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Fun with Quail Eggs

Published: Dec 21, 2009 · Modified: Dec 21, 2009 by Michael Ruhlman · 41 Comments

Photos by Donna

Photos by Donna

The guy I buy arugula from at our market has a neighbor who raises quail and he brings a few dozen of the eggs each week to sell for his neighbor. I got a batch of each not too long ago (he grows lettuce under plastic well into December).  I've scarcely touched quail eggs.  A couple times in culinary school (garde manger, quail egg and caviar pizza). But they were not something I thought much about.  That's changed.

If they’re available to you (I'm told you can often find them at Asian markets) they’re a lot of fun, special because of their size, and easy to work with.

Fried quail egg on arugula, bacon, English muffin croutons and Hollandaise

Fried quail egg on arugula, bacon, English muffin croutons and Hollandaise

They make an impressive canapé.  This is a take on eggs Benedict: arugula sautéed with shallot, bacon, English muffin croutons, topped with a little fried quail egg with fleur de sel, served on a spoon, one bite.  So good.  I could have eaten ten of these. It would be an easy first bite or canapé for a party.  Have everything cooked and warm except for the eggs.  Lay out yours spoons.  One person puts together the spoon appareil, the setup, while you sauté the eggs very gently over low heat in a little butter.

But really, you could simply serve these on toast points with a little butter, salt and pepper and they’d be delicious. If you're doing a lot of them, poach them, shock them and reheat as needed (which is how Keller did it at the French Laundry, just reheated in a little butter, threw in some brunoised bell pepper for color).

The Hollandaise deserves special note.  I needed just a little a couple ounces.  How was I to find a recipe for just a little bit of Hollandaise?  Ah ah!  I didn’t need one because I had my trusty iPhone in my pocket with the awesome new Ratio app (IMHO)  I simply went to “Fat-based sauces,” tapped “Hollandaise,” typed in “.5 ounces yolk,” et voila! 2.5 ounces butter, and .5 ounces of liquid (I actually did make a little reduction but you could just use lemon juice), .5 ounces yolk.  Worked like a charm, though with a single small yolk, it was tricky to cook without overcooking so little yolk.  (I could have plugged in 2 ounces of butter, which would have recommended .4 ounces of yolk, which I could change to grams, about 11, but I would have needed a really tiny pan and even tinier whisk.)

When working with quail eggs, it helps to crack the eggs into a ramekin first to make the cooking more orderly, but you could crack them right into the pan.

Quail eggs have a lovely flavor, a little richer than chicken eggs.  You could hard boil them for a nifty garnish, but they’re a pain to peel, especially if they’re fresh.  You could scramble them, but that kind of takes the fun out of the way they look. Their size is what’s special.  I also made this same dish with two eggs on a half an English muffin, perfect light breakfast or fun starter course.

This egg measured 1-⅜ths inches high.

This egg measured 1-⅜ths inches high.

I'm told by a facebook friend that each bird lays identically patterned eggs.  Can this be true?  Also, I'd love to hear other ideas for putting these cool little eggs to use.

Previous Post: « The Sous Vide Supreme
Next Post: Quail Eggs and When to Show Scale »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mark H.

    December 21, 2009 at 8:58 am

    This makes me really hungry! Looks fantastic!

    Reply
  2. kerrie

    December 21, 2009 at 9:06 am

    Would they be good in ceme Brulee? I have a friend that swears by a quail egg creme brulee she had in paris. Is the tast distinct enough that it would warrent making them into something like that?

    Reply
  3. amy

    December 21, 2009 at 9:14 am

    I love "playing" with quails eggs. Plus, personally for me, they're perfect snack size...I prefer them over regular boiled chicken eggs.

    Reply
  4. Wilma de Soto

    December 21, 2009 at 9:15 am

    @Kerrie That's a great question. I wonder what the ratio would be for a Quail Egg Pound Cake; especially since they are so rich.

    Reply
  5. Wilma de Soto

    December 21, 2009 at 9:15 am

    @Kerrie That's a great question. I wonder what the ratio would be for a Quail Egg Pound Cake; especially since they are so rich.

    Reply
  6. Jessamyn

    December 21, 2009 at 9:21 am

    I've seen quail eggs done on a cobb salad - instead of slicing the egg, leaving it whole. I'm playing with a pickled veggies and non-leafy greens cuckoo's nest salad. Two hard boiled quail eggs in a 'nest' with 1 pickled pearl onion. The nest made of takuan, black radish, rhubarb, and flat strips of zucchini (the flat cheese cutters work wonders, I've done noodles in a gluten free lasagna doing this) or cucumber. Pickled threads (using a channel knife) of english cuke. Still playing with the flavour profile. Only needs a tad salt and maybe a sherry reduction drizzle for 'dressing'.

