Quail Recipes From Caversham Croft
These are from Phillipa at Caversham Croft.
Quails on the braai:
- “Spatchcock” the quails by cutting down the breastbone with a pair of scissors and flatten the bird.
- Brush with olive oil (we only use Rio Largo) and season to taste – herbs that are good are rosemary, thyme or sage. Remember, quail is game meat and can handle a strong flavour. You can also squeeze some lemon juice over this.
- Crush a bit of Maldon salt over the bird.
- Braai over a fire that isn’t too hot – you don’t want to blacken the skin.
Quail pies:
- Shortcrust pastry prepared beforehand and pressed into greased muffin tin. Let it rest in fridge before cooking.
- The quails are simmered in a broth with white wine, onion, carrots, celery and all those good things. Maybe a bit of potato. Save the excess stock – it is delicious!!
- Take the meat off the bone and chop it together with some sautéed mushrooms in butter. Pick out some carrots from the mix too and chop them up.
- Strain a bit of stock, enough to make a sauce for the meat, and mix the meat in. Thicken with some cornflour. Season!
- Filling into pastry and cover with a pastry lid.
- Bake at 180C until pastry is browned and comes away from the edges of the muffin tin.
Roast quail:
- Stuff birds with any of the following: onion chunks, whole garlic cloves, lemon wedges or pork sausages and a bit of bread.
- Optional to wrap the birds in bacon. Wrapping the bird in bacon keeps in the moisture if the bird doesn’t have the skin on. Our birds have a lot of fat and we keep the skin on so this isn’t necessary. It does add a lovely flavour to the dish though.
- In a roasting pan, place whole birds near to each other but not touching.
- Cover with foil and roast at 180C for 35 to 40 minutes.
- Remember, you can eat quail rare! It’s not like chicken that has to be cooked through.
Here is a more complex recipe from a very good chef friend of mine, James Mills. Marsala is a sweet dessert wine that can be replaced with sherry or port. If I replaced it with port, I’d add a few cherries to the mix:
BACON-WRAPPED QUAIL WITH MARSALA
8 (about 150g each) quail
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
1.2kg parsnips, peeled, topped
2 tbs olive oil
1 small brown onion, halved, finely chopped
1 celery stick, trimmed, finely chopped
1 small carrot, peeled, finely chopped
70g (1 cup) fresh breadcrumbs, made from day-old bread
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves picked
1 lemon, rind finely shredded
2 250g pkts rindless streaky bacon
185ml (3/4 cup) marsala
Salad leaves, to serve
- Briefly rinse each quail cavity under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towel (inside and out). Season with salt and pepper.
- Cut each parsnip in half lengthways, then each half, lengthways, into 3 equal pieces. Place pieces, in a single layer, in a large roasting pan and drizzle with 1 tbs of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 180°C. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the remaining olive oil. Add onions and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until soft. Add the celery and carrot, and cook, stirring, for a further 2 minutes.
- Combine the breadcrumbs and onion mixture in a large bowl. Add the rosemary and lemon rind. Season with salt and pepper, and stir until well combined. Fill each quail cavity with some of the seasoning mixture. Wrap a bacon rasher around the middle of each quail and secure with a toothpick. Place the quail on the parsnip in the roasting pan. Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until the quail juices run clear when pierced with a skewer in the thickest part of the breast.
- Transfer quail to a plate and cover loosely with foil. Place the roasting pan over high heat. Add the marsala, scraping the pan with a flat-bottomed wooden spoon, until it comes to the boil. Boil, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until reduced by half. Season with salt and pepper. Strain through a fine sieve into a jug.
- Place quail with parsnip on serving plates. Pour over a little of the sauce and serve immediately with salad leaves.
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