Roast Quail Recipes

ROAST QUAIL

Steps:

• If you choose to brine your quail, boil the water or wine with the kosher salt and bay leaves, then turn off the heat and let cool. Submerge the quail in this brine for 2 to 6 hours.
• Preheat your oven to 500°F, or if it doesn't get that hot, as hot as your oven will go. This will take a little while for most ovens, up to 30 minutes. While the oven is preheating, take the quail out of the fridge and pat them dry. Coat with lard, olive oil or butter (your quail will be browner with melted butter) and salt generously. Set aside at room temperature while the oven heats.
• When the oven is hot, get a small roasting pan or cast-iron frying pan and set the quail in it. They will want to tip over, so steady them with cut pieces of the celery stick. Try to prevent the quail from touching each other to speed the cooking process.
• Roast the quail in the oven for 12 to 18 minutes. The lower end of the spectrum will give you quail that are juicy, succulent and a little pink on the inside -- but pale. The higher end of the spectrum will give you a fully cooked, browner quail, but one that is at the edge of being dry. Your choice.
• When you take the quail out of the oven, place on a cutting board and rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Use this time to make the wild game sauce of your choice, or just squirt lemon juice on the birds before serving.

PAN ROASTED QUAIL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place 1 truffle shaving and 1 shallot into the cavity of each quail. Season the quail with salt and pepper.
• Heat the olive oil over high heat in a large heavy bottomed ovenproof skillet. Place the quail in the skillet breast side down and cook until the skin is golden brown in color. Turn the quail and cook for 3 more minutes. Place the skillet directly in the oven and roast for approximately 10 minutes. Let the quail rest for 5 minutes before serving.
• Heat the butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
• Add the onion, shallot and garlic and cook until translucent. Add the quinoa and toast until golden, stirring to brown evenly. Add the kosher salt. Add 1 cup of water and simmer the quinoa until all the water is absorbed. Add remaining 2 cups of water, 1 at a time, simmering until quinoa is tender.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the prosciutto, thyme and lemon zest.
• Yield: 6 servings
• Preparation Time: 15 minutes
• Cooking Time: 40 minutes
• Place the cider, white wine vinegar and brown sugar together in a stainless steel pot.
• Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
• Reduce the heat to medium and add in the dried dates, Granny Smith apple, garlic and ginger. Cook for 15 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
• Stir in the fresh figs, paprika, cardamom and kosher salt. Cook for 5 minutes.
• The chutney will keep for several weeks stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

PAN ROASTED QUAIL WITH PORT SAUCE

Steps:

• Using a wire whisk, combine the marinade ingredients in a stainless steel bowl. Add the quail and rub thoroughly with the marinade, inside and out. (Don't be afraid to use your hands.) Cover the bowl and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
• The Port Sauce with which the quail will be served may be made while the quail is marinating. Combine the bones, vegetables, and seasonings in a roasting pan and roast in a 375 degrees oven for 2 hours, turning occasionally, until everything is well browned. Transfer the bones and vegetables to a heavy bottomed stock pot and cover with the water. Bring to a boil, add the veal stock or beef broth, lower the heat to a simmer, and cook 1 1/2 hours. Strain this rich stock into another sauce pan, add the cup of port, and simmer again to the reduce liquid to 11/2 cups. At this point, the sauce may be cooled and refrigerated for up to two days. Rewarm the sauce during the quail's preparation and add the final enrichment of port and butter just prior to serving. This will both enhance the final flavor and give the sauce a silken sheen.
• To cook the quail, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a cast iron or other heavy bottomed, ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Drain the quail of excess marinade and pan roast, uncovered, until mahogany in color (about 3 minutes on each side). Place the ovenproof skillet and quail in the oven for 9 minutes. Serve immediately with the port sauce.

ROAST QUAIL WITH FRESH FIGS

Steps:

• Cook onion, celery, and garlic in butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until pale golden, about 10 minutes. Add demi-glace and boil, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid is evaporated, about 3 minutes. Stir in tarragon, vinegar, walnuts, dried figs, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper, then spread stuffing on a plate to cool.
• Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then brown figs, cut sides down, without stirring, about 3 minutes. Transfer figs to a bowl with a slotted spatula. Add shallot and celery to skillet and sauté, stirring, until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add wine and 8 to 10 browned fig halves (reserve remainder) and boil, stirring and mashing figs, until wine is reduced to a syrup, about 5 minutes. Stir in demi-glace and bring to a boil. Stir arrowroot into vinegar until dissolved, then add to skillet, whisking to incorporate. Boil sauce 2 minutes, then pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a 2-quart heavy saucepan, pressing on and then discarding solids. Stir in tarragon, salt, and pepper.
• Discard any disposable metal skewers from cavity of each quail, then rinse quail inside and out and pat dry. Stuff 1 quail with a scant 1/4 cup stuffing, pressing and shaping it to fill out breast. Tie legs together with string and push legs up against body. Thread cavity closed with a wooden pick. Repeat with remaining quail.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Sprinkle quail all over with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon each butter and oil in cleaned 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then brown 6 quail on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer with tongs to a large shallow baking pan. Wipe skillet clean and brown remaining 6 quail in same manner in remaining tablespoon each of butter and oil.
• Remove strings and picks from all quail, then roast quail, breast sides up, until just cooked through (check inner thigh - meat will still be slightly pink), 10 to 15 minutes. Add reserved browned figs to pan for last 2 to 3 minutes of roasting.
• While quail roast, return sauce to a simmer, then add remaining 2 tablespoons butter, whisking until incorporated.
• Transfer quail and figs to a serving dish and pour any juices from baking pan into sauce. Serve quail with sauce.
• Do Ahead: Stuffing can be made 1 day ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before proceeding. Figs and sauce (without remaining 2 tablespoons butter) can be prepared 1 day ahead and cooled, uncovered, then chilled separately, covered. Bring sauce to a simmer before adding butter. Quail can be browned 1 hour before roasting. Keep quail, uncovered, at room temperature.

