Roasted Quail with White Wine Sauce
Sauce:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Add apple and carrots to rice and cook according to package directions. Season quail inside and out with soy sauce and half each of the garlic powder, tarragon and rosemary. Stuff each bird with the rice mixture, reserving the remaining rice. Mix flour, Parmesan cheese and remaining seasonings and roll each quail lightly in the mixture. Saute in peanut oil until lightly browned. Place in preheated oven and roast for 8 to 15 minutes, until juice runs clear when breast is pierced. Arrange remaining rice on platter, place quail on top, and keep warm. Pour off all but two tablesoons of oil from the saute pan. Add wine, stirring to loosen pan drippings. Add chicken stock base, white pepper and cream; simmer until thickened. Pour over quail, garnish with two tablespoons fresh chopped parsley or other herbs. Yield: 6 servings.
Source: The Best Of Country Cooking
Smothered Quail
Season birds inside and out. Set aside. Heat oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Mix the 1/4 cup of flour with remaining dry ingredients and dredge quail. Shake off excess. Place quail in skillet and fry evenly. Cook for 20 minutes, until quail are golden brown with darker flecks.
In a large Dutch oven, melt the remaining 8 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add vegetables. Saute for 5 minutes, until vegetables are wilted, then sprinkle remaining 5 tablespoons flour over all and cook about 15 minutes, until flour turns reddish brown, turning and stirring all the while. Do not let flour burn. When flour is dark, whisk in hot stock gradually until smooth. Add wine and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Add quail and cover. Cook over very low heat for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, until birds are tender but not yet falling apart. Add more liquid if necessary. Serves 6.
Source: Lee Bailey's Southern Food And Plantations
Lee Bailey recommends serving this with: Baked Bouillon Grits, Buttered Steamed Slaw, Dunleith Biscuits, Blackberry-Walnut Conserve, Fig Preserves Ice Cream, Cafe au Lait, and Wine.
Quails Baked In Pear Halves
"A most elegant and unusual presentation. Tiny quail nestled in pear halves are sprinkled with cinnamon and napped with a sauce of brandy, honey mustard, and cream."
1. Cut the pears in half and core. Using a melon scoop, partially hollow out the inside of each pear half to make a nest for each quail. Sprinkle the inside of each pear half lightly withn cinnamon.
2. Pat the quails dry inside and out with paper towels. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper inside and out. Place each quail in a pear half and place the pears in a shallow bowl. Sprinkle with currants and pour 1 cup brandy over all. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
4. Remove the quails and pears from the bowl. Drain off the brandy and reserve. Stuff each quail with about 1 tablespoon of the currants. Spread a thin layer of the 1/4 cup mustard over each quail.
5. Place the pears in a shallow roasting pan and set each quail back in its pear shell. Bake until the quail are done, 25 to 30 minutes.
6. Remove the pears and quail to a warmed serving platter. Measure the reserved brandy, add more if needed to make 1/2 cup, and pour it into the roasting pan. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until hot. Stir in the cream and cook the sauce until it begins to thicken. Whisk in the 2 tablespoons mustard and taste and adjust seasonings.
7. Pour enough of the sauce over each quail to drip down and form a small pool around each pear. Garnish with parsley sprigs and serve immediately.
12 first-course or 6 main-course portions.
Source: The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook
Quail With Sauteed Apples And Rosemary
1. Place 1 rosemary sprig and a slice of apple in body cavity of each quail. To truss, tie butcher's twine around each bird to hold wings against breasts. With ends of same twine, tie legs together.
2. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Place trussed quail in roasting pan, breast sides up. Rub tops and sides of quail with butter. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until well browned, legs are loose when gently moved, and cooking juices are no longer pink--about 20 to 30 minutes.
3. Remove twine from quail; keep quail warm on serving platter. Strain pan drippings into large skillet. Heat drippings; add remining apple slices and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender-crisp and lightl;y browned. With slotted spoon, remove apples to serving platter with quail and keep warm.
4. Add vinegar to skillet and cook until most of the liquid evaporates. Add calvados and cook until most evaporates. Add cream and a sprig of rosemary; cook, stirring constantly, until thickened enough that sauce coats a metal spoon. Strain sauce through fine sieve into serving bowl; spoon some over apples. Garnish platter with rosemary sprigs, if desired. Serve immediately.
*Calvados is a brandy distilled from apples in the French province of Normandy. Look for "Pays d' Auge" for the best quality for sipping.
Nutritional Information:
Per serving: protein 13 grams; fat 32 grams; carbohydrate 15 grams; fiber 2 grams; sodium 210 milligrams; cholesterol 89 milligrams; calories 398.
Source: Country Living: September '92
Bob White Quail Sauteed With Grapes
Season the birds with the salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet to very hot. Pour in melted butter. Add quail. Over high heat, brown nicely on both sides. Pour off excess butter and add cognac. Flame and add veal stock; allow to reduce to 1/4 cup of sauce.
Add grapes and 1 tablespoon butter; swirl around. As soon as the grapes are heated, serve. The whole cooking time should not exceed 10 minutes. Serves 4.
Serve with Greek Rice Pilaf and zucchini boats.
Quail Baked In Wine
Melt fat, add onions, cloves, peppercorns, garlic and bay leaf; cook for several minutes. Add quail and brown on all sides. Add wine, salt, pepper, cayenne and chives and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes. Remove quail to hot serving dish. Strain sauce, add cream and heat to boiling point. Pour over quail. Allow 1 quail for each serving. Serves 6.
Broiled Quail
Place a tiny bird on a piece of toast, with currant jelly, watercress, and thin slices of lemon on the side.
Preheat the broiler. Split each bird in two pieces down the center. Brush with melted butter and place, skin side down, on a rack in a shallow pan, about 5 inches below the broiler element. Baste frequently with melted butter. Turn the birds once, broiling about 5 minutes on each side until well done. Serves one.
Source: The Fannie Farmer Cookbook