Lorne Sausage and the Full Scottish Breakfast

"Gotta eat a breakfast...I'll fix ya some eggs."

Pure poetry. I love fixing breakfast, during the week it's a disperate but constant affair; Henry eats Cheerios, Bonne Femme and Emmet have granola and yogurt and I start the day with and an egg, toast and tomato. But on the weekend the guns come out: Cinnamon rolls, huevos rancheros, hash, stratas, benedicts of any type, just give me a reason.

Last week I made up a reason of sorts because of a comment left by Andrew* on the St, Paddy's Day Post. Yeah, I got all Bobby Flay on him because he was lamenting that he hadn't made the time to make Lorne sausage and potato scones. Zero hour has arrived buddy, time to unfurl your Saltire and get grinding.



I had never heard of Lorne sausage, and I couldn't find any reference in my usual books, but on the internet, site after site lists it as an essential component of the Full Scottish Breakfast. The Lorne is described as a minced meat that's formed into a square loaf,sliced and fried. Apparently you can buy this in any store in Scotland, but here I have to make it up as I go along.



For mincing all you really need is a big sharp knife, but my mom found this grinder in my grandma's basement, and I figured why not go a little old school:



Lookin good.

As I far as I could determine the Lorne is spiced with pepper, coriander and nutmeg. Bonne Femme isn't crazy about nutmeg so I'll let the coriander take the star roll. I used oatmeal as the rusk.

Oh boy I'm getting hungry. I got a couple of Scottish cookbooks from the library. The Full Scottish Breakfast is coming into focus: Fried tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, potato scones, and bacon...oh no, I need to make some bacon...



Bonless pork shoulder was on sale for 89 cents a pound I couldn't pass it up. It's not what I really wanted but I cured it, like I would a ham, rolled it and smoked it (ja mon).



It turned out ok, I'm interested in working on this bacon, I like the look of a wide streaky slice that I can get with pork shoulder, but I going to have to get a better roast. I'll report back soon.

Now back to the program.



I have my meats sorted out, how about that potato scone? As opposed to a crumbly biscuit block one might get at Stardunkin or DunkinBuck's, the Scottish Tattie is more of a griddle cake or even a tortilla. It's flat, round and cooked on a hot skillet. I used a recipe from the book, Classic Recipes from Scotland, by Tom Bridge, and his version he adds some cheddar. I made them as I would a corn tortilla, I portioned them then pressed them with a plate. Here's Bridge's ingredient list:

450g/1lb mashed potato, still hot
50g/2oz / 4T butter
100g/4oz A P flour
50g/2oz Cheddar cheese grated

combine ingredients, mix well. Divide into eight balls. Place a ball between pieces of plastic and flatten with a plate or pan. cook on hot oiled griddle.

Here's what I did for the Lorne Sausage

225g/8oz Beef chuck
225g/8oz Pork Shoulder
15g Salt
5g Black Pepper
5g Coriander
1g Mace (I like this instead of nutmeg, but use either)
2g Mustard seed (I like this as an emulsifier)
5g Milk powder (Helps retain moisture)
60g/2oz Rolled oats

I diced the meats, and processed the salt and spices in a spice mill then mixed them together along with the milk powder. The mixture rested in the fridge for an hour. I minced the mixture with a meat grinder fitted with a large die. I pulsed the oats in a cuisinart then folded them into the minced meat. I kneaded the mixutre adding a little cold water until it came together. I lined a small loaf pan plastic and pressed in the sausage. I let it sit in the freezer for an hour, then I took the mostly frozen loaf and cut 3/8 slices. Fried in pan.



I got about 16 or so slices out of my loaf and I guess you just keep them in the freezer until you are ready to fry.



Bonne Femme made a sammie with her Lorne, everybody loved their Full Scottish Breakast. Now if we only had a bit of Broon sauce.

Cheers.


(P.S. for those readers who know my Secret Code Name, please don't be confused, the Andrew referred to above writes the blog Slim Pickins'Pork. What a coincidence huh? Anyway, Andrew gets a few days grace since his weekend was booked with trip to Jungle Jim's, but it's never too late.)