It is amazing how life can give you blessings when you least expect them. When my parents were here for their annual visit we went to The Restaurant At Waterkloof Wines as they had really enjoyed their previous visit. This was the 14th of June and the restaurant was closing for their annual break after lunch service on the 15th. I had mentioned to Greg how much I loved Jerusalem Artichokes and after our meal a bag of them arrived at our table. Greg said that he would not be using them before they closed, and that the fresh produce would go to waste so he was gifting me the Jerusalem artichokes. I was so grateful, and my gratitude was extended to a crate of produce that came home with me. One of the wonderful items were 2 trays of quails eggs. I wanted to use them all up in a way that could be enjoyed for some time and so I decided to make Pickled Quails Eggs. Before we could do this we had to test how long it took to make an egg that was hard on the outside, soft on the inside and easy to peel. Once that had been perfected I tried a batch using a Jamie Oliver recipe. Once that batch was devoured, I made my own pickling liquid, using flavours I like. These pickled quails eggs take a little bit of effort but the taste is so worth it. I sat in front of the TV and peeled the lot – this being the most time consuming aspect of the process.
Pickled Quails Eggs
Ingredients
Method
- Place the vinegar, wine, celery seeds, aniseed, cloves, bay leaves, fennel seeds, peppercorns, coriander seeds, salt and shallot into a sauce pan
- Bring to the boil on a medium heat
- Reduce the heat and leave to simmer for 3 minutes
- Set aside to cool
- Bring a medium sized sauce pan filled 3/4 of the way with water to the boil
- Add a splash of cheap vinegar to the water
- Place 6 of the eggs into the water very carefully
- Boil for 2 and a half minutes
- Place into a bowl of ice water
- Repeat until all of the eggs have been boiled
- Once cooled, peel and place into a sterilized glass jar
- Pour over the cooled pickling liquid
- Put the lid on the jar and place into the fridge for 24 hours
Click on the links for conversions and notes.
What I blogged:
- one year ago –Chocolate Fondant
- three years ago – Getting To Know Each Other
- four years ago – Friday’s Food Quiz
Quails eggs are so cute and these look fabulous Tandy – one of the vendors at our Farmers’ Markets have a good supply, so might just get some this weekend and give this a try.
You will certainly not regret it Rachel 🙂
Greg is such a nice man, how generous of him. The pickled eggs look wonderful!
It was the most generous gift Cindy 🙂
Doing this on quail eggs is brilliant! I’ve made some using regular chicken’s eggs in beetroot but I want to try quail’s egg next! 😀
Have fun peeling them all 🙂
These eggs look fantastic, so sweet of Greg to pass off the crate 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
It was most kind of him 🙂
I love quail eggs. This looks like a great way to extend their shelf life.
this is the best way to make the most of a tray of them Mary Frances 🙂
Those look and sound so good! I made my first batch of pickled eggs last year but didn’t realize they were supposed to be eaten rather soon after making them. Alas, they exploded in my cupboard and I never did get to taste them. 🙂 I’ll know better for next time. 🙂
That must have made quite a mess Krista 🙂
Tandy, I learn every time I read your blog. Quail eggs??!? Pickled quail eggs! wow!! I have never heard of anyone even having access to quail eggs in my area so I will just have to take your word for it. I’m just wondering how big they are in comparison to chicken eggs? And do they taste the same? If you didn’t pickle them, I mean, could you just scramble them? Maybe this sounds ridiculous to you, but I wouldn’t know.
Laura, I shall have to remember to take comparison photographs in future! Quails eggs are tiny – about the same size as the tip of your thumb. You would need a lot of them for scrambling. They taste like hens eggs 🙂
Pickled eggs? That’s a news for me.. Will try soon
Hope you enjoy them 🙂
The pickled quail eggs sound so interesting. Quail eggs always look so sweet, but I’ve never tried one.
They taste just like hens eggs 🙂
so exotic! I’ve only had quail’s eggs at a faaaannncccy restaurant but these look amazing.
Thank you so much 🙂
Pickled eggs are definitely something I need to try!
They are fun to make, and lovely to eat 🙂
Oooh, the kids and I love quail eggs 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
My pleasure Julie 🙂
What a lovely gift! And what patience you had, I know how fiddly they are to peel. I’d have sat in front of the tv and eaten them as you peeled them 😉
I was quite tempted to do the same as a reward!
I think I need to go to that restaurant and rave about something, too! Oh, Tandy, what a lovely thing for your friend to have done! A wonderful blessing!
I love what you did with the quails eggs, too. So adventurous!
It was an amazing blessing Helen 🙂
What a sophisticated recipe Tandy, silly question, just wondering when you say they taste like hen eggs you mean regular eggs right?
yup, regular eggs (chicken eggs might have been a better term) 🙂
What a blessing! Loved this post!
Thank you Ambar, and thank you for the visit 🙂
They look delicious Tandy! Lol – have some Jerusalem artichokes, actually have some quail eggs, etc too – so very kind of Greg! 🙂 Love the shells on quail eggs. We enjoy cooking with tin brined quail eggs, but I’m certain these are more than superb. I was wondering what the splash of vinegar when boiling the eggs is for? Is it for taste or to help them peel easier or both? I want to try this. Love your aromatics too. Have a great weekend Tandy! 🙂
HI, the vinegar is to make sure that they don’t crack – well, at least that works for me. Amazing that we have the same things in our kitchen 🙂
These sound and look amazing, Tandy!
Thank you Jess 🙂
Lovely pickle, never had pickled quail egg before,
i really craving for it now Tandy!
Hope you try these Dedy 🙂
I’ve never had a pickled egg but I bet I’d start with these!
These were my first as well 🙂
Great idea Tandy. We have herds of quail running through our yard but alas, I find their eggs hidden in planter pots everywhere. Guess I’ll have to go to the Chinese market.
Hope you manage to find some fresh eggs Tammy 🙂
What a lovely treat you were gifted. I like your pickling spice mixture…the eggs must have been great.
They were Karen, thank you 🙂