pickled quail eggs

[DrPizza]

Mmmmmmm. My brother hatched a few dozen this spring, then when they started laying, hatched out quite a few more. He's eaten a few dozen of the quail, but still gets about 4 dozen quail eggs a day - enough to make a quart of pickled quail eggs. Omg, they were so good!

I have about 90-100 eggs hard boiled now, sitting in a bath of vinegar to dissolve the shells off by morning. Anyone have a good recipe? (I haven't picked a recipe and will be pickling them in the morning.)

I'm also thinking about buying a couple dozen quail from my brother - amazing little egg machines they are, for very little feed.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Start with a standard pickle, equal parts vinegar, water, salt and, sugar. Add whatever flavors you like and go fro there. One of the oddball combinations I'm fond of is lavender and red chile flakes. Another good one is black tea and teriyaki.

 

[DrPizza]

I had the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar part down... What I really meant was "anyone have any fond pickle flavors?" The first one you posted doesn't sound too bad. Then again, the ones I tried yesterday, I thought "ewww, but I'll be polite." Then I ate another. And another.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I had the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar part down... What I really meant was "anyone have any fond pickle flavors?" The first one you posted doesn't sound too bad. Then again, the ones I tried yesterday, I thought "ewww, but I'll be polite." Then I ate another. And another.

Garlic and fennel is another good one. Throw some small whole mushrooms into the pickle for a great color texture combo.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Pickling eggs is great peasant food and the one warning I'd give is to not make the flavor combinations too complex.

 

[DrPizza]

Made up my own recipe; turned out great. I just simply used beet juice (in place of most of the water) and pickling spice, along with the vinegar & a bit of sugar. Going to make up another batch tonight & try something different. My wife had a say in how "hot" they were; but she doesn't eat them. So, cayenne pepper will be in the mix next time.

edit: just grabbed a handful of them for a snack. I pondered this idea - is there some sort of dye I could dip them into (probably two dippings) to make them appear a little bit more like an eyeball? (Right size, right color, except for the iris/cornea) It would be wonderful fun to eat "eyeballs" at lunch some day when I'm sitting at the table with half a dozen other teachers and staff.

 

[NetWareHead]

Made up my own recipe; turned out great. I just simply used beet juice (in place of most of the water) and pickling spice, along with the vinegar & a bit of sugar. Going to make up another batch tonight & try something different. My wife had a say in how "hot" they were; but she doesn't eat them. So, cayenne pepper will be in the mix next time.

edit: just grabbed a handful of them for a snack. I pondered this idea - is there some sort of dye I could dip them into (probably two dippings) to make them appear a little bit more like an eyeball? (Right size, right color, except for the iris/cornea) It would be wonderful fun to eat "eyeballs" at lunch some day when I'm sitting at the table with half a dozen other teachers and staff.

Are they not white when you pickle them? I had pickled eggs once, but they were store shelf quality and I didn't enjoy them. They just tasted of vinegar and not much of anything else. I'm sure some of the previously suggested spices would taste good since eggs seem like they absorb the flavors of pickling spices.

 

[Rastus]

Do you get good farts when you wash them down with beer?

 

[Phynaz]

Vadalia Onion!

 

[rayfieldclement]

The only thing like that I ever had was pickled eggs in beet juice.

 

[Joseph F]

Do you have tips, or know of any resources about raising quail? My mom was thinking about raising some, and I would like to know more about it.

 

[mcurphy]

I love pickled eggs. I have been using this recipe for the past 15 years:

3 dozen hard-boiled eggs
3 med. onions
8 ea. dried cayenne peppers
6 cups white vinegar
2 cups water
3 Tb. salt
6 Tb. mustard seed
3 Tb. crushed red pepper
2 cloves garlic
2 Tb. sugar
1 Tb crushed cayenne pepper

Slice onion into ¼” slices, separate into rings. In a 1-gallon jar layer the eggs, onion slices, and cayenne peppers, make sure to leave enough eggs to cover the top to hold down the onions and the peppers. Combine all the rest of the ingredients in large saucepan. Bring to a boil, boil 5 min., reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and pour over eggs. Loosely cover jar and allow to cool. Cover jar tight and refrigerate for 3 weeks.

 

[DrPizza]

Sure. Feed them, give them water. Easiest way to water them is to use an automatic waterer. It's like a tiny urinal with a valve that causes it to refill when it's low. That's pretty much it - they're very easy to raise; just like chickens. Note: the dumb things (along with a few other birds) will drown themselves as chicks if you have too much water available to them to get into.