The Bougie Egg Gordon Ramsay Uses For Tuna Salad

Foodie sister site Tasting Table shared an exclusive on Gordon Ramsay's ultimate cooking tips — including his advice for creating a bougie tuna salad. While the main components of Ramsay's elevated tuna salad are Triscuit crackers, ahi tuna, tapenade, and green bean salad, the true cherry on top is a lightly poached quail egg. While they may not always come to mind when brainstorming ways to upgrade your tuna salad, quail eggs easily turn an everyday tuna salad into a restaurant-worthy dish. For maximum enjoyment and aesthetics, make sure the egg is runny in the middle.

Ramsay noted that a part of what makes quail eggs so special is the feeling of pride from enjoying the fruits of your labor. "Anything that's difficult to get a hold of is worth enjoying and eating 10 times more," he said. It's not just about sourcing this bougie ingredient, either. After going through the trouble of finding quail eggs, it can also be a challenge to peel them. Still, this process is well worth the effort for the rich creaminess that they lend to a tuna salad.

It can be difficult to tell a quail egg apart from a chicken egg on taste alone, especially when it's incorporated into a dish instead of taking center stage. Still, there is a subtle difference that favors a creamier profile. This shift is due to the egg white and yolk ratios of both, namely that chicken eggs have more whites than quail eggs, making yolk-forward quail eggs taste richer. Once you perfect the egg-poaching process, you can effortlessly add all that extra flavor to your tuna salad.

Gordon Ramsay's tuna salad rendition certainly takes this everyday dish to the next level. Certainly, topping tuna salad with poached quail eggs and serving it with Triscuits or other snack-sized crackers is an easy way to keep guests satisfied with a luxuriant appetizer. You'll find quail eggs on the menu at the world's best bucket list-worthy restaurants, so why not add them to your at-home treats, too?

Static Media owns and operates both Tasting Table and Foodie.