This doesn’t fall into my usual content of french fries and non-alcoholic beverages, but I had to share this recipe with you. I had a burst of inspiration a little while ago and decided to make deviled eggs. I was actually competing in a curling bonspiel and there was a side competition for who could make the best deviled eggs. I love deviled eggs, but I couldn’t imagine eating 12+ different deviled eggs as part of a tasting panel and wondered if quail eggs would be a good alternative. They’re small, they taste basically the same…but could I actually make deviled eggs with them?

Not only did I make deviled quail eggs, I took home prizes in two different categories. I entered two different recipes with one earning 1st place in its category and the other earning runner up. That netted me a grand total of $150 and almost made the 6 hours of prep worthwhile. I filmed the process and am posting a video below, but here are the basic recipes and instructions for how to pull this off. I’m adding Amazon links for ingredients for your convenience (I get a very small referral benefit from those purchases), but please buy ingredients from wherever you want.

  • Yuzu Kosho Delived Quail Egg
  • Horseradish Mustard Deviled Quail Egg

Ingredients Needed

  • A bunch of quail eggs. I used 40. Asian grocery stores will often carry them, but I’ve seen them at Costco as well.
  • “Traditional”
  • Yuzu Kosho
    • Mayonnaise (again, I used Kewpie mayo)
    • Yuzu Kosho paste (Trader Joe’s has it, but you might find it elsewhere)
    • Salt
    • MSG
    • Lime zest
    • Serrano peppers (thinly shaved/sliced)

Instructions

I’d love to give you exact ingredients, but I can’t. I didn’t document any measurements, and I completely winged it. The nice thing is that you can do whatever you want and just adjust things to taste. In general, you’re going to need about 1 part mayo to 3 parts egg yolks. About half as much mustard as mayo in the traditional one, and a little more salt than you think you need. Bear in mind that you’re seasoning the egg yolks, but your filling mixture also needs to season the egg whites. I kept adding yuzu kosho paste into my other mixture until I thought it was spicy enough. Trust your instincts or ancestors.

  1. Place a single layer of quail eggs in a metal colander or just at the bottom of a pan.
  2. Add water until the eggs are covered, and then maybe half an inch more.
  3. Put on high heat and let it boil for about 90 seconds.
  4. Remove the eggs and place immediately in an ice water bath.
  5. Place chilled eggs into a plastic deli container (maybe 10 or 20 at a time) and shake vigorously to loosen up the egg shells. The shells are tough, but this really helps the peeling process.
  6. Peel the egg shells by pinching and pulling. It’ll suck.
  7. Slice the eggs in half lengthwise using a very sharp nice.
  8. Remove the egg yolks while preserving the egg whites intact.
  9. For the traditional eggs, add mayo, brown mustard, horseradish, salt, pepper, and MSG. Smash or blend it until you get a smooth consistency. Taste it, and add more of whatever you want until it’s good (just a little stronger than you would want to eat by itself).
  10. For the yuzu kosho eggs, add mayo, yuzu kosho paste, salt, and MSG, and smash/blend until smooth. Same as before, add more mayo or yuzu kosho paste until you get the texture and flavor you want. Add the salt and MSG gradually (you can always add more, but you can’t remove it once it’s there).
  11. I roll the filling in saran wrap logs that are then chilled and placed in a piping bag. A ziploc bag will also work.
  12. Pipe the filling into the egg shells until you get a nice dome. I use a star bit in the piping bag for presentation.
  13. Sprinkle with a little more MSG and lime zest or smoked paprika.
  14. Garnish with serrano pepper slices or chive, gold leaf, and mustard seed.

That’s it. You can tweak the recipe however you want, but this was successful for me. Enjoy!