A perfectly soft-boiled egg encased in seasoned & smoked venison sausage. These venison Scotch eggs are a complete all-in-one breakfast treat.
I like a good challenge. Maybe it’s because I’m stubborn, or because I really love being right. After a successful hunt you often end up with several pounds of ground venison, and while sausage and chili are easy choices, I wanted to explore something different. Using the bounty from my most recent deer, I set out to create new recipes featuring ground venison — and one of my favorites is this smoked venison Scotch egg.
Traditional Scotch eggs consist of a hard-boiled egg wrapped in pork sausage, coated in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried. They’re a classic picnic item in Britain and are usually eaten cold. My version swaps pork for seasoned venison sausage and is smoked rather than fried. I prefer these served hot with a runny yolk — the texture and smoky flavor really elevate the dish.
Venison is lean, so adding some pork fat balances the texture and keeps the sausage juicy. For this batch I kept some fat from a trimmed pork butt, ground it into the venison, and seasoned the mixture generously. A peppery pork sausage seasoning with strong sage notes pairs beautifully with game meat and complements the smoke.
Peeling the eggs is the trickiest part: soft-boiled eggs can be delicate. To make it easier, prepare a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking immediately after boiling. When peeling, slide a teaspoon between the shell and the egg, working gently to remove the shell without tearing the white.
Smoking these takes about 45 minutes at a low temperature, which keeps the yolks from overcooking while allowing the sausage to firm and pick up smoke. If you don’t have a smoker, you can mimic the effect on a grill using a two-zone setup: keep the eggs over the indirect (cool) zone and add wood chips to the coals for smoke. Yields and exact yolk softness can vary slightly on a grill, but the flavor will still be excellent.
Smoked Venison Scotch Eggs
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- Author: Jess Pryles
Ingredients
Scale
6 eggs
1 lb seasoned venison sausage
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Heat your smoker to 250°F (about 120°C).
- Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and gently lower the eggs in. Cook for 6 minutes. Prepare a bowl of ice water, and immediately transfer the eggs into it after 6 minutes to stop the cooking.
- Carefully peel each egg; the whites will be delicate. Use a teaspoon between shell and egg if needed to avoid tearing.
- Divide the sausage into 6 portions. Working with one portion at a time, flatten the sausage into a disc just over 1/4 inch thick. Place the peeled egg in the center and gently wrap the sausage around it, sealing any seams. Repeat for all eggs.
- Place the wrapped eggs in the smoker and smoke for about 40 minutes.
- After the initial cook time, brush each egg with BBQ sauce to add flavor and color. Continue smoking for another 5–10 minutes, until the sauce is set and slightly glossy.
- Serve immediately while warm. Optional: serve with hot sauce on the side.