    Reply
  7. Josh Schwartz

    December 21, 2009 at 9:23 am

    Deviled quail eggs are great for amuse bouche or as an hors d'oeuvre at parties. Especially if they they are garnished with a bit of Benton's bacon.

    Reply
  8. Christine @ Fresh Local and Best

    December 21, 2009 at 9:34 am

    You've intrigued my curiosity with the stunning qualities of the quail egg. I don't know the answer to whether each bird lays identically patterned eggs, but if true, it certainly is very cool.

    Reply
  9. Wendy@TheLocalCook.com

    December 21, 2009 at 10:05 am

    How adorable! By the way, will the Ratio app be available for BlackBerry?

    Reply
  10. The Little Teochew

    December 21, 2009 at 10:49 am

    I love quails' eggs! We get them very easily and cheaply here in Singapore, and I am always adding them into stews and soups for a one-dish meal. Great photos!!

    Reply
  11. Kevin Plaster

    December 21, 2009 at 10:51 am

    Ratio app for Droid?

    Reply
  12. Emily Lauren

    December 21, 2009 at 11:01 am

    You can get these at the Asian stores in Cleveland... I have some in my fridge right now leftover from a holiday party with itty deviled eggs on rye toasts with Aleppo pepper. Yum,.

    Here's Park to Shop that has them:
    http://www.yelp.com/biz/park-to-shop-cleveland

    Reply
  13. Kate in the NW

    December 21, 2009 at 11:53 am

    They do have lovely flavor - and although it ruins the "cuteness factor", I do sometimes scramble them. I use an ice pick to poke little holes in the top and bottom, stick a toothpick in there to break the yolk, and then blow the contents of the egg out one end, leaving me the gorgeous shell. We have a bunch of them piled up in a beautiful little bowl we bought on a trip to France - a quirky and perfect kitchen decoration on the windowsill, and a constant reminder to buy and use the tasty things!

    Reply
  14. Pantagruel

    December 21, 2009 at 11:57 am

    I used them for the first time a few weeks ago for an amuse for an Iron Chef competition we hosted, I made "Poached Quail Egg with Beurre Monté, Iberico Ham, Garlic Chip, Chive, and Porcini Dust," which was quite the crowd pleaser. Just picked them up at hole Foods and made up the dish (using some hints from FL cookbook). see:
    http://www.wordsmithingpantagruel.com/2009/12/iron-chef-tribeca.html

    Reply
  15. scott

    December 21, 2009 at 12:39 pm

    hard boil the quail eggs and wrap them in pork sausage and bread them, mini "scotch eggs".

    Reply
  16. Mike

    December 21, 2009 at 12:54 pm

    Bought the App, love it.

    I've never cooked with quail eggs, per se, but I've used them several times with sushi.

    Hand rolled (temaki) california roll with real king crab. Put a half of spoon of tobikko/masago on top. Stick a finger in that to make a nest and then put the yolk of the quail egg on top in the nest.

    Reply
  17. tanders

    December 21, 2009 at 12:54 pm

    Please let me know that the rario app will also be introduced on ANDROID... the transition should be simple enough and it would be GREATly appreciated...

    Thanks

    Reply
  18. Matt

    December 21, 2009 at 1:14 pm

    Love your app and site makeover!..Craftsteak serves the quail eggs on steak tartar..really good

    Reply
  19. Rachel

    December 21, 2009 at 2:15 pm

    They would be great for smaller slices of bread made into eggs in a hole/toad in the hole/eggs in the basket/whatever your cultural moniker for that great breakfast treat of a slice of bread with a whole in the center filled with fried egg.

    Reply
  20. Jen

    December 21, 2009 at 2:28 pm

    EmilyLauren...

    How did you peel them?

    I've tried the mini Quail Deviled eggs, but I could never get the darned things peeled without mauling them.

    Reply
  21. Live to Cook at Home

    December 21, 2009 at 3:30 pm

    That looks delicious!

    Reply
  22. Rois

    December 21, 2009 at 4:04 pm

    Once upon a time my Dad raised Quail and we would pickle the eggs.Pickled they are very nice with a salad.Peeling is a pain and there must be a trick to it.
    I have also had whole Quail eggs dropped into the Vietnamese style of noodle soup -Pho. The egg ends up tasting like an extra yummy poached egg.

    Reply
  23. Pete from DC

    December 21, 2009 at 5:49 pm

    At a Japanese restaurant called "Fuji Mountain" in Bryn Mawr, PA, I once requested - off the menu - "natto": a very traditional, strong smelling, sticky fermented soybean. It came on a bed of warm rice and a raw quail egg on top. Quite delicious!

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natto

    Reply
  24. ET

    December 21, 2009 at 7:05 pm

    hard to tel how small they are with no comparison object. Spoons vary in size.

