These Scotch Pickled Quail Eggs with Harissa Cream Sauce combine pickled quail eggs with spicy Mexican chorizo sausage for a crispy, spicy and tangy treat sure to impress your party guests! Make them by frying and briefly baking, or make the quail scotch eggs in the air fryer!
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A Scotch egg recipe, with tiny tiny quail eggs!
Scotch eggs are such a great little treat that you just don't see enough of. soft or hard boiled eggs are wrapped in ground pork or sausage, breaded, and then deep fried to perfection for a crispy treat like none other.
Pickled Quail Eggs
For this reimagined version of the classic dish, I've combined tart, pickled quail eggs with spicy Mexican chorizo and a panko/parmesan crust. The result is a crispy flavor bomb that only improves when dipped into the super simple side- harissa cream sauce.
The spicy sausage compliments the pickled eggs perfectly, and the crisp exterior is loaded with rich, parmesan flavor. Whip these up for your next party, and watch the crowd go wild!
Looking for more fun appetizer recipes?
Give my Miso Honey Butter Wings, Seafood Bruschetta, Kimchi Shrimp Cocktail, or Crab and Shrimp Ceviche with Homemade Tortilla Chips or Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Wings a try!
Making the Chorizo Wrapped Scotch Eggs with Harissa Cream Sauce
To make these Chorizo Wrapped Scotch Quail Eggs and accompanying harissa sauce, you will need:
- Teeny, tiny Quail eggs- they’re cute, compact and their yolk to white ratio is straight fire
- Some pretty basic pantry staples- salt, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, garlic
- Turmeric powder, for the pickling process of the quail eggs, and giving them their great golden color
- Raw, Mexican chorizo sausage, to wrap around the teeny tiny eggs
- Seasoned panko breadcrumbs and grated parmesan cheese, for breading the sausage wrapped eggs
- A couple beaten eggs, to help all that breaded goodness adhere to the sausage wrapped eggs
- Your favorite frying oil (I used canola)
- Mayo and sour cream, for the dipping sauce
- Deliciously complex and spicy Harissa paste, to give the dipping sauce it’s great flavor
Allowing time for the pickle brine to work it's magic on the quail eggs
Before you can get started on the scotching of these cute little eggs, you'll need to hard boil and pickle the eggs, which takes 3 days of (patiently) waiting for the eggs to take on the color and flavor of the simple brine.
You COULD skip this step and scotch the eggs without pickling, but I highly recommend just waiting for the eggs to pickle. The flavor imparted on the eggs from the brine is well worth it.
Wrapping and frying the pickled quail eggs
Once the eggs are pickled and ready to go- the day has finally come to whip out your chorizo and get going!
You'll need to remove the sausage from its casing (if using links), and press it with moistened hands onto a flat surface covered in parchment, until you're left with a roughly ⅛" thick layer of sausage.
Once the sausage is in an even layer, you'll make a few cuts horizontally and vertically, until you have 12 semi-even squares- one for each egg.
You'll then wrap the sausage around the egg, and roll between your hands until you've got 12 smooth, sausage covered eggs.
Next, it's time to dip them into the breading, and fry. I do a double-dip method and a panko/parmesan breading for extra crunch, and extra flavor.
Once everyone is fried well on all sides, you'll transfer the eggs (on an oven-safe cooling rack) to a 350 degree oven to finish cooking through. If you don't have an oven-safe cooling rack, you could drain on paper towel, then transfer to a parchment lined sheet for this step. BUT- I love mine, and it's super inexpensive. Here's a link to the one I have in my kitchen. Bonus- no extra steps! Just drain and bake on the same thing.
Once the eggs are cooked through, allow them to cool for at least 15 minutes. I like to serve my eggs cut in half, so they are more bite-sized, and so the pretty interior can be displayed.
Quail scotch eggs in the air fryer!
Making the scotch eggs in your air fryer is super easy, and actually FASTER than the traditional frying method! Here's the step by step to making Air fryer scotch eggs:
- Spray prepared and dredged eggs evenly with cooking spray of choice.
- Preheat air fryer to 380 degrees for 5 minutes.
- Cook quail scotch eggs in the air fryer 10 minutes, flipping over halfway through.
- Cool, slice and enjoy!
Don't forget the harissa sauce!
While the eggs rest and cool, whip up the super easy harissa cream sauce. All you need to do is throw a few ingredients in a bowl, and stir well to combine- and you've got a spicy, tangy sauce that perfectly compliments the rich, decadent eggs.
