Copycat Scotch Eggs & Beet Salad from the Leaky Cauldron
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What’s up, Hungry Muggles.
It’s officially Harry Potter week in the Starving Chef’s kitchen – and I figured it was high time to recreate one of my all time favorite magical recipes – one that is based on a dish you can find in the real life Diagon Alley.
One of my favorite places to visit is the Wizarding World of Harry Potter located at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.
Packed with muggles of course, this place is hands down a must-go destination for any Potterhead.
The Leaky Cauldron is a great spot to grab a bite to eat and get away from the Florida sun. While the menu has an array of traditional English dishes, it was always the scotch eggs and beet salad that stood out to me – and left me thinking about it long after I had returned to the Muggle world.
What are Scotch Eggs?
Scotch eggs are essentially hard boiled eggs wrapped in a sweet and spicy sausage and then breaded and fried golden brown. They are served with a mustard sauce for dipping.
The beet salad side is refreshingly tangy addition to the plate. Served cold, it is topped with a pop of pesto. Beet salad is seriously now one of my favorite things because of this dish!
So much so, that I’ve decided to whip out my wand to make a copycat version for hungry muggles, like yourself.
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Boiling Your Eggs
One of the most important steps to this recipe is properly boiling your eggs. You can hard or soft boil your eggs to your preference!
- Hard Boil – in a large pot, cover 6 eggs (don’t crowd the pot) with one inch of cold water. Put the pot on the stove on high heat. When the water reaches a rolling boil, turn off the heat, cover the pot and let the eggs continue cooking for 12-15 minutes. Tranfer to an ice bath and gently crack the eggs, without removing the shells, and let them rest in the ice bath for at least one hour. Then peel – if you aren’t using right away, chill until you are ready to use. Prior to using in the recipe, let the eggs come to room temperature.
- Soft boil – for a runny yolk in the middle, you’ll need to soft boil the eggs. The process is mostly the same, except to only let the eggs cook for 6-8 minutes. The eggs will be more fragile in this soft boil state, so I recommend lightly cracking and letting chill in the ice bath overnight for ease of peeling.
What do you need to make SCOTCH EGGS?
While witches and wizards likely have their own magical methods for making these scotch eggs, here are the common ingredients that any muggle can find at their non-magical grocery store.
- eggs – use a large egg for a bigger yolk; or a standard sized egg for a bigger white
- breakfast sausage, maple sausage & spicy sausage – while you can mix and match your own varieties of sausage, this is the magic combination I’ve found to best replicate the flavor of the sausage on the eggs at Universal!
- panko – to give your eggs and extra crispy breading
- mustard powder – to give the crust some extra bite
- Greek yogurt & spicy brown mustard – for an awesome dipping sauce accompaniment!
The eggs in the above photo show you what a runny center can look like. Personally, I love extra dipping sauce in the middle of my eggs – more for the sausage crust!
This is how I imagine Voldemort would have preferred his eggs cooked (assuming he eats at all) – crispy on the outside, and yolky on the inside, just like his soul.
Concerning Beet Salad
Professor Sprout is known for her delicious beets – for this recipe, we’ll be borrowing a few for our beet salad side!
- roasted beets – soft and tender, these beets will melt in your mouth. Be warned that red beets will stain anything they touch!
- apples – sweet apples help bring out the flavor of the beets
- spicy brown mustard – for a dash of heat to counteract the sweet
- apple cider vinegar – to add a bit of ZING!
- honey – when chilled, the honey will pull all of the flavors together
- extra virgin olive oil – to help adhere the delicious sauce to every nook and cranny
The longer the beets and apples marinate in the mustard sauce, the more flavor you will get. It’s just like magic!
I made a simple mustardy dipping sauce for the scotch eggs similar to what is served with them in real life – it’s just two parts plain Greek yogurt and one part spicy brown mustard.
The eggs are perfectly cooked – crispy on the outside and incredibly savory in flavor. Matched with a tangy mustard sauce, there’s definitely some magic happening here. Plus the beets are the perfect cold accompaniment, sweet and tart with just the right amount of crunch.
