Thursday, July 12, 2007

Quail Scotch Eggs

Today I redress an imbalance - I have previously posted about duck eggs and goose eggs and good old chicken eggs but have never mentioned quail eggs...until now

quail egg © haalo


These tiny speckled eggs are incredibly light, they almost feel empty and like snowflakes, no two seem to be alike.

This next photo probably gives you a better idea their size when compared to a standard chicken egg

quail v chicken egg ©


One of my favourite ways to use quail eggs is in making scotch eggs. Now scotch eggs are basically a boiled egg that is coated in a meat mixture, it's then crumbed and deep fried. It's more commonly made with chicken eggs but this version using quail eggs are an ideal finger food.

quail scotch eggs©


Quail Scotch Eggs
[Makes 6]

6 Quail Eggs
150 grams chicken thigh meat, cut into small pieces
3 spring onions, roughly chopped
parsley leaves, washed and picked
ground nutmeg
grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
freshly ground salt and black pepper
1 egg white
1 egg yolk
1 whole egg
sifted plain flour
breadcrumbs

Boil the Quail Eggs:
Place a pot of water on to boil, when boiling add the quail eggs and cook for 5 minutes. Remove and peel immediately.

Quail eggs can be a fiddly to peel but I find it easier when the eggs are still hot.

Make the Chicken mixture:

Place the spring onions and parsley leaves into a bowl of food processor - process until finely chopped. Add the chicken pieces and process until finely chopped. Add the ground nutmeg, salt and pepper and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Process again until combined. The mixture needs to be quite smooth to make forming the scotch eggs easier.

Place the chicken mixture into a bowl and add enough egg white to bind.

Divide the mixture into 6 even portions.

Make the Scotch Eggs:

Place the whole egg and egg yolk and any left over egg white into a small bowl and briefly whisk to amalgamate.

In another bowl place the breadcrumbs - if you want a bit more flavour, you can add grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to this.

In a plate sprinkle over a little plain flour.

Take a portion of chicken mixture and flatten it out - place a boiled egg in the middle and then shape the chicken mixture around the egg. The objective is to get an even covering over the egg that isn't too thick.

Roll this through the flour and then pat the excess away, continue to reshape and remove any excess meat.

Next, place this through the egg mix and then through the breadcrumbs. I find it best to double crumb each egg.

Set this aside while use the remaining eggs. If you aren't going to cook them straight away, just store them in the fridge until ready - this will also help firm up the crumbing.

Cook the Scotch Eggs:

You need to use a vessel large enough to deep fry the eggs - I just use a saucepan. Oil temperature is important as you don't want to cook them too quickly - you need to cook the chicken mixture but only warm the egg. I found that a temperature around 130°C/ 260°F did the job.

It does seem like a lot of work but they are awfully pretty

quail scotch eggs©

These make an excellent companion to aioli (a lovely garlic mayonnaise).

11 comments

  1. These are so different, Haalo!
    I need some good ideas of finger food for my dad's birthday next Saturday, this is great!

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  2. AnonymousJuly 12, 2007

    Scotch eggs were one of the first things we were taught how to make in cooking class ...many years ago.
    Quite a bit different to your delicious recipe. Ours were boiled chicken eggs surrounded by a sausage meat mixture, from memory we added tomato sauce to the mix.
    Then crumbed and fried.
    From what I can remember they were very salty, probably the sausage/tomato sauce mixture.

    Needless to say I very rarely ever made them again.
    Your recipe has inspired me to make some again.

    Thanks Haalo.
    I made some of your hazelnut, banana chip cookies today...still a favourite in our house.:):)

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  3. They must be awfully delicious too!

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  4. These are very neat Haalo. I've never had a scotch egg before, I'm going to show this to Scott and see if he wants to give them a try.

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  5. VERY cute!! My mom usually puts hard boiled quail eggs in laksa. I also went through a "mini" phrase when i thought it was very cute to cook sunny side up quail eggs and served it with mini everything (e.g. mini sausages, hash browns, etc)... but it got a bit tiring to break that many eggs - they looked cute though :-)

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  6. Thanks Patricia - you can use all sorts of meat to wrap around the egg, I've even seen one that used smoked haddock, feel free to add different herbs and spices.

    Thanks Karen - I've never made the chicken scotch eggs but they certainly look like they would be quite a substantial meal. Glad to know the cookies are enjoyed!

    They are Angie!

    Thanks Sara - hope they get the ok!

    Thanks Nora - mini food is gorgeous but it can get a bit trying. I love the mini poached quail egg florentine, yum.

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  7. AnonymousJuly 13, 2007

    These are so nice!!
    I follow your blog a long time ago and you always surprise me with new products and recipes...
    THANKS!

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  8. Thank you so much Sil - I hope you continue to find enjoyment in these pages.

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  9. Aïoli would be the perfect accompaniment for these, Haalo. I've always wondered why we see quail's eggs in supermarkets and on restaurant menus everywhere yet there doesn't seem to be any kind of market for the eggs of other game birds like squab/teal/pheasant/grouse/partridge etc. Correct if I'm wrong, you may indeed use such eggs in Australia but I've never come across any of them

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  10. That's an excellent question Trig - I've never really thought about that before. I suppose traditionally partridge etc were game birds and hunted rather than being kept "in-house" like chicken and the others. It would be harder to get fresh eggs from birds that are out in the wild. It could also be that there isn't a return in harvesting the eggs and they make more money from the bird itself. Certainly has me thinking and it would be interesting to find out the reasons.

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  11. i love it! good! yummy!
    gigzy trinidad

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