I made these for the annual wine tasting at our friend’s abode.  They have a contest, and I won for the last two years.  Last year was my goat cheese stuffed figs and the year before was an artichoke dip.  Rich foods.  This was another rich food, dear readers.  It is not for those with cholesterol problems or someone trying to make a quick appetizer.  No dear ones…this is really, really time consuming.  Totally worth it, though, for a special occassion type of treat.

I won this year again, with Brian’s pairing of the Penfold’s Koonunga Hill Syrah.  You can find that wine for under $10, and it paired really well.  Though really, I pretty much only had to tell the males what was in them and I got their vote. 😉 

Now I seem to have a title to uphold…pressures on for next year!  I think I know what I’m making next year, though.  I’ll have to try it a few times this year to get it perfected.  Oh the suspense!

Recipe:

12-16 large eggs

2 lbs breakfast sausage
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

2 eggs
2/3 cup flour
2/3 cup breadcrumbs
Oil for frying (about one container – I used Smart Balance Omega Oil)

Sauce:
2/3 cup light sour cream
1/3 cup mayo
2 TBSP dijon mustard
1 tsp horseradish
1 tsp lemon juice
1 TBSP honey

Boil the eggs first.  Put the eggs in a big stockpot covered in water.  Bring to a boil and then down to a low boil for 20 minutes.  Take the eggs off and immerse in a bowl of cold water.  Once cooled, peel and wipe off any excess water. 

I usually make the sauce while the eggs are boiling away.  Just mix all the ingredients together and put in the fridge.   Taste to make sure you have the right meld of flavors.  The measurements I gave are estimates, as I’m very much a taste as I go type of cook.

Once the hardboiled eggs are ready, mix the pork sausage with the spices and 1/2 cup of bread crumbs.  Put flour in a bag, the eggs mixed up in a bowl and the extra breadcrumbs on a plate.   Heat the oil on the stove.

Now, put the eggs in the bag and cover with flour, about 4 at a time.  Remove to a plate.  Take about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the pork mixture and flatten out on the palm of your hand.  Take floured egg and wrap the sausage around the egg, sealing any holes.  This takes a few to get the hang of it.  Roll the sausaged egg in the beaten egg and then roll in the breadcrumbs.  Do this for all of the eggs.  Turn on the oven to 375 degrees.

Next, fry them up in the oil, so it is browned on all sides.  You can do about 2-3 at a time.  Remove to plate with a napkin on it to soak up the excess oil.  Once all the eggs are browned up, put them on a jellyroll pan and bake in the oven for 20 minutes to finish it up.  Some will probably split, but they are still edible.  Promise!

As an alternative you can just bake them in oven and not fry (saving a few calories!).  I did this the first time I made them and they still turned out good.  I would bake for at least 40 minutes to get them done.  I can’t remember how long I baked them for, but I think it was 45 minutes to an hour.

Now you can eat these warm or cold.  I make them up ahead of time, cool them and then cut into 3-4 pieces.  They are easier to cut if they are cold.

Plate them up and serve with the dipping sauce.  This is time consuming, but worth it.

I was going to get a nice picture of them all plated up before the party, but I was running late.  You get this rather sad picture of the remaining eggs at 1 am.  At least you can see that they were well received. 😀