Say goodbye to the tantrums and f-words: because here is how to boil and peel quail eggs easily! This is a drop dead simple and fail proof method, believe me… You can thank me later!
Do you know how to boil and peel quail eggs?
Have you ever peeled eggs and no matter what you do, the boiled egg white comes off while you peel off the shell?
I bet.
And it drives me so mad!
Let’s be honest, a badly peeled egg looks so ugly.
Peeling an egg perfectly can be so satisfying.
How To Peel Quail Eggs Best
But often it is just downright nerve racking.
In the end all you have is a sorry looking blob of an egg that seems to come from another sorry planet.
I could just smash it against the wall sometimes!
And that is just a large chicken egg.
But have you ever tried to peel quail eggs before?
Tricky
So…
If peeling a chicken egg drives you crazy enough already, then do not even start peeling a quail egg – before you have even checked out my method for how to boil and peel quail eggs.
Say goodbye to the tantrums and f-words while peeling eggs…
My method for how to boil and peel quail eggs is fail proof.
And actually fun to do as well!
Video
Watch my video of how to peel quail eggs easily!
Kitchen Hack
Say goodbye to tantrums and f-words!
Here is how to boil and peel quail eggs easily! It is drop dead simple and fail proof. You can thank me later!
As you can see: this trick is so so simple.
A plastic container with a fitting lid and a splash of water is all you need. I was able to peel all the boiled quail eggs in just 2 minutes.
I do not have to tell you how satisfying it is to see the egg shell come smoothly off the boiled egg white, that shiny perfect surface that smiles back at you.
What a real pleasure!
But what is it that makes some eggs so terribly hard to peel properly?
Why Are Quail Eggs So Hard To Peel?
Good question.
Do you have any idea?
Well here is a simple answer: fresh eggs are harder to peel.
Why?
A freshly laid egg has an egg yolk with a pH level of about 6.0 and an egg white with a pH of about 7.6 (alkaline).
Which makes the egg white stick to the shell much more.
If you have only fresh eggs in your pantry, here is a trick to make them easier to peel: add half a teaspoon of bicarb soda to the boiling water.
Or you could simply use week old eggs.
Bicarb Soda
Here is another issue while boiling eggs that can make you go absolutely bananas…
The egg that you added to the boiling water pops and cracks and the egg white comes out which makes the boiling water frothy and full of white specks.
You can only watch and wait until the egg white stops escaping from the egg shell and form an ugly white blob on the outside.
Resulting of course in a half empty egg once you peel it.
How To Boil And Peel Quail Eggs
But don’t worry, help is on the way.
Here is how to boil and peel quail eggs easily!
The reason why an egg cracks when you add it to boiling water is the pressure in the egg because of the temperature difference. The cold raw egg and the air pocket inside expand because the shell gets hot.
So how to avoid this, how to prevent the eggs from cracking?
If you want to make hard-boiled eggs, then add the eggs you want to cook to a large saucepan and fill the pan with cold tap water.
Cold Water
You can add a pinch of bicarb soda at this stage to make it easier to peel the eggs later.
Then place the pan with the water and eggs over medium-high heat and gently heat up the water.
So here is what happens when you use this method.
The eggs will gradually but slowly warm up in water that has the same temperature. That will give the egg enough time to adapt slowly to the warming environment. Use this cold water trick and you will never end up with cracked half empty eggs again!
Unless the egg was already cracked before adding it to the cold water.
Soft Boiled
But I can hear you say: what if you want to make soft-boiled eggs?
You can’t use that cold water trick then, right?
Wrong!
Sure you can use the same method! All you need to do is time it: timing is crucial or you will overcook the eggs.
So here we go again.
Place the eggs you want to soft boil in a large saucepan and cover with cold tape water. Place the pan over high heat and bring it to a rolling boil. Then immediately take the pan off the heat and cover with a lid.
How to Boil And Peel Quail Eggs
Set your cooking timer: 3 and a half minutes should do for soft-boiled eggs.
Try it, it really works!
The eggs are not cracked at all.
The perfect breakfast.
OK but how does it work for quail eggs then?
So say goodbye to the tantrums and f-words…
Because here is how to boil and peel quail eggs easily! Drop dead simple and fail proof… You can thank me later!
Here we go.
