How Long To Boil Quail Eggs?

Despite their fragile appearance, which can be quite daunting, quail eggs are much like any other eggs, which means that you’ll be able to boil, fry, crack and peel them like you normally would do a chicken egg. Have you ever peeled an egg and become so frustrated when you found that the whited of the egg were peeling off as well? Well I can tell you that there is a much easier and cleaner way to achieve a perfectly peeled finish.

Table of Contents

• What Are Quail Eggs?
• What Do Quail Eggs Taste Like?
• Can You Eat Raw Quail Eggs?
• How To Cook Quail Eggs?
• Why Are Quail Eggs So Hard To Peel?
• Why Do Eggs Crack In The Boiling Water?
• Adding Eggs To Cold Water
• How To Boil Quail Eggs
• How To Peel Quail Eggs?
• How To Crack Quail Eggs?
• What To Serve With Quail Eggs?
  • Salads
  • Soups
  • Sweet Dishes
• Quail Eggs
• FAQs

What Are Quail Eggs?

Quail eggs are rapidly growing in popularity amongst different cuisines, these tiny little eggs can be hard or soft boiled, fried, or even scrambled – a cute alternative to chicken eggs. They taste surprisingly similar to chicken eggs but are typically a third of the size of a chicken egg. They have cream colored shells with brown splotches, bright yellow yolks. They are packed with nutrients providing a generous chunk of Vitamin B12, and iron.

What Do Quail Eggs Taste Like?

Surprisingly, quail eggs taste a lot like chicken eggs, though there is a tiny bit of richness to the taste of these tiny eggs, because they have a bigger yolk to white ratio than chicken eggs. They are rich and creamy and small enough to not overwhelm a dish, some people even compare their taste to free range chicken eggs, a perfect topping whether you’re serving them raw or cooked.

Can You Eat Raw Quail Eggs?

All raw or undercooked eggs potentially house salmonella bacteria, although the chances of the quail eggs being infected by this is very low, because the quail’s body temperature is much higher than that of a chicken. To reduce the risk of infection, only use pasteurized eggs and wash the shells before eating them.

How To Cook Quail Eggs?

Quail eggs are cooked in the exact same way as chicken eggs, you can scramble them, boil them, make omelets out of them, and if you’re feeling particularly adventurous then you can even bake a cake using quail eggs. Remembering to use 5 to 6 quail eggs in place of 1 chicken egg. However, naturally cooking time will be very different for quail eggs compared to chicken eggs, because they are so small.

Why Are Quail Eggs So Hard To Peel?

To be honest eggs can be quite tricky to peel period, I remember when I used to get especially frustrated with the chicken egg shells that stubbornly attached themselves to the whites of the boiled egg, which as a result had me peeling the skin plus half of the egg off as well!

Similarly, fresh Quail eggs are naturally harder to peel because the egg whites contain a higher amount of acidity, which makes the eggshell stick to the shell even more. If you have fresh Quail eggs in your cupboard, here is a trick to make them considerably easier to peel. Add half a teaspoon of bicarbonate soda to the boiling water, or you could simply use week old fresh eggs.

Why Do Eggs Crack In The Boiling Water?

Have you ever had your eggs jumping around in the boiling water – as they should – and then to your dismay you find a white trail coming out of one of the eggs? The reason why an egg cracks when you add it to boiling water is because of the pressure in the egg due to the temperature differences. The cold raw egg and the air pocked inside expands, as the shell starts to grow hotter.

Adding Eggs To Cold Water

This is a great way to allow the eggs to become accustomed to the temperature around them, rather than dunking them straight into a pan of boiling water. You can add a pinch of bicarbonate soda to make it easier to peel the eggs later. Place the pan with cold water and the eggs over medium-high heat and gently heat up the water. The eggs will gradually warm up with the water, which will give them enough time to adapt slowly to their warming environment. Use this cold water method, and you’ll never find yourself peeling an egg shell, with half your egg again!

