Q: I bought a huge amount of quail eggs yesterday at the farmer's market, but each time I think of what to do with them, the quail-egg-eating scene in "The Tudors" pops into my mind and I go eat hot dogs instead. Could you tell me about them and if there are any specific, awesome uses?
And would it be completely ridiculous to make sunny side up fried quail eggs?
Sent by Laura
Editor: Laura, first a question for you: is this the scene you're talking about? Second, you can eat quail eggs pretty much any way you might eat chicken eggs: baked, deviled, pickled, and yes, sunny side up!
Here's a bit more info:
• Ingredient Spotlight: Quail Eggs
Readers, do you have any recommendations for especially awesome ways to use quail eggs?
Related: A Giant Among Eggs: Goose Eggs
(Image: Dana Velden)
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I am a big fan of Laura Calder's Herb-Rolled Quail Eggs. She rolls them in this amazing Middle Eastern herb mixture called za'atar.
Za'atar recipe: http://mideastfood.about.com/od/middleeasternspicesherbs/r/zaatar.htm
Herb-Rolled Quail Eggs Recipe: http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/laura-calder/herb-rolled-quails-eggs-recipe/index.html
Put them in bento lunch boxes! They even make quail egg molds to make mini cutie hard boiled eggs!
Hard boil them, peel them, and then wrap them in breakfast sausage and bake them. Tiny little scotch eggs!
I love, love, love this potato salad from Ottolenghi:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/apr/21/foodanddrink.recipes
I've tried hard-cooking quail eggs but their shells seem tougher than chicken eggs and I always end up gouging the whites when peeling them. Is there a trick to this? I'd love to try the rolling in Za'atar recipe.
Camcanuck: It does sound like a good recipe, but 200ml of olive oil? That's a lot of olive oil:-)
Kids love quail eggs, and they are really good for lunch boxes because they are less smelly than chicken eggs.
Poach them (obviously doesn't take very long as they are so tiny) and add them to salads, grilled asparagus, or use them for an amuse bouche.
If they're still fresh, I would use for beef tartare, but you gotta love beef tartare.
Otherwise, wrap them in pasta dough or wonton wraps and gently poach. Serve these egg ravioli in a parsley butter sauce.
Second that comment about the Ottolenghi's Royal Potato Salad. I also poached them or soft boil them for japanese soups...
Pickle them. I'm not a huge pickled eggs fan because the proportions are so off on a chicken egg, but pickled quail eggs are perfect to pop in your mouth (and they can be ready to eat in as little as 24 hours).
I'm also a fan of hard boiling them, cutting them in half, and putting a dab of topping on; different toppings for each. It's fun and creative, and it makes a stunning presentation.
They are good on pizza.
I think they are great in noodle soups (like ramen) or hotpot or something like that, because they are not so big, so you can add several of them instead of having one single big one.
I love them hard-boiled for breakfast. I usually eat 3-4. They have a better yolk to white ration than most chicken eggs in my opinion and since they are so small I can eat them in one large bite rather than having a mostly yolk or mostly white bite.
I've served them as hors d'oeuvres deviled--only just cut the top off, didn't halve, because they're so small. They're adorable.
Also, lightly fried sunny side up and placed on top of seared jumbo scallops.
I adore quail eggs! When I was young my parents used to make a soy milk dessert with quail eggs. We'd boil barley, add soy milk, gingko nuts, bean curd sheets and hard-boiled quail eggs. Delicious hot or cold!
Quail eggs are good raw too (and have low risk of salmonella). I add them to natto (fermented soy beans, available frozen in asian markets) or even hot rice with bit of soy sauce, green onions, and sesame seeds.
They are also good hard boiled, peeled, then soaked in soy sauce for a few minutes. Then cut then in half and put some salmon roe on top. Absolutely delicious!