Quail Egg Sliders

How cute are these? If these sliders don't scream the best brunch ever I don't know what will. Quail eggs are gently fried and then topped with puff pastry, American cheese, a dollop of ketchup and bacon. Not only are these a sight to behold they're delicious and much of the recipe can be prepared in advance. If you want to impress at brunch this is a must.

Ingredients for Quail Egg Sliders:

This recipe is based on 18 eggs but you can make less or more. Just adjust the ingredients.

18 quail eggs

1 17.3 package of puff pastry, save the extra in the refrigerator

10-12 slices American cheese slices

5-6 thick-cut slices of bacon

ketchup

grapeseed oil

salt and pepper

2 pastry ring cutters, 1 approx 2" wide and the other slightly smaller.

While you might start off with 18 eggs you might mess up a few yokes while cracking the shell. Don't worry, it's not hard to do but it happens.

Time-Saving Tips: The bacon can be cooked the day before. Just make sure to slightly undercook it. It can be gently heated in the oven. The puff pastry can be cut and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator They should be baked before using.

Let's see what we need.

Let's start cooking.

The best way to cook bacon is in the oven. Place the bacon on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Place in a preheated 400-degree oven. After about 15 -20 minutes flip the bacon over. Cook a little more. I like the bacon to be just crisp for this recipe. Drain on a paper towel-lined dish.

Keep the oven at 400- degrees. Spread out a piece of parchment paper on top of a flat surface; open up the puff pastry and put on top of the paper. Using the larger ring cut out as many as 18 circles. It really depends on how many eggs you have. You will likely have extra puff pastry. Place cut-outs on a cool parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake about 12-15 minutes until just starting to turn golden on the bottom. You don't want to make these too crispy.

While the rounds are baking it's a good time to cut the cheese. Using the slightly smaller ring cut out as many pieces of cheese as you have puff pastry rounds. I was able to get two circles from each piece of cheese. I saved the scraps in a baggie. I'll use them in scrambled eggs, for grilled cheese, or burgers.

Cut each piece of bacon into 4 pieces. If you made the bacon in advance now is the time to warm it up. You can do this briefly in the oven. I actually use the microwave. But it's tricky because cooked bacon in the microwave overcooks so quickly. I put all of the bacon in for abut 10 seconds and then go from there.

Start assembling the sliders. Place a cheese cut-out on top of each pastry, followed by a piece of bacon and a small dollop of ketchup.

These eggs are so beautiful and a little harder to crack than the popular white chicken eggs. Gently hold one over a paper towel. With your other hand make a cut into the top portion of the egg. Then gently crack off the shell and...

Watch me pour the egg out of it's shell.

I like to have all of my ducks in a row...or should I say yolks in a cup before I start cooking. It really makes life easier. If you don't have all of these ramekins you can use cups. The eggs cook in less than a minute so stopping to crack eggs will slow you down. Oh, and don't worry if you break an egg or two. They might not work for the slider but they'll be great for samples.

Coat a non-stick pan with grapeseed oil. Once the pan is heated to about medium-high one at a time pour in about 3-4 eggs. Cook for about 45 seconds until the egg looks firm. Once cooked transfer to on top on a slider. Repeat the process until all of the eggs are cooked. This is a pretty quick process.

They're ready! These are just incredibly delicious and adorable. The combination of flavors on top of the crisp puff pastry is just so good. These sliders will become the talk of your gathering.

Enjoy!