Air Fryer Recipe
Air Fryer Scotch Quail Eggs
A Scotch quail egg should feel almost unfairly neat: crisp crumb, a thin savoury sausage layer, then a tiny egg at the centre. The air fryer suits them because fast convection dries the breadcrumb surface quickly while rendered fat from the sausage bastes the coating, giving crunch without the greasiness of deep-frying.
Ingredients
- 12 quail eggs, at room temperature if possible
- 300g good-quality pork sausage meat, or 6 butcher’s sausages with skins removed
- 1 tsp English mustard
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme leaves, or ½ tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp ground mace or nutmeg
- ½ tsp fine sea salt, only if your sausage meat is not already well seasoned
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp plain flour, for dusting
- 1 hen’s egg, beaten with 1 tbsp milk
- 70g panko breadcrumbs [or fresh white breadcrumbs blitzed from a day-old loaf]
- 1 tbsp neutral oil, or oil spray
- Optional: 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
- Optional to serve: piccalilli, brown sauce, mustard mayonnaise or a sharp chutney
Method
- Bring a small saucepan of water to a gentle boil, lower in the quail eggs, and simmer for 2 minutes 20 seconds for a just-set yolk after air frying, or 3 minutes if you prefer a fully firm centre.
- Transfer the eggs straight to a bowl of iced water for 5 minutes, then crack them all over and peel from the wider end, slipping a teaspoon under the membrane if it clings.
- Pat the peeled eggs dry with kitchen paper, then dust them lightly with a little flour.
- Mix the sausage meat with mustard, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, smoked paprika, mace or nutmeg, pepper and parsley if using. Do not overwork it; stop once the seasoning is evenly spread.
- Divide the sausage mixture into 12 portions of about 25g each.
- Flatten one portion on a damp palm into a thin oval about 8cm across, place a quail egg in the centre, then wrap and pinch the sausage around it until fully sealed.
- Roll each wrapped egg gently between damp hands to smooth cracks and seams, then chill on a plate for 15 minutes.
- Set up three shallow bowls: plain flour in the first, beaten egg and milk in the second, and panko breadcrumbs in the third.
- Coat each sausage-wrapped egg in flour, dip in beaten egg, then press into breadcrumbs until well covered.
- Preheat the air fryer to 190°C for 3 minutes.
- Lightly oil the crumbed eggs all over, either with spray or by rolling them with 1 tbsp oil on a plate.
- Place the Scotch quail eggs in the basket in a single layer, leaving at least 1cm between each one.
- Air fry at 190°C for 8 minutes, then turn gently and cook for 3–5 minutes more, until deeply golden and the sausage layer is cooked through.
- Rest for 3 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Calories: 250
