Morcilla & quail scotch eggs

[Tempest63]

I wonder if anyone can help.

A local tapas bar has scotch eggs on the starter menu, but these are quails eggs encased in Morcilla, a Spanish blood or black pudding.

The egg yolks are still soft after cooking, but I cannot find a recipe online for this dish.

 

Does anyone know of a recipe?

Or better still do they have a tried and tested recipe?

[ElsieD]

No to both but they sound good.

[Duvel]

Maybe this will help …

[chromedome]

19 minutes ago, Duvel said:

Maybe this will help …

I'd be the only one in the house eating them if they were made with black pudding (sadly) but I like the Scotch eggs idea. I get lots of quail eggs (and we have 24 of 'em in an incubator that are due to hatch within 24 hours) so I'm always up for finding things to do with them.

[liuzhou]

I regularly make blood sausage and quail egg scotch eggs but don't have a recipe as such. I just adapted a recipe for regular eggs. I usually use a 50/50 mix of pork* and blood sausage. I found that blood sausage on its own doesn't adhere well to the eggs. I do use panko for the breading.

 

But the most difficult part for me is getting the eggs just right. That soft yolk eludes me half the time although I don't feel I'm doing anything diffferent each time.

 

*or minced duck leg meat.

 

 

[Tempest63]

Thanks for all your feedback.

[Tempest63]

4 hours ago, liuzhou said:

I regularly make blood sausage and quail egg scotch eggs but don't have a recipe as such. I just adapted a recipe for regular eggs. I usually use a 50/50 mix of pork* and blood sausage. I found that blood sausage on its own doesn't adhere well to the eggs. I do use panko for the breading.

 

But the most difficult part for me is getting the eggs just right. That soft yolk eludes me half the time although I don't feel I'm doing anything diffferent each time.

 

*or minced duck leg meat.

 

 

Maybe the addition of the chutney in Duvels post may be the answer?

 

I know that the owner of the Tapas bar insisted it had to be Spanish Morcilla, and not a UK style black pudding to make it successful.

[Duvel]

4 hours ago, Tempest63 said:

Maybe the addition of the chutney in Duvels post may be the answer?

 

I know that the owner of the Tapas bar insisted it had to be Spanish Morcilla, and not a UK style black pudding to make it successful.

 

Morcilla (or any of its ethnic cousins) is a boiled sausage, so you can't really count on any binding from the cooking process of the mini Scotch egg per se ...

 

There are two ways to achieve a structurally intact mSe: 

 

1) you cut the boiled Morcilla part with raw meat. Its proteins will coagulate, which will keep the the meat shell in one piece. Addititional binder might work as well. The result will be a more sturdy casing if cooked through, resulting in a rustic dish.

2) you add something to more easily homogenize / soften your Morcilla part, making it easier to fold homogenously and thus wrap it better around the quail egg, creating a smooth surface. Then add a "proper" flour/egg/panko coating which solidifies during the frying process, holding the softer Morcilla part in place (same principle as in Bechamel-based croquette). The result will be more soft, probably feel more "elegant".
 

Edited August 13 by Duvel (log)

[liuzhou]

29 minutes ago, Tempest63 said:

I know that the owner of the Tapas bar insisted it had to be Spanish Morcilla, and not a UK style black pudding to make it successful.

 

I've done them successfully with both Stornoway black pudding in Scotland and with Chinese blood sausage, the only kind I can source locally. They are very similar in texture, the only difference being that the Chinese type use rice as the cereal component rather than oats.

 

Ive eaten morcilla, but never used it in Scotch eggs.

 

 

[Tempest63]

In the interest of research I took the wife out to the local tapas restaurant last night and after £189 worth of research (ouch!) I left with a full belly and some supplies  for a Tapas and Paella meal for us and six friends. 
 

The chef, Mark, is someone who we have known through various local restaurants and eateries over the years and he advises that you boil your quail eggs for exactly 2 minutes and 10 seconds before plunging in iced water for “no more” than five minutes; leaving them longer results in harder eggs in the finished dish.

You then work the Morcilla in your hands with some finely chopped parsley until it has a consistency similar to putty. Make a small cup shape then place the egg in the cup and completely wrap it with the Morcilla. Egg, breadcrumbs and refrigerate. When you are ready to cook drop them in 180C oil until the breadcrumbs are suitably golden and voila (or the Spanish equivalent) you have a softish yolk encased in beautifully cooked blood pudding.

 

Mark uses this Morcilla which he gets from Brindisa https://brindisa.com

The restaurant sells this product along with a selection of other Spanish ingredients that I bought to start practicing for the Tapasfest.

The jar between the olives and the Morcilla is a chilli jam that they serve on the side with the eggs cut into two

Edited August 16 by Tempest63 (log)

[Tempest63]

I made my first attempt at the Morcilla/quail scotch eggs that they serve in our local tapas bar.

mixed results. Out of the 5 cooked (there were 6 but one floated. May have been bad, possibly not, but didn’t want to risk it) Boiled eggs for 2 minutes then egg dip snd breadcrumbed twice before putting in 180C oil for 5 minutes. Shell was good but the eggs were over cooked.

 

Put in two more at 170C for 4 minutes and they came out soft, but the morcilla split on one side of one of the eggs.

