Deliciously delicate quail eggs wrapped in salty bacon & coated in a sticky-sweet brown sugar BBQ sauce. These BBQ Bacon-Wrapped Quail Eggs are truly my new favorite appetizer. They are sure to be yours, too, once you try them!

Quail Eggs

Our friends, Matt and Riley, recently started raising quail at their home. They were nice enough to gift us with some of their quail eggs a few weeks ago. (Partially a trade, I believe, for some of our garden fresh veggies. & No, it is not the 1700s. Just a small, southern town where goods are sometimes traded.) I was excited upon viewing the delightfully speckled little eggs. But, there was one problem. I had no idea what to do with them. So, I did what anyone would do in that situation: I Googled it.

My research led me to discover that quail eggs are a common ingredient in many forms Japanese cooking. Sometimes, they are served raw atop rice and sushi. Other times, they are soft or hard boiled and served as a common ingredient in Japanese street food, called: “Yatai.”

Japanese Breakfast

While searching, I came across a recipe for a common Japanese street food: Bacon-Wrapped Quail Eggs. I followed the recipe to the letter, and they were delicious. Creamy quail eggs wrapped and roasted in crispy bacon to create a bite-sized, all-in-one, breakfast-inspired appetizer. That’s why I’m featuring the song, “Be Sweet,” by Japanese Breakfast on tonight’s Sauced Kitchen Playlist.

I Smell Bacon… Does Anyone Else Smell Bacon?

But to me, it felt like they were missing something. They reminded me of a traditional family appetizer: Bacon-Wrapped Water Chestnuts. I mean, how could they not, the principle was the same: You can never go wrong when you wrap bacon around anything.

Therefore, the second time I made Bacon-Wrapped Quail Eggs, I topped them off with my homemade BBQ sauce. The sauce is a play on my family’s traditional homemade BBQ sauce, featuring components of ketchup, chili sauce, and lots of brown sugar. For this recipe, however, I substituted the white vinegar for balsamic vinegar, and replaced the Worcestershire sauce with soy sauce. Detailed ingredients are included below.

I Definitely Smell a Pork Product of Some Kind

Before trying this recipe you may be wondering, what do quail eggs taste like? Well, to be honest, they pretty much taste like regular chicken eggs. Only better. Because of their small size, the egg yolk to white ratio is higher in quail eggs, resulting in a creamier, “egg-ier,” flavor.

The Best Way to Boil Quail Eggs

While it may seem like a tedious task, these tips are a sure-fire way to boil your teeny, tiny quail eggs easily and quickly.

1. Place the quail eggs in a large pot and fill with water, ensuring the eggs are completely covered with water. Add a sprinkle of salt and baking soda to the water, if desired. Set the stovetop heat to high.
2. Once the water begins to boil, gently roll the eggs around in the pot with a slotted spoon or wooden spoon.  
3. Bring the water to a boil, and continue boiling for 3 minutes. 
4. Remove from heat and immediately transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice cold water. (I used a slotted spoon to transfer the eggs into a bowl filled with ice water.) Allow the eggs to sit in the ice bath for 3 minutes.
5. Once cooled, place the eggs into a glass or ceramic container with a lid. Close the lid and gently shake the eggs in the container. Visible cracks should appear in the eggshells in about 10 seconds.
6. Pour the cold water from the ice bath into the container with the cracked eggs and let it sit for one minute.
7. After that, you can start peeling the eggs. You should be able to pull the membrane and most of the shell away, all at once.
8. Rinse off any remaining bits of shells or membrane with cold water and pat dry.

Get Sauced

As many know, sake or saké is a traditional alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin. Although typically referred to as: “rice wine,” the brewing process for sake is far more similar to brewing beer than fermenting grapes into wine. Typically, the starch from rice is converted into sugars, which is then fermented into alcohol to create sake. For those who have tried sake, you know that it does not taste much like wine either. That’s why I prefer my sake in a cocktail, such as Wine Country Table’s Sake Red Wine Spritzer recipe, included in the link below.

Low Alcohol Cocktails: Sake Red Wine Spritzer Recipe

Get More Sauced

As stated earlier in this blog post, my family’s recipe for Bacon-Wrapped Water Chestnuts inspired me to top these Bacon-Wrapped Quail Eggs with a sweet and tangy homemade brown sugar BBQ sauce. I am including the link to that recipe below. In addition, I am including the link to my Stuffed Mushrooms recipe — another family favorite. If you’re looking for more appetizer recipes, check out the Menu option at: saucedblogger.com. Or, click the Blog option to search by keyword or ingredient.

Be sure to follow me on Facebook or Instagram for Sauced Quickies (quick & easy recipes shared solely on my socials), & cocktail recipes on Mixology Mondays, Sauced Saturdays, and more!