Quail Recipes

A quail is a small, plump, ground-nesting bird. Quail hunting is a popular sport, and every good cook should know how to cook quail.

How to Cook Quail

If you are a quail hunter, then there are a few tips you should know before you begin your wild quail recipes:

• Barbeque: The size and nature of quail lend them to barbeque. A simple marinade acts as the base and your favorite barbeque sauce is added last.
• Hand-plucking: Plucking may be necessary when you prep the bird for your recipes for quail. Quail skin is very delicate, and manhandling the bird will result in torn skin. One should really try to salvage the skin, as it will contribute to a moist cooked quail.
• Hunted quail: Always be sure to pull out all of the buckshot or whatever ammunition you used so as not to swallow, choke or break a tooth on it.

The following is one of the more excellent recipes for cooking stuffed quail.

Stuffed Roast Quail

Ingredients

• 4 to 8 quails
• 1 cup cornbread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp sage
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 small apple, cored and diced into small cubes
• 1 cup chicken broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt.

Directions

1. Mix the cornbread crumbs, sage, thyme, apple, chicken broth, salt and pepper into a stuffing. You can also use your favorite stuffing, which can be your prized family recipe, complete with apples, hazelnuts and cornbread crumbs, or even the Stove Top Stuffing variety.
2. Stuff each quail with the stuffing mixture.
3. Place the quail in a greased glass casserole. Place any extra stuffing in a separate baking dish and cook alongside the quail.
4. Bake the quail at 325?F for 45 minutes to one hour, basting with pan juices every 15 minutes.
5. Mix olive oil with coarse sea salt and drizzle this over the quail.
6. Quail can be served whole, accompanied with wild rice or simple red potatoes.

BBQ Quail

Ingredients

• 4 quails
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 2 Tbsp dried thyme.

Directions

1. In a large, deep casserole dish, spread apart four quail so that they lay open.
2. Mix the oil, garlic and thyme into a mixture.
3. Fully cover the quails with the mixture.
4. Cover and refrigerate for two hours.
5. Fire up the barbeque and cook the quail over medium flame. Turn after about 12 minutes, and cook the other side thoroughly, for about another 15 minutes.
6. Alternatively, you can roast the entire quail in the oven for 45 minutes at 350^oF and achieve a similar result.
7. Once the quail is nearly cooked through, swipe on your favorite commercial barbeque sauce.

Serve with your favorite barbeque accompaniments, such as:

• baked beans
• cooked collard greens
• corn on the cob
• mashed potatoes
• rustic macaroni and cheese
• turnips.

Resources

Food Down Under (2006). B.B.Q. quail. Retrieved November 13, 2006 from the Food Down Under Web site: http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipe.cgi?r=13108.

Orvis (2006). Dinner with the king: Quail. Retrieved November 13, 2006 from the Orvis Web site: http://www.orvis.com/detail.asp''subject=176&index=9
&dir_id=1034&cat_id=&group_id.

Recipezaar (2006). Baked quail. Retrieved November 13, 2006 from the Recipezaar Web site: http://www.recipezaar.com/185122.