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Quail Eggs


Rachel Perlow

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Quail Eggs

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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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.

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With or without the whirlpool, the thin albumen forms a "tail"

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Poached quail egg, sans tail

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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Deviled Quail Eggs, pristine and with a sprinkling of Spanish Paprika

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I bet I could eat about a thousand of those deviled quail eggs. I'd eat them like M&Ms.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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Well, if Steven "Cool Hand Luke" Shaw could eat a thousand of those deviled eggs, how many of these babies could he eat.

I have had deviled quails eggs at a wedding as part of the cocktail buffet. They were delicious, although those particular ones were a little heavy on a vinegar taste that they got a little carried away with. Rachel's looked delicious.

Brooks Hamaker, aka "Mayhaw Man"

There's a train everyday, leaving either way...

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Thank you Rachel. My nephew is a quail egg lover. I will put your research to good use.

Next assignment... Ostrich!

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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The picture with the bare hand and the knife reminded me of the number # Emergency Room procedure -- suturing up hands that were cut when slicing bagles!!

Rachel -- your project is one of those things that makes e-Gullet so special. The entire pictorial procedure also belongs in a magazine. Beautiful!! "Cooks" should be contacted.

I once had people use plastic chopsticks to pick up wet quails eggs -- as a way to learn dexterity with chopsticks. I didn't cook the eggs, (I'm lazy) they came shelled, in a can -- about 24 to sardine sizes can!!

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The picture with the bare hand and the knife reminded me of the number # Emergency Room procedure -- suturing up hands that were cut when slicing bagles!!

Yes, I know, but that procedure is not a slice, but supposed to be quick controlled, straight up and down, WHACK. I try not to go more than a 1/4" into the shell. The idea is to get a slice into the shell that you can get your fingernails into to pry the shell apart. It was the only way to get the raw egg out without picking off bits of shell in order for the egg to shloop out the opening (when using the flat crack method), and that usually resulted in broken yolks anyway.

You could, of course, put some towelling between your fingers and the egg, for protection. But if I did that in the picture, you wouldn't be able to tell I was even holding the egg -- and there's no way to get a controlled whack without holding it.

Anyone know of an easier way to get a raw egg out without breaking the yolk?

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Stunning! Love the miniature devilled eggs.

I wonder if the deep-pan method works with quail eggs?

A favourite salad is faux-breakfast: spinach leaves, crumbled bacon, fried potato cubes, black pudding and poached quail eggs, with a hot dressing.

Hard boiled quail eggs on their own make great appetizers.

However I particularly like them tea-marbled.

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Those are so pretty, Rachel. The devilled ones look like a great alternative to hens' eggs. The pickled ones Mayhaw Man pictured are a big favorite. Everyone seems to post such beautiful pictures that I am thoroughly intimidated, I must confess. The ones on poaching are so cool!

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GREAT post, Rachel! The poached eggs would be perfect for a tiny frisée aux lardons-inspired salad in a multi-course meal.

As for you, Cool Hand Shaw, what we got here is a failure to communicate. You throw down the gauntlet and there's gonna be a deviled quail egg eating contest.

--

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(Terror strikes the heart of the quail-hen community at the thought of having to produce enough eggs to support an eGullet quail-egg eating competition)

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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:biggrin: we use quail eggs in our restaurant . i find an easy way to open them is with a small serated paring knife. a great canape with quail eggs is a tiny potato cake with creme fraiche,,smoked salmon,,,quail egg saute and chives. yummmmmmm! im going to the asian market now! :blink:
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I wonder if the deep-pan method works with quail eggs?

I'm sure it would. However, the 1-qt pot was deep enough for the poached egg to form perfectly. I had no "boiled fried eggs" (I think of them as "nippley" :laugh:) 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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i find an easy way to open them is with a small serated paring knife

This is great! the serrated part is important, because it acts like a little saw.....its the tough inner membrane that makes these little delicacies hard to crack open.

I also sometimes use a combinatio of rachel's knife-whack and a pair of sizzors.

My favourite quail egg goodie?

tiny teeny huevos rancheros, i just pan brown the little egg-lettes, in a few nubbins of butter or oil in a nonstick pan--the no-stick pan is important because the eggs are so delicate. and i brown rather than poach because it looks so cute on the tortillas.

okay, they are going to rest on tiny corn tortillas that you cut with your sizzors and warm in a pan. same pan. before so they are ready to top with the little eggs.

and you make a lovely salsa fresca, or ranchera, or simply do the cheat-y thing and doctor a fresh storebought one. Spice with a little of what you love to make it your own, then serve a dab of salsa on top of the little tortilla rounds, topped with a darling adorable quails egg, and another dab of salsa.

i like cilantro, too, but there is only room for about one leaf.

makes terrific canapes.

Marlena the spieler

www.marlenaspieler.com

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Ooh, I just thought of another canape. What is that egg dish where you punch a circle out of bread and fry the egg inside the slice of bread. I'm thinking "Toad in the Hole" but I'm pretty sure thats more akin go sausages in pancake batter or something.

Anyway, doing that with bread cut small for canapes with the quail egg in the middle. That would be so cute!

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yes, yes, yes, so adorable!

and what about brik a l'oeuf? that pastry of filo or warka dough wrapped around a bit of onion, anchovy, meat, potato, tuna, harissa, etc, and a raw egg, then fried. the pastry gets crispy, and the egg gets poached. it is delicious but big.

if you made it teeny tiny with quails eggs......what do you think? probably messy, you'd need to get the wrist action going, but i think maybe a lovely little morsel. Maybe wrapped in pasta dough instead?

oh, i don't know. but i'd love one of your little toast with the egg in the hole right now though..........and maybe a teeny weeny sausage? or lardon to resemble bacon?

Marlena the spieler

www.marlenaspieler.com

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We did little bitty Scotch eggs using quail eggs at a party we catered once. They the absolute number one hit at the party. People were actually coming into the kitchen to be first in line when another batch was ready.

Julie Layne

"...a good little eater."

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I bet I could eat about a thousand of those deviled quail eggs. I'd eat them like M&Ms.

Same here!

Amazing... I would never have imagined so many photos of quail eggs. I love those babies. Nice job!

Life is short; eat the cheese course first.

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What is that egg dish where you punch a circle out of bread and fry the egg inside the slice of bread.

I always called that "Eggs in a Frame." That would be cute!

Egg in a Basket is what we always called it. My boys eat it for breakfast all of the time with a piece of cheddar melted on top.

Brooks Hamaker, aka "Mayhaw Man"

There's a train everyday, leaving either way...

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Rachel, this is probably a dumb question, but I've got a Moluccan cockatoo who insists on laying eggs...she's laid at least a dozen this year so far and I've been blowing them out and saving them (well, what can I say? They ARE cute). Friends and husband have discussed what they'd taste like and now that I see this thread, I'm wondering if they might not be interesting. (of course, to me, it would be like eating my grandchildren, so I will refrain myself). Where did you find information on the nutritional value of the quail eggs? Or did you just do a search on quail eggs themselves? Thanks!

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