Serving suggestions for the Scotch Quail Eggs
Not sure what to serve with scotch eggs? I like to serve these as an appetizer, or bring to potluck parties for guests to snack on. They are the perfect little bite, and taste great warm, or at room temperature. They are also great alongside a brunch spread, or with a simple garden salad.
If you make my Scotch Pickled Quail Eggs with Harissa Cream Sauce, please be sure to leave me a comment! I would love to hear from you, and value your feedback! Lastly, if you make the recipe and love it, please tag me on Instagram! I love to see your photos!
Quail Egg Scotch Eggs with Harissa Dip
Equipment
- oven-safe cooling rack
Ingredients
Pickled Eggs/Brine:
- 12 quail eggs
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 garlic cloves, whole peeled
- ½ tablespoon turmeric powder
- ¼ cup brown sugar
Scotch Egg Wrap:
- 12 oz raw Mexican chorizo sausage, (casing removed if using links)
- 1 cup seasoned Panko breadcrumbs
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs, beaten
- Canola oil, for frying*
Harissa Cream Sauce:
- 2 tablespoon mayonaise
- 2 tablespoon sour cream
- 2 tablespoon harissa paste*
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Pickling the eggs. Add the quail eggs to a small saucepan, and add water to the pan until the eggs are just covered. Heat the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer the quail eggs for 5 minutes, then remove to an ice bath (bowl filled with ice water) and allow to cool completely. Carefully peel the eggs, and transfer them to a small-medium mason jar or airtight container. I like to use a pairing knife to help get the shell loosened to easily peel the quail eggs, since they have a thicker shell than regular chicken eggs. 2. Making the brine. Add all brine ingredients to the same saucepan you cooked the eggs in and bring to a boil. Stir until brown sugar and salt are completely dissolved, about 2 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, and pour over peeled eggs. 3. Cover and refrigerate, turning jar or container sightly every day to distribute brine evenly, for 3 days. 4. Dredging and frying the Scotch eggs. Set a large cutting board or cookie sheet out, and cover with parchment paper. If using sausage links, remove from the casing. Wet your hands, and press the sausage into an even ⅛” thick layer across the parchment paper (you will end up with a roughly 9”12” rectangle- it does not need to be perfect). 5. Using a sharp knife, slice sausage into 2” squares (4 slices horizontally, 3 vertically). You should end up with 12 squares, which do not need to be perfect either. 6. Place 1 pickled quail egg in each square, and carefully lift sausage square with a butter knife or silicone spatula. Carefully wrap around the egg, edge to edge, and press to seal. Roll the chorizo wrapped quail egg in your hands until it’s smooth, like a meatball. 7. Continue until all eggs are wrapped and rolled, then set up.a dredging station with beaten eggs on a small bowl, and the parmesan and panko in another medium bowl, stirred or whisked well to combine. 8. Once all eggs are coated in sausage, coat them in the panko/parmesan mixture, then dip them one by one into the beaten egg, and then into the panko/parmesan mixture again. Set coated eggs aside onto a clean plate. 9. Preheat oven to 350, and set an oven-safe cooling rack over a sheet pan close to your work station. 10. Frying the Scotch eggs. Heat ¼” of frying oil (I used canola) in a large, deep frying pan over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes, until shimmering but not smoking. 11. Fry the coated eggs in batches, careful not to overcrowd the pan. Cook eggs for 2 minutes a side, turning carefully with tongs to brown all (4) sides, then transfer to the oven-safe cooling rack to drain. 12. Once all the eggs are fried, transfer the sheet pan/rack to the oven for 10-15 minutes to fully cook sausage. Eggs should be firm to the touch and brown once cooked through. 13. Once removed from the oven, allow the cooked eggs to cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting/serving. The eggs are great served warm from the oven, or at room temperature. 14. While the eggs are cooling, make the harissa cream sauce. 15. To make the harissa cream sauce, simply whisk all ingredients until well incorporated. 16. To serve- sliced eggs in half, and transfer to a bowl or platter, and serve with a side of harissa cream sauce. Air Frying the Scotch Eggs 1. Spray prepared and dredged eggs evenly with cooking spray of choice. 2. Preheat air fryer to 380 degrees for 5 minutes. 3. Cook eggs for 10 minutes, flipping over halfway through. 4. Cool, slice and enjoy!
*Notes/Substitutions:
I used canola oil to fry these, but any high smoke point oil you prefer will work. I do not included an exact amount, but rather a depth of oil- as everyone's pan size will vary.
There are many different varieties of harissa paste on the market, sold at most grocers- from tubed to jarred. Use whichever you prefer for this recipe.
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