Pickling quail eggs - is this normal?

[liuzhou]

Having a glut of quail eggs taking up valuable beer space in the fridge, I decided to pickle them - a whole new experience. I looked at a load of recipes and finally decided to soak the hard boiled, unpeeled eggs overnight in just white rice vinegar (after they cooled).

As soon as I poured on the vinegar, it started to bubble and the the pretty speckling of the shell peeled off like it was just a covering of very thin paper, leaving behind pure white shells. Is this normal?

After washing off the initial vinegar and the shell skins they look like this. These still have the shells on, but they have softened considerably.

They are now peeled and in a new batch of vinegar with a bit of spicing.

Edited July 16, 2011 by liuzhou (log)

[budrichard]

I've never pickled any eggs but egg shells are carbonates and vinegar is an acid.

Basic Chemistry will tell that an acid will react with a carbonate and if enough acid, completely dissolve the carbonate.-Dick

[RobertCollins]

I had a neighbor who raised his "Chinese Quail " and his wife pickled the eggs.

Her first act was to boil, then she peeled them by this method but she dissolved all the shell then washed. It tasted great and that has been since '75 so I'm guessing it isn't unhealthy either.

[liuzhou]

I've decided that all the shell did dissolve - very quickly indeed. Probably for the reason budrichard gives. What was left was perhaps not the whitened shell as I said, but the membrane between the shell and the egg white.

Anyway, I washed away what remained of the shells and removed what I now take to be the membrane. The eggs are now sitting in fresh vinegar with spices. I did try one (or three) when I was peeling them and they tasted fine, but a bit lacking in something. Hope the spicing fixes that. Will know in a day or two.

[kayb]

AHA! I buy farm eggs, and the only thing I don't like about them is they're damn near impossible to peel if one wants to make deviled eggs. Would this technique work to accomplish that?

[RobertCollins]

I buy farm eggs, and the only thing I don't like about them is they're damn near impossible to peel if one wants to make deviled eggs. Would this technique work to accomplish that?

Even at the $6 to 7 per Dozen at the local farmers markets that question has a less than a dollar answer. Please let us know; I have never thought of trying it even if my old neighbor did it with Quail Eggs.

[budrichard]

"Even at the $6 to 7 per Dozen at the local farmers markets"

In Wisconsin the going rate for farmer raised eggs is $2/doz. The farmer I purchase from has them free ranging but this is not Yuppie country and most farmers could care less about organic.

I would suggest that you deal directly with a farmer that raises eggs outside of the local farmers market. I have found that many individuals at these type of things are not selling what they personally farm and or products of questionable origin. A little work in sourcing out the local producers should yield lower prices and maybe higher quality.-Dick

Edited July 17, 2011 by budrichard (log)