a serving contains 165 calories and 8.5 grams of fat. All foods can fit into a healthy diet, but too much can cause you not to fit into your clothes.
Eggs are an excellent source of high-quality protein and contain all the nutrients needed for growth, with the exception of vitamin C. Yes, they do contain cholesterol, but dietary cholesterol isn't necessarily converted to the blood cholesterol that narrows arteries and is linked to heart disease.
Eggs are low in saturated fat, which is more solid at room temperature. Saturated fat is linked more closely with heart disease than dietary cholesterol. More research is in progress. Most nutritionists recommend limiting eggs to about three per week—especially if you are being treated for heart disease or have a family history of heart disease. Egg whites are the leanest protein source available and contain no fat or cholesterol. You can substitute two egg whites for each whole egg in most recipes.
Since eggs bring to mind Salmonella food poisoning and all the misery it entails, they should be handled with care. Both the yolk or the white can contain Salmonella. Start with clean hands, utensils and work areas. Thoroughly clean anything that has been in contact with raw eggs.
Eggnogs made with raw eggs, sunny-side up eggs and homemade cookie dough containing eggs can be especially hazardous for the elderly, young children and people with compromised immune systems—those with cancer or AIDS. As Dr. Seuss might say, "Cook eggs well, but don't hard-boil them in the shell."
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Sources: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136
Julie Garden-Robinson (701) 231-7187
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