Waiting on the 2:20

There’s a popular meme that gets recycled now and again, making the rounds among foodies: It’s about how precise the art of baking is and how wildly idiosyncratic cooking is. I suppose I can live with this stereotype, since, baking, at least, really is about very precise measurements. But sometimes cooking can get pretty damn precise as well.

Take quail eggs. For example.

Trying to get those little suckers spot on between hard and soft is a bitch. Not to mention peeling them afterwards, especially with the unsteady quavering hands of an older chef. But that’s another story, for another time, maybe. Here we are talking about cooking quail eggs to perfection. Try it ( I say a bit smugly). I did. And failed. Countless times. Everything I knew about boiling an egg perfectly went completely out the window with these things. I’ve got the little bits of peeled quail shells from hundreds of failed attempts to prove it. I still find a few in odd spots round about the kitchen, months later. No shit. And yeah, smart-ass reader, I googled my fair share of articles on the subject. Pfffffffff.

And then, gold mine: One post boiled it down (no pun) to a few simple instructions. Place the quail eggs in already boiling water, wait 2 minutes and 20 seconds, and remove. Not two minutes and 10 seconds. Not two minutes and 30 seconds. 2minutes and 20 seconds. As easy as that. Works every time. Simplicity and precision. No room for improv. Nothing particularly creative. I love it.

Now if I could only find a similar system for peeling the little idgets perfectly.