QUAIL WITH RICE

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until partially done. Remove bacon; drain, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings. Brown quail in drippings. Remove and keep warm. Saute carrots, onions and parsley in drippings until tender. Add broth, rice, salt and lemon-pepper; bring to a boil. Place quail over rice; place one bacon strip on each. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the rice is tender and quail is cooked.

CHINESE ROASTED QUAIL

Steps:

• Whisk together water, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, xa xiu powder, and five-spice powder in a large glass or ceramic bowl. Add halved quails and toss to evenly coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Remove quail from the marinade, shake off excess, and place cut-sides up on a broiler pan. Discard the remaining marinade.
• Broil in the preheated oven until juices run clear, about 20 minutes. Turn on the broiler and flip quail so cut-sides are facing down. Broil until skin is browned and slightly crispy, about 5 minutes, keeping a constant eye on the oven to prevent burning. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

QUAIL ROASTED WITH HONEY, CUMIN AND ORANGE JUICE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Rub the quail with half the olive oil, then sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Put them breast side up in a roasting pan just large enough to accommodate them. Combine remaining ingredients and brush about half of this mixture over the birds; put in oven.
• After about 10 minutes of roasting, baste with remaining mixture, then continue to roast until done, about 10 minutes more. Serve birds hot, with pan juices, or warm or at room temperature.

GRANDMA'S QUAIL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Heat the shortening in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat.
• Season the quail with the garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Place the flour in a shallow dish; roll the quail in the flour.
• Working in batches, brown the quail on all sides in the preheated shortening. Place the browned quail in a large roasting pan or casserole dish; pour the water over the quail and cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, or to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F (75 degrees C), taken in the thickest part of the thigh. Spoon the sour cream over the quails, allow the sour cream to melt before serving.

ROSEMARY ROASTED QUAIL

Steps:

• Combine the marinade ingredients and set aside.
• Squeeze the juice from 2 of the orange sections over 1 of the quails, then rub the bird all over with the squeezed sections. Stuff the cavity with half of a rosemary sprig, an eighth of the minced garlic and a section of the squeezed orange. Secure the legs of the quail to the body by running a toothpick through a leg just above the thigh and passing it through the cavity of the bird and into the other leg. Repeat with the remaining birds.
• Place the quails in a nonreactive bowl and cover them with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or, preferably, overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove quails from the marinade, reserving the excess, and place them in a roasting pan. Brush the quails with the olive oil and place them in the oven. Roast for 20 minutes, stopping to baste them with the reserved marinade after about 10 minutes.
• Transfer the roasted quails to a platter, remove toothpicks and garnish with chopped rosemary. Serve immediately.

BAKED QUAIL

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 325-degrees F.
• If the quail have been shot in the wild, inspect them all for lead shot, removing any shot with tweezers or the point of a paring knife.
• Lightly rub all the quail, inside and out with the seasoned salt.
• In a large skillet, over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the mushrooms, bread crumbs, and table salt until the mushrooms tenderize a bit. Stuff the quail with this mixture.
• Using the same skillet, make a roux by pouring in the olive oil and browning the flour in it. Then, add the chicken stock, scallions, red pepper, and parsley to the roux and saute the mix for about 5 minutes, until the onions are tender.
• Next, spray a baking pan or large casserole dish with cooking spray and place the stuffed quail in it. Pour the sauce over the quail.
• Baked, uncovered, at 325-degrees F. for 45 minutes, basting 2 or 3 times during the baking process.
• Serve two quail to a person and garnish each plate with two orange slices. Serve cooked white rice as a side dish.

ROASTED QUAIL WITH WILD MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• To clean the mushrooms, wash in a bowl of cold water, gently tossing so as not to bruise them. Repeat 2 times. Using a paring knife, trim the ends and scrape the stems, removing the outer layer. Let dry thoroughly on paper towels at room temperature or uncovered in your refrigerator-this could take up to a couple of hours and can be done the day before.
• In a large sauté pan over high heat, heat the 1 teaspoon oil. Add the mushrooms and cook until browned. Reduce the heat to medium and add the port, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom. Reduce until the liquid is a syrupy consistency, about 10 minutes.
• In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the chicken cubes and livers; slowly add the egg whites, then the cream. Mix until thoroughly combined. Pass the poultry puree through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Roughly chop the cooled mushrooms and add (with any residual juice) to the bowl with the poultry puree.
• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Season the quail inside and out with salt.
• Scoop the poultry puree into a pastry piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip or a large plastic storage bag with one 1/2-inch corner snipped. Pipe puree into each quail body and tie the legs together with butcher's twine.
• Heat a large cast-iron or heavy-bottomed ovenproof sauté pan over medium heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and brown the quail on all sides. You may need to work in batches. Transfer the pan to the oven (use two pans or transfer to a large roasting pan if necessary) and roast the quail for 30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted in the center of the quail registers 155°F. Let rest in the pan for 5 minutes before serving.