Quail eggs are not easily found in most places, but search online and ask – you might just find someone raising quail, who sells the eggs. We are fortunate to have a local larger scale egg grower who also raises quail. They sell the eggs in our local independent grocery store for about $2.50 a dozen. My plan is to eventually raise quail ourselves, as they are easy to handle – and take up a lot less spaces than chickens.
One of my sons loves hard-boiled quail eggs, and for him, I am happy to do the work to make a bunch up. The tiny eggs are 3 to 4 to equal a chicken egg in size, however the yolks are a higher ratio than in chicken eggs, which make for a more satisfying egg to nibble on. They are gorgeous in ramen, in soups, served as mini deviled eggs, or tucked into lunches. And as a bonus, they are often tolerated by those with chicken egg allergies – and unlike duck eggs, don’t have a strong taste or texture going on.
That they make tiny egg cartons for them……squeeee! The eggs are durable, but be careful to not drop them when raw, they will still break (though some use a special cutting tool to break raw eggs).
Hard Boiled Quail Eggs
Directions:
Bring a saucepan of water to boil. Gently place 3 to 4 eggs in at a time, using a slotted spoon.
Lower the heat to medium, gently boil for 4 minutes.
Take off the heat and immediately transfer the eggs into a bowl full of cold water, drain carefully and let cold water run over, and drain as needed, till the eggs cool a bit.
For easy peeling, work with lightly warm eggs. Crack the bottom of the eggs on the counter (I line the counter with a paper towel). The secret to easy peeling is to make sure you break the membrane under the peel. Once you break that, the peel comes right off. It is easier to peel quail eggs than chicken eggs! The inside of the shells are a pretty light blue.
Store tightly sealed in the refrigerator. Use within a few days.
~Sarah