Just like a complicated potion, despite the many steps involved in this magical dish, the end results are certainly worth the wait.
Even Neville Longbottom couldn’t mess this up!
What Harry Potter recipes are you most excited to see? I’m a huge nerd at heart, so leave your favorite fictional feast ideas down in the comment section below! I need some more fantastic recipe ideas to try – maybe I’ll pick your suggestion!
Even more Harry Potter recipes are coming your way, so make sure you check back every day until July 31st when we celebrate the birthday of the Boy Who Lived!
Copycat Scotch Eggs & Beet Salad from the Leaky Cauldron
Equipment
- deep fryer optional
- magic wand
Ingredients
FOR SCOTCH EGGS:
- 6 eggs whole for boiling
- 3 eggs whisked
- 2 cups panko
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 8 oz hot Italian sausage
- 8 oz breakfast sausage
- 8 oz maple sausage
- 3 cups vegetable oil for frying
FOR MUSTARD SAUCE:
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
FOR BEET SALAD:
- 3 beets washed & greens removed
- 1 red apple chopped & peeled
- 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons warmed honey
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- lettuce leaves for serving
Instructions
- Start by making the beet salad. Thoroughly wash the beets and remove the greens and tips. Do not peel. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Lightly spray the beets and a baking sheet with olive oil. Roast the beets for at least one hour to an hour and a half – until the beets are tender all the way through and the skin peels off easily. The skin will be bubbly browned and very easy to remove when the beets are ready. Cool until the beets are no longer steaming.
- Remove the skins from from the cooled beets. Then chop the beets and place into a large bowl. Skin and chop the apple and add to the beets.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the spicy brown mustard, apple cider vinegar, honey and olive oil. Pour over the apples and beets and stir – the apples should turn bright red. Chill and marinate for at least one hour (RECOMMENDED: Make ahead and chill overnight.)
- Meanwhile, boil the eggs to your desired doneness. Start with the eggs in a pot with about one inch of cold water covering them. Bring the water to a rolling boil then turn off the heat and cover with a lid. For hard boiled eggs, leave the eggs in the water for 12-15 minutes. For soft boiled eggs, leave the eggs in the water for 8-10 minutes. For very runny centers, leave the eggs in the water for 6-8 minutes. Transfer to an ice bath, crack shells lightly, then leave in ice bath until ready to peel. Peel the eggs. Bring eggs to room temperature prior to making the scotch eggs. (RECOMMENDED: Make the eggs ahead and leave in the ice bath overnight.)
- In a large bowl, mix together the sausages until well combined. Use an ice cream scoop or 1/4-1/2 cup measuring cup to measure out even portions of the sausage. Place the scoops of sausage between two sheets of plastic wrap and flatten the meat with your hands until it is about a quater inch thick. Repeat with the remaining meat.
- Prepare a scotch egg making station! In one bowl, add the flour. In a second bowl, add the eggs and whisk. In a third bowl, add the panko, dry mustard powder, salt and pepper and whisk.
- Remove the top sheet of plastic from the first flattened sausage patty. Roll a hardboiled and peeled egg in flour then place in the center of the sausage patty. Wrap the sausage patty around the egg and pinch the edges closed so that the egg is completely enclosed in sausage. Repeat with the remaining eggs and sausage.
- Prepare a deep fryer or pot with oil heated to 350 F. To bread each sausage wrapped egg, first dredge in flour, then roll in the whisked eggs. Let the excess egg drip off then roll in the panko until completely coated. Repeat with the remaining wrapped eggs.
- Carefully place the eggs in the hot oil. Cook until golden brown and the sausage is cooked all the way through – about 7-10 minutes per egg. Be sure to work in batches and to keep flipping the eggs so that they are evenly golden on each side. Remove from the hot oil and let cool for at least 5 minutes to fully set the sausage and breading.
- While the eggs are cooling, prepare the mustard dipping sauce by stirring together the Greek yogurt and remaining spicy brown mustard.
- On each serving plate, use a few lettuce leaves to create a bed for the beet salad. Serve the scotch eggs with a generous serving of beets and a side of mustardy dipping sauce. Enjoy!
