Ingredients
- 8 quail eggs
- 8 strips bacon, cooked
- 8 hash browns, cooked
- 4 large onions
- 3/4 cup grated cheddar
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 2 cups breadcrumbs
- 4 cups vegetable oil, for frying
- Ketchup, to serve
- Steps
- Put the quail eggs, unpeeled, into the freezer for 2 hours or overnight.
- Slice off 1/2 inch from the top and bottom of an onion, then peel it and slice it in half across the middle. Take off the outer ring and remove any membrane. Pair it with a smaller ring that fits inside but leaves a small gap. Repeat with more onions until you have 8 sets of rings, then put them all onto a tray.
- Put a piece of bacon inside the gap between each of the two onion rings. (You might have to trim the bacon so it fits).
- Cut a hash brown in half through the middle, then trim it to line the bottom of the cavity. Add grated cheese and press it in, leaving enough space to add one quail egg.
- Take the eggs out of the freezer and peel them, then put one into the middle of each onion ring. Fill the rest of the middle with grated cheese and finish with an extra piece of hash brown on top. Put the tray back into the freezer for 1 hour.
- Once the onion rings have firmed up, mix together the flour, eggs, salt, pepper and water. Put the breadcrumbs into a shallow dish. Finely blitz any leftover bacon pieces in a spice grinder, and add them to the breadcrumbs. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large saucepan, add oil to reach halfway up pan, and heat to 350 degrees.
- Dip the onion ring into the batter, making sure it’s completely covered, and then into the breadcrumbs. Cook in hot oil for 3 minutes, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Put the onion rings into the hot oven for 5 minutes to cook through. Serve immediately, with ketchup on the side.