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What’s that adorable little treasure atop your beef tartare? A quail egg, of course. You might not recognize these mini protein boosts in their natural form because of their black-speckled shells, which truthfully only add to their allure. Once you crack one open, you’ll quickly notice that, while smaller in general, the ratio of yolk to white is skewed more on the yolk side. That’s good news for anyone as yolk-obsessed as we are. Unfortunately, you might find yourself eating five or six of these little eggs, rather than two chicken eggs.
See also: Lemon Cucumbers from Crooked Sky Farms
Price: $3 for a dozen
Vendor: Sundown Ranch at the Hadley Farmship table
Where to Pick It Up: Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market, Open Saturday from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m.
What Else to Grab: You can try the opposite end of the spectrum with their goose eggs, as well. Or middle it out with some plain old chicken eggs.
When cooking quail eggs, it’s important to remember that any way you would treat a chicken egg is just too harsh for these delicate little yolk-centric beauties. Frying and boiling must be done at lower temperatures if you wish to keep your yolk perfectly runny, which might be why we seem to find them served raw more often than not. Also, cracking the egg’s shell is easy, but the filmy membrane beneath it may need a slice through for you to open it without crushing the yoke inside. Other than that, go nuts! Put them anywhere you’d use a chicken egg. Maybe make a novelty-size breakfast sandwich or four.
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