 

 

Did two more at 160C for four minutes. Breadcrumbs hadn’t turned golden so gave them another minute. Similar result to the previous two but both split.

 

I will give it another go with a further 6 eggs but chill them for a few hours before frying. I will enquire with the chef himself.

[Tempest63]

As an aside I reckon about 40g of morcilla, with some finely chopped parsley well mixed in is about right to wrap the eggs in, taking off any excess as you shape them.

 

After several attempts I found it easier to make a patty of the morcilla then stand the egg upright to wrap it.

 

[liuzhou]

Same problem I've always had (apart from the splitting; never had that). Just getting the eggs right.

[Tempest63]

10 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Same problem I've always had (apart from the splitting; never had that). Just getting the eggs right.

I’m thinking that chilling the eggs once wrapped will help. The morcilla and eggs will be at the same cooler temperature giving the breadcrumbs time to turn golden before the filling over expands and splits.

 

I will be trialling the quails eggs wrapped in smoked cod tomorrow so I will get them made and in the fridge a couple of hours or more before frying.

 

Then it is time to practice making the Croquettes. Ham and cheese croquettes and porcini croquettes.

 

The restaurant recommended a mix of manchego and ermesenda cheeses, but I cannot find the latter anywhere. 

[liuzhou]

6 minutes ago, Tempest63 said:

I’m thinking that chilling the eggs once wrapped will help.

 

Maybe, but I've always chilled the eggs.

 

I often use quail eggs, but it's only in Scotch eggs I struggle. i look forward to your findings.

 

 

[Tempest63]

I had another crack at morcilla quails eggs this morning.

I cooked the eggs yesterday and encased them in the morcilla and refrigerated them overnight. This morning I dipped them in egg with a teaspoon of plain flour well mixed in, a tip I got for use with cheese croquettes to stop them exploding, coated in breadcrumbs (did this twice) and dropped them in an electric deep fat fryer at 180C. The first three went in for 5 minutes resulting in well cooked eggs with a runny centre, but despite the overnight chilling they still split slightly.

I did the next three for a little over four minutes with the same result, 2 splitting morcilla and one perfect. Hot through with a runny centre.

 

 

I was obviously disappointed but the wife told me not to get too hung up as we can cut them along the split and no one will know.

 

I smiled and told her we are going out for Tapas tonight. I need to consult with the chef

[liuzhou]

What kind of breadcrumbs are you using? I use panko and double coat them. Never had one split or crack.

[Tempest63]

4 hours ago, liuzhou said:

What kind of breadcrumbs are you using? I use panko and double coat them. Never had one split or crack.

I’m using panko and I double coat them.

 

Spoke with the chef tonight (another £120 of research) who has suggested I need to cook them at 190C for three minutes. Even then he confessed they have the odd one that splits.

 

As we left the tapas restaurant my wife said I’m to cook them on the night but, on pain of death, no more trials. I think she may be cheesed off with quail eggs in blood pudding. I am allowed to test the quails eggs in smoked cod however.

 

Some of tonight’s research as we got close to finishing the meal. Albondingas,
garlic mushrooms, salt cod with pea purée, ham and cheese croquettes.

Missing from the pic is scallops and padron peppers.

 

 

 

 

 

[AAQuesada]

great looking croquetas!

[Tempest63]

Last dry run before our tapas and paella evening. As one of our guests doesn’t eat meat we are going to serve up half of our quail eggs in morcilla, the other half are going in Richard Corrigans Smoked Cod Scotch Eggs, with smoked cod mixed in with mashed potatoes.

RC says to cook the eggs in 170C oil for 2 minutes. I cooked them on for a little longer as they were very pale (top three eggs).The oil went up to 190C and the 2 minutes was just about enough (bottom 3 eggs)

 

My observations, the mash was very soft and was difficult to cut in half, even with a freshly sharpened knife.

The 190C eggs were firmer on the outside but softer on the inside. Next time I will not make the mash so soft, and may consider mixing in an egg to bind them a little better.

Both batches tasted good and were cooked through. 190C egg on the bottom of the photo below.

 

 

We had our first wedding anniversary at Richard Corrigans Lindsay House Restaurant, Soho, London, back in 2008. The restaurant was in a two storey Regency Terrace Town House, sadly now closed. The meal was extraordinarily good, one of our best fine dining experiences without a shadow of a doubt.

 

Edit: https://www.dine-online.co.uk/lindsay.htm

Edited September 25 by Tempest63 (log)

[Tempest63]

On 9/14/2024 at 7:18 PM, AAQuesada said:

great looking croquetas!

Spanish cheese (two types) and ham. Very good.

[Tempest63]

The big day is here. I’ve been up since six a.m., walking dogs and prepping food.

Stuffed mushrooms in the fridge and made up some other hot tapas ready for cooking later.

 

 

From left, cheese croquettes, morcilla scotch eggs and smoked cod and potatoe eggs. We have a friend who doesn’t eat meat but does eat fish, so the quail eggs with the cod and potato case in golden breadcrumbs accomodate her preferences. Also, no ham in the croquettes for the same reason.

[Tempest63]

Leftovers from Tapas night cooked two days later.

Morcilla scotch quails eggs. Smoked cod scotch quail eggs and cheese croquettes