Heston’s Scotch quail eggs

1. Mix the sausagemeat with the bacon, cayenne pepper and seasoning.

2. Fill a medium pan three-quarters full of water and place over medium high heat. Allow to come to the boil. In the meantime, prepare an iced water bath.

3. Once the water is boiling, place 6 of the eggs, straight from the fridge, into the water and allow to cook for exactly 2 minutes. Remove the eggs from the boiling water, using a slotted spoon, and place in the iced water bath. Repeat the procedure with the remaining 6 eggs.

3. When the eggs are cool, peel off the shells then wrap each egg in 40g of the sausagemeat. To do this, roll the portion of sausage meat into a ball and then flatten into a shape big enough to go around the egg. Wrap the meat around the egg and press the edges together to seal, taking care not to squash the egg inside.

4. Prepare 3 bowls: one with a small amount of plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, one with the beaten egg and one with the breadcrumbs. Roll the Scotch eggs in the flour then gently tap to remove any excess, then roll in the beaten egg and finally the breadcrumbs. Place the Scotch egg back in the egg mixture and then in the breadcrumbs once again. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.  In the meantime, mix the mustard and the mayonnaise together.

5. Preheat a deep fat fryer to 190°C and fry the Scotch eggs for 2 minutes. Place the eggs in a cooling rack in a 180°C preheated oven for 4 minutes. Serve with the mustard sauce.