How to Boil And Peel Quail Eggs: The Method
how to boil and peel quail eggs
- 10 quail eggs at room temperature
- water
1) Place the quail eggs in a medium saucepan. Add cold tap water. Place the pan over medium-high heat and bring the water to a boil.
2) Then take the pan off the heat, cover with a lid and let them boil in the hot water for 6 minutes for hard-boiled quail eggs. If you want soft-boiled quail eggs: bring the water to a boil, turn off the heat and keep the quail eggs in the hot water for another minute. Then remove the eggs immediately and carefully refresh them under cold running tap water.
How To Store Eggs?
Isn’t that just a fabulous method?!
I love to write posts like this how to boil and peel quail eggs post, because it is not only useful but I also learn new things when I am doing my research!
Like for instance the answer to this question: how to store eggs?
Should you keep eggs in the fridge or in a room temperature pantry? And how long do they last? How long can you keep an egg for?
Opinions differ quite a bit around this matter.
Fridge?
The fridge fans say that keeping eggs in the fridge increases shelf life and avoids bacterial contamination, which might otherwise result in salmonella poisoning.
Fans of the room temperature theory on the other hand are convinced that cold eggs loose flavor and are a nightmare to cook with, especially when you are baking. It is true however that some supermarket don’t keep eggs in a fridge.
Me personally I store eggs in my fridge all the time.
Shelf Life
Not for a culinary reason however.
I just don’t like too much stuff laying around in my kitchen or pantry. Whatever theory you believe in, refrigerating eggs does prolong the shelf life and that is for a fact. Eggs kept in a fridge can last up to four to five weeks.
Eggs stored at room temperature will only last for about 2 weeks.
Quail Egg Recipes
Enough egg talk for now!
Let’s end this ‘how to boil and peel quail eggs’ blog post with a couple of very interesting quail egg recipes.
In which recipes could you use your peeled hard-boiled quail eggs?
I have two highly recommendable stew recipes here on my website that contain boiled quail eggs: an Indian eggplant and quail egg curry and a pork belly stew with soy sauce and quail eggs!
Can you eat quail eggs raw?
Health organisations worldwide highly advise against eating quail eggs or any eggs raw as there is always a risk of salmonella contamination which can make you extremely sick.
It is advised to cook them thoroughly before consuming.
However quite a lot of dishes in the world are made with raw eggs.
Can you name a few?
Mayonnaise for instance, at least the one you make from scratch at home. Store bought mayo is totally safe.
Tartare
Beef tartare is another classic that is not the same without a raw egg mixed in it.
And let’s be honest: a raw quail egg yolk looks amazing and so appealing on top of my Asian steak tartare.
Or check out my Spanish sobrasada tartare with quail egg!
On my long to try list still: pickled quail eggs and scotch appetizer quail eggs!
What cuisines use raw eggs in dishes?
Raw eggs are used in many cuisines, including French (mayonnaise, Hollandaise sauce, omelettes), Italian (carbonara, tiramisu, zabaglione), Japanese (tamago kake gohan, oyakodon, tsukimi udon) and Chinese (century egg, egg drop soup).
Now you know how to boil and peel quail eggs!
So say goodbye to tantrums and f-words! Here’s how to boil and peel quail eggs easily! It is drop dead simple and fail proof.
You can thank me later!
Enjoy!
how to boil and peel quail eggs
I do all of this the same way as you, Tricks of the trade I call it..
I assume that you let the eggs cool in cold water before using your (super cool BTW) easy-peel trick? Thanks.
I find that stirring them as they cook is the best trick. This keeps the yolk centered so that when you peel them, the whites don’t tear open as often from the yolk being too close to the sides. I just did 48 and only broke two of them. A record for me. I put them into cold water, and heated on high. As soon as the water boiled, i turned off the element and let them rest/cook for 6 minutes – then cooled them briefly in cold water and started peeling 🙂
Hi June!!! Long time no hear! So glad that Google took me right to your page when I googled for quail eggs. I hope you’re doing well! This trick for peeling looks great. Gonna try it in about 5 minutes to see how it works.
First time buying or eating quail eggs. I saw Uma Thurman have quail eggs at a Japanese restaurant in a move and until then I had never heard of them. Thanks for the info. Egg-shell-ant instructions!
I’d marry you if I was into women!!! 😂Thank you for this!!!