Sosmix scotch eggs (now with GF option!)

Sosmix is something I remember from my dim and distant past. My mum’s friend used to fry balls of it for dinner, we’d have it with spaghetti and tomato sauce – it was lush. Searching for it recently uncovered the fact that it’s not made in its old-school form anymore (gasp) – the revised recipe is nowhere near as nice, apparently. HOWEVER the old formula is still available on Alternative Stores, a veggie and vegan online shop. So, armed with a 1kg bag of sosmix, I decided to make… SOSMIX SCOTCH EGGS!

(Edit, Feb 2019): Hello friends! I’ve now updated the recipe below to include gluten free options! Tried and tested!

Veggie Ingredients (makes 6 scotch eggs):

200g sosmix
Around 100g stuffing mix (I used Paxo Sage and Onion, and Tesco’s Finest mushroom stuffing)
Salt + pepper
10 eggs (8 for scotching and 2 for the batter)
Flour
Breadcrumbs

Gluten free ingredients (makes 3 large eggs):

As above, but substitute sosmix for Paxo GF stuffing mix 150g, and breadcrumbs for Mrs Crimbles GF breadcrumbs

Start by hard-boiling your eggs. Boil a pan of water and then lower your eggs into them – I did mine for 7 minutes, and they were medium-size eggs. When they’re done, tip the hot water out and keep filling and emptying the pan with cold water until the eggs have cooled down – then leave them in a pan of cold water while you do everything else.

Make your sosmix up – I did mine in two batches, one with the Paxo and one with the mushroom stuffing mix (don’t forget your salt and pepper). This was unintentional, but turned out pretty well. Sosmix makes 150g of mix with 250ml of water, but add a bit more water to account for the stuffing mix. The sosmix should be sticky, but not overly wet – the stickier the better, to be honest. When your mix is made up, leave it to stand for 10 minutes to solidify a bit, while you peel your eggs (this is a bit of a pain in the arse).

For gluten free scotch eggs, make your stuffing up as the packet advises. Add some of your beaten egg to the mix, this helps it stick together – otherwise it’s very dry.

The next step is the trickiest – wrapping your eggs in your mix. Prep by taking a chopping board, and cover it in a sheet of clingfilm. Grab a handful of mix (about the size of an apple, or a small tennis ball), and roll it in your hands to compress it into a ball. Plop the ball on the clingfilm, and use the heel of your hand to flatten it out. You want your mix to be about 1cm thick at most. Put an egg in the middle of the flattened mix, then use the clingfilm to wrap the mix around the egg – cupping the egg in both hands and folding it around from all sides works well, then continue rolling and cupping it in your hands until it’s all correctly-formed. Don’t be tempted to flour your hands, or the egg – it won’t stick and you’ll just get angry and sweary.

Scotch eggs, pre-crumb

Now, prepare three bowls, with flour (exclude flour if making GF eggs), beaten egg and breadcrumbs in each. Roll each ball in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs.

Gluten free eggs are a bit more delicate than the regular sosmix kind – I found holding them in one hand and brushing beaten egg over with the other was more successful. Then sprinkle with GF breadcrumbs. If you’re having trouble getting the stuffing mix to stick, try working the mix into a ball with some beaten egg first, then flattening out and wrapping as above.

Golden balls

As they are now, your eggs will apparently keep for a day in the fridge, but I fried mine straight away so I can’t vouch for this.

Deep-frying is obviously the way to go, if you choose to oven-bake these, you’re an idiot. Fill up a saucepan with enough oil to cover the eggs, then heat up nice and hot (drop a bit of potato into the oil, if it immediately bubbles and fries, it’s hot enough). Put an egg on a slotted spoon, and lower into the oil – I did them two at a time, and kept them warm in the oven as I fried the whole batch. They only take 30 seconds to a minute per egg, or until the crumb is brown all over.

Deep-fried goodness

The eggs turned out even better than I expected, to be honest – the yolks were runny (!!!) and the sosmix was crispy on the outside, and substantial on the inside. I had one with a dollop of onion chutney, and it was LUSH. I’ll definitely make these again, they’re perfect for a picnic, or to take to someone’s house to show off.