jackal10, on Feb 11 2004, 08:17 AM, said:
Does the long-time low temperature method worked for poached eggs as well?
Might be the answer for quail eggs, that I can never manage to soft poach.
Might be the answer for quail eggs, that I can never manage to soft poach.
Inspired by Jack's comment, I went to my local Asian grocery store in search of quail eggs with which to experiment. I'd never cooked quail eggs before and the following is the results of my tinkering.
The Egg Itself
First off, as you may know quail eggs are tiny, about 20% the size of a large chicken egg. The ones I found were 2 dozen to the package and cost approximately $3. They were not labeled with "purchase by" dates or "laid on" codes the way chicken eggs were. The shells were obviously dirtier (no, not the speckles, "dirt" (I assume quail poop, or something akin to that) and the odd feather), and several were broken. Concern about even the slightest chance of salmonella contamination, and knowing I was planning on soft poaching some of these eggs, I made sure to buy only whole, uncracked eggs (shuffling eggs between containers in the store). It also inspired me to wash the shells before cracking any eggs for cooking.
Note the feather on this egg's shell.
From my research on the web, I found that quail eggs are nutritionally similar to chicken eggs, proportional to their size. Also, quail (and duck) eggs may be more likely to be tolerated by those who have a chicken egg allergy. The flavor is similar but somewhat more delicate than chicken eggs.
Poached Quail Eggs
A poached quail egg is a beautiful touch on top of a green salad. Or, you could make a miniature Eggs Benedict as an hors d'oeuvre, mmm.
When using the "tap on a flat surface" method Fat Guy and I found most effective with chicken eggs, I found quail eggs particularly hard to crack open and extract the egg without breaking the yolk. Therefore, I found it necessary to actually whack the eggs with a knife to get an edge clean enough to break the egg out of its shell. As mentioned above, I washed the shell with soap and cold water before doing this, as the American Egg Board advises against this method.
Wash the shell before whacking it firmly with a knife
In addition, since the eggs were difficult to break open, I found it easiest to do so into a small container rather than directly into simmering water.
The egg in a little plastic cup (that's the whole egg, not just the yolk, the white is hard to see in the picture)
Bring your water to a boil, add a splash of white vinegar and a large pinch of salt. Reduce the heat to maintain a bare simmer and slide the egg into the water. I attempted this with and without the gentle whirlpool technique and the resultant poached eggs were quite similar.
The egg just after being slipped into gently whirlpooled water
I experimented on several eggs, testing how long to poach them. My optimum time was 1 minute 45 seconds. 90 seconds, and the yolk was barely cooked, 2 minutes and it had started to firm up (while still quite moist).
As soon as the egg goes in the water, start your timer
Since the timing of the eggs is so exacting, I don't think it would be practical to reheat them. But if you must, just cook them 90 seconds, chill and store in cold water, then reheat for about 30-45 seconds in simmering water.
With or without the whirlpool, the thin albumen forms a "tail"
Poached quail egg, sans tail
After 1:45, the egg yolk is nicely runny, while just beginning to firm up on the edges
Hard Cooked Quail Eggs
Hard cooked quails eggs are delicious by themselves as a snack with just a sprinkling of salt. They would also be lovely quartered or halved to garnish a salad. However, where I think they shine is as deviled eggs. They are bite-sized and much more delicate than deviled eggs made from large chicken eggs. (Small or medium chicken eggs would do in a pinch, but these are so darn cute!).
First, wash the shells because we're going to prick the fat end of the shell. This will prevent the air pressure from cracking the shell. Start your eggs in cold water with a splash of vinegar.
Quail eggs in cold water over high heat
It takes about 5 minutes for the water to come to a boil in my 1-Qt pot.
The water is about 1 minute away from boiling
As soon as the water boils, turn off the heat, cover the pot and start your timer. I removed the eggs starting at 2 minutes, and then at 1 minute intervals. Shock them in cold water to stop the cooking.
4 eggs, cooked 2, 3, 4, and 5 minutes
The eggs were perfect at 4 minutes. And, and even at 5 minutes there was no discoloration on the edge of the yolk. The white was a little tenderer at 4 minutes, so this would be perfect if you are eating them straight. Or, you can cook them less if you prefer a moister yolk. If you need a little firmer yolk and a white that will withstand the manipulation necessary for deviled eggs, then 5 minutes would be preferable.
The above eggs, shelled and cut in half
A note about shelling: Just like chicken eggs, it is easiest to shell the quail eggs under running water, starting at the fat end. And, just like brown-shelled chicken eggs, the color of the shell helps you get off every speck.
In my research, I found the recipes online for hard cooked quail eggs varied greatly in timing. Since I found 4-5 minutes to be perfect, I wanted to see what 10 minutes would do. As you can see, there was a little discoloration on the edge of the yolk, but not too much. The white was a little firmer, but otherwise this would have been acceptable. So although 10 minutes is a little extreme, you shouldn't freak out if the eggs cook a little longer than intended, as they are quite forgiving.
After 10 minutes cooking, there was just a tinge of green to the edge of the yolk
Deviled Eggs
After hard cooking your eggs, slice them in half vertically. Look to see if the yolk is showing through the white at any point, if so, be sure to make the cut at a 90 degree rotation from that point -- so the yolk is centered on the cut surface. Carefully remove the yolks from the whites. If making in advance, wrap the whites in an airtight container and refrigerate. If not, set them on your serving platter.
Put the yolks into a fine wire mesh sieve and push them through with a spoon or pestle into a mixing bowl. Scrape every last bit off the sieve into the bowl.
Use a pestle to push the yolks through a sieve
Note about quantity: You may want to cheat a little and hardcook up a couple of regular chicken eggs, for the extra yolk. It is hard to get all of the yolk out of the sieve and it is easier to work with a large quantity, even if you just use a sandwich baggie as your piping bag.
Add a bit of mustard, a pinch of salt, a few grinds of white or black pepper, and a spoon of mayonnaise to the yolks and mix it thoroughly with a fork or small whisk. I like to use a little cream too, if you use that, use less mayo. Just add a little mayo or cream at a time. If your mixture is too thick, you can always add more cream or milk, but you can't thicken it up if it's too thin, unless you cook up some more eggs!
Put your mixture into a piping bag and fill your egg whites. If transporting them, don't fill them. Instead, bring the filling in a Ziploc bag. Just before serving snip off a corner of the bag and use that as the piping bag. They are delicious as is or with a variety of toppings. Suggestions: crumbled bacon, paprika, chopped parsley, caviar -- just use one at a time!
Deviled Quail Eggs, pristine and with a sprinkling of Spanish Paprika
Reply
) when I used it. I think the eggs are so small that they form quickly enough for the depth of the pan not to be an issue (although I wouldn't use a skillet). A benefit of this is that it takes much less time for a smaller pan of water to come to a boil.
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