Baked Baguette Quail Eggs
by Ian Burrow
A quail egg, often spotted, is about 1/4 the size of a grocery store chicken egg.
Until today, my recipes have been a result of wild game I’ve harvested firsthand.
I discovered a package of quail eggs when my wife and I spent the morning in downtown Kansas City, Missouri at the 150-year-old River Market district. There, in a small butcher shop, a woman in a battered black cowboy hat (presumably the owner) explained to us the nutritional value of a quail egg and the justification for its placement in the cooler among prime cuts of beef and pork. My wife knew as soon as I saw these eggs, cleanly packaged like poultry eggs as one might see in a big box store, they would be coming home with us. We listened to the sales pitch politely but the sale had already been made. I’d spent days of my life hunting quail for a meal, yet it had never occurred to me to make a meal out of quail eggs. I was fascinated by the concept that such an egg could be purchased and I was intrigued by what I could create with the ingredient.
All of my other recipes are a result of some kind of hunting adventure. I travelled here and harvested this so I cooked it that way, so on and so forth. This recipe is a bit of an exception to the Public Pursuit Kitchen considering I purchased its primary component (actually, all the components) but I find myself justified given the species of the egg. After all, how often have you walked in to Wal-Mart to purchase quail eggs? This recipe is a modification of a recipe I learned at the age of sixteen when I was a ranch hand down in Paris, TX. Of course, that recipe was with farm-fresh chicken eggs, but the concept was the same. An egg is an egg, right? Well, sorta. After today, I’m convinced a quail egg trumps a chicken egg any day of the week in terms of flavor.
The Components
6 X quail eggs
1 X Baguette (sliced into 1/2” pieces)
2 TBSPN of butter
Fresh dill
2 oz of goat cheese
By the Numbers
1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut a hole in the center of each slice of bread, about the diameter of your quail eggs.
3. Brush the bread with melted butter, place the bread on parchment paper over an oven sheet, and place in the oven to toast for 3-4 minutes.
4. Once toasted, crack the eggs into the holes and spread the goat cheese on the bread.
5. Return to the oven until the cheese has melted and the whites of the eggs are firm (about 5-7 minutes).
6. Remove from the oven, garnish with dill, salt and pepper to taste, and serve!