    Reply
  25. Robert

    December 21, 2009 at 10:18 pm

    Scott above mentioned mini scotch eggs. I like that idea but with a soft boiled quail egg that is then chilled before wrapping in sausage, breading, and then frying. It yields a soft runny yolk upon opening that is truly lovely.

    Reply
  26. Alison

    December 21, 2009 at 11:06 pm

    When I lived in France, I'd buy quail eggs when I did a raclette. You break the egg into the little dish and set it in its spot under the grill. (A hen's egg is way too big for this.) It's a nice addition to the cured meats and potatoes that normally accompany the raclette. We also ate them hard-boiled at the aperitif sometimes.

    Thanks for the tip on finding them in Asian markets!

    Reply
  27. Victoria

    December 22, 2009 at 5:42 am

    Okay. You win for "Cutest Post of the Year!"

    Merry Christmas!

    Reply
  28. jan

    December 22, 2009 at 6:16 am

    I just did deviled quail eggs for my blog. They were so tasty!
    http://www.slowtrav.com/blog/jgk/

    Reply
  29. caroline

    December 22, 2009 at 11:40 am

    I was just thinking about quail eggs, after coming across a recipe in an old-fashioned cookbook for "Doll Cookies". It was basically an eggless, scaled down sugar cookie dough that was measured in doll-sized cups and cut out with thimbles, a concept I found completely charming. I then started wondering if a doll could use quail eggs to bake little cakes (don't ask my why I ponder these things-- I don't even know any children!).

    Reply
  30. Lissa

    December 22, 2009 at 3:14 pm

    Curious! I see these in the asian market but never realized they were just fresh little eggs. I guess I always thought they were some kind of pickled or fermented eggs.... I bet they would just be beautiful on pasta as a twist on carbonara or on top of an asian soup.

    Reply
  31. Abra Bennett

    December 22, 2009 at 4:35 pm

    I love quail eggs for apéritif, and I like to make a little bar of things to dip hard cooked quail eggs into. I wrote about how I like to serve them them here http://frenchletters.wordpress.com/2008/11/14/the-egg-stands-alone/

    Reply
  32. james

    December 22, 2009 at 8:48 pm

    I second the fact that they are a pain to peel. Used them as a nibble at a party- peeled two dozen of them. They took forever. Served them with a mix of sea salt and smoked paprika. Quite tasty. Quail eggs are also tasty broken into a bowl of hot rice with sesame seeds.

    Reply
  33. luis

    December 22, 2009 at 10:50 pm

    Too tiny to be of any interest to me. As everything is an acquired taste in my opinion. Some things are best left alone......

    Reply
  34. Sara

    December 23, 2009 at 12:17 am

    This makes me want to try a fancy version of steak and eggs with filet and a quail egg. Yum!

    Reply
  35. Heather Jones

    December 23, 2009 at 11:44 am

    I love quail eggs!

    Reply
  36. Mark from St Louis

    December 23, 2009 at 11:51 am

    Just got your Ratio App for my iphone. It is great! Congratulations on that!

    Reply
  37. Scott

    December 24, 2009 at 1:30 am

    At a recent hotluck, I made Russian Roulette - deviled quail eggs with 1/3 of them being VERY SPICY, but you could not tell which. It's also a play on words; in German, deviled eggs are called Russian Eggs.
    http://www.ashkeling.com/hotlucks/09phoenix/09recipe.html#russ
    Photo: http://www.ashkeling.com/hotlucks/09phoenix/original/09hotluck155.html

    But, yeah, peeling them was challenging. I found that if I quenched them into ice water, they peeled more easily.

    Reply
  38. Nanci Courtney

    December 26, 2009 at 1:53 am

    All eggs that are hard boiled are very easy to peel if you add a handful of salt when you put the water in the pan. I am not McGee - so I do not know why this works - but the shells of quail and chicken eggs practically fall off - they are so easy to peel.

    Reply
  39. bluexmas

    December 26, 2009 at 7:20 am

    Koreans braise quail eggs with beef or pork, with soy based sauce. Quail egg can be replaced with chicken egg. The only problem is that takes too much time to peel.

    Reply
  40. Chris Huck

    December 28, 2009 at 12:23 pm

    Saw the post a few days ago and then walking through Gonzales Market (SoCal hispanic chain) I saw them sitting there calling my name. Looking forward to finding the perfect way to use them today. Thanks for giving me the courage to try something new!

    Reply
  41. Elizabeth L.

    January 03, 2010 at 10:42 am

    I poached the eggs for a miniature-sized twist on Eggs Benedict: I made Ebelskiver pancakes that were stuffed with sauteed, minced back bacon. The poached egg was served alongside and the whole lot was drizzled with Hollandaise.

    I actually came up with this mini version out of necessity. It was for a Mother's Day brunch cooking class I was teaching, and I needed to have sample sizes of the classic dish, but slicing up a large portion would be messy for 25 people. I poached most of them in advance to make the job a bit easier.

    Reply

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