Tonight: Grilled quail, one of my favorite discoveries of this year. Super easy and seemingly always good. And people always seem impressed because quail is one of those “fancy” food items you don’t usually think about doing at home. But it’s fun. What’s not to like about eating the miniature bird? The meat is tender and moist, and full of flavor. The skin too, especially with the tasty marinade below.
Recipe from Bones. Quail purchased today from the meat shop at Cafe Rouge on Fourth St in Berkeley. Quail were pre-butterflied (split open) but it’s easy enough to do at home.
Portion sizing approximately two quail per person. Marinate for an hour or so with olive oil, sliced garlic, and shredded sage. When you’re ready to cook, squeeze on some lemon juice. Place on the grill, skin side (breast side) down first. Flip every 4 minutes till about 16 minutes total, a little less or more depending on how you think it’s doing (today ours were on somewhat less). Meanwhile, melt a couple of tablespoons of butter in a pan on the stove and place more sage leaves in…leave it on 4-5 minutes, or, if you prefer brown butter as I do, leave it on until the butter takes on a pale brown color and a nutty smell. Remove the quail from the grill and place in a pan — pour the melted butter on top, cover loosely with foil and allow to rest about 5 minutes.
(side dish: pumpkin gnocchi from The Pasta Shop, with spinach and brown butter sage sauce)
(dessert: berries — strawberries, blueberries, raspberries — with balsamic vinegar and sugar over Haagen-daz Five Vanilla ice cream)