How To Boil Quail Eggs

Many of us would know how to boil a normal chicken egg, but because quail eggs are adorably smaller, and more fragile they need to be boiled a bit differently. Using a pan instead of a large pot will make the water boil faster, just make sure that the eggs are entirely covered by the water. Also, try boiling room-temperature eggs as this will prevent them from cracking early, just add them to a bowl of warm water for a few minutes before boiling.

1. Place the pot or pan on a stovetop and heat on high, bringing the water to a bubbling boil, then add your quail eggs.
2. Let your eggs boil for 2 minutes if you want soft boiled quail eggs, 3 minutes for medium boiled eggs, and 4 minutes for hard boiled.
3. Once time is up, move the eggs to a bowl of cold water, you could add some ice cubes into the water as well to speed up the process. Dip a spoon into the water and take each egg out of the bowl, they should cool off in a minute or two.
4. Once they’re cool enough to hold without your finger tips burning, start peeling!

The cold water allows the shells to slip off a lot easier while peeling them.

How To Peel Quail Eggs?

Peeling a quail egg is pretty much like peeling a chicken egg, but the size of the quail egg means that it’s much more fragile and needs to be handled gently.

1. Put down a paper towel to catch any egg shell pieces that fall as you peel, you’d want to peel these eggs over the kitchen counter, with care and precision.
2. Take each egg out of the bowl of cold water
3. Tap each egg on a hard surface, or with a spoon
4. Gently roll each egg to crack the rest of its shell, don’t apply too much pressure while rolling the egg, or you’ll crush it.
5. Get rid of the shell, and you’ll find the pristine boiled egg, without chunks missing from it.

If you’ve soft boiled your eggs it’s best to enjoy them instantly, with a sprinkle of salt. Hard-boiled eggs can be peeled and stored in the refrigerator for upt0 3 to 5 days.

You can enjoy these eggs as a tasty snack, or chop them up and add them to a salad for a tasty treat!

How To Crack Quail Eggs?

Don’t try to crack quail eggs on the side of a glass bowl like you would with a chicken egg. Instead crack your eggs with a paring knife, or serrated knife.

1. Grab an egg and hold it with the narrow side down
2. With your chosen tool, cut the top of the eggshell, roughly a quarter of the way from the top, making sure that your fingers are kept away from the blade. Cut around the egg until the top part comes off, making sure that you’re extra careful as the eggs can get frustratingly slippery.
3. Once the top is removed from the egg, turn the egg upside down and empty it into your pan or bowl, the egg white and yolk will topple out together perfectly. If you’re making more than one egg, then it’s best to crack all of them at once and dunking them into a bowl.
4. Boil, fry, scramble, poach or blend and enjoy!

What To Serve With Quail Eggs?

There are many things that you can try to cook with your quail eggs, from soups, to salads there are a bunch of recipes for you to try, that’ll have you adoring the taste of Quail eggs even more!

Salads

Replace the chicken eggs in salads with soft boiled eggs, or add them to warm uncured bacon salad. Caesar salad also appreciates a few soft boiled quail eggs, you can even make a Caesar dressing with quail eggs instead of chicken eggs.

Soups

Just before you’re ready to serve some soup, drop a few soft boiled eggs in there. It’ll add some texture and richness to the thick creamy soup. Just imagine dunking a spoon into the soup and emerging with cute little soft boiled eggs, with delicious yolks that explode in your mouth. Yum!

Sweet Dishes

You can bake a cake with these tiny little eggs, try carrot cake using quail eggs instead of chicken eggs make them enough to have a double serving, which is what anyone would want. Crack them for some early morning pancakes with a drizzle of syrup over the top.

Quail Eggs

They can be boiled, peeled, and cooked just like chicken eggs, despite their tiny size they aren’t limited to their job! Add them to your favourite salad, or soups and stews to achieve a rich textured meal, turning any simple meal into a bedazzling treat!

FAQs