Braised Quail With Poblano Chiles Saffron And Chorizo Food

RACH'S CHILE RELLENOS + CHEESY CASSEROLE MASH-UP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325˚F
• For the sauce, heat a saucepot over medium to medium-high heat with oil or melt butter and when it foams, add garlic and onion
• Cook until soft, then whisk in flour and spices
• Whisk in paste and stock and reduce heat to simmer and thicken a bit
• For the casserole, in a small nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat, brown and crumble the chorizo
• Char the peppers under broiler to blacken skins all over, then place them in a bowl and cover to cool
• Peel the peppers and seed them
• Fill each pepper with a 1-ounce chunk or stick of Pepper Jack, Jack or Chihuahua cheese and some crumbles of cooked chorizo or bits of leftover meats and/or charred corn kernels
• Line an 8-by-8-inch or 9-by-9-inch pan with half the sauce and top with 4 large peppers; repeat
• Whisk up the eggs and milk with salt, pepper, flour, baking powder, cilantro or parsley, and cheddar cheese, then pour over top and bake casserole to golden and puffed, about 1 hour

BRAISED QUAIL WITH VEGETABLES & GRAVY

Steps:

• 1. Fry bacon until crisp in a cast iron skillet. Render out all of the fat and save bacon for another use.
• 2. While bacon is frying combine the salt, pepper and flour together in a bowl. Sprinkle each quail liberally with Cavender's seasoning, dredge in the flour mixture, shake off excess and brown each bird well in the bacon grease. Set quail aside on paper towels.
• 3. Allow the bacon grease to cool slightly; then whisk in an equal portion of flour, stirring constantly over medium heat until the roux is browned the color of peanut butter; add salt, pepper and soup, stirring until incorporated; now add an equal portion of milk, whisking vigorously until all of the lumps are gone. If the gravy is too thick, thin with the white wine a tablespoon at a time, and fully incorporate. Taste for seasonings and pour into a container, keeping it warm.
• 4. Pour olive oil into a #12 cast iron Dutch Oven (outdoors) or a large round French Oven like Le Creuset (indoors) and heat oil over medium heat. Add the next 4 ingredients and sweat vegetables about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• 5. Add quail to the pot. Mix together the chicken stock and next 4 ingredients, pouring over the quail and vegetables. Bring to a boil, COVER, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
• 6. Stir mixture and add the white wine and mushrooms. RE-COVER and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.
• 7. While the quail are braising, cook basmati rice, bake a batch of your favorite biscuits, and make sure the gravy is hot.
• 8. Serve two quail per person on top of the rice, and spoon the mushroom gravy on the hot bisuits. A green salad or balsamic green beans will complete this hearty meal.

BRAISED QUAIL WITH WHITE WINE

Steps:

• Wipe the quail dry with paper towels and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Using a frying pan that can go into the oven and on top of the stove (preferably cast iron) soften the shallot in the butter. Add shallots to a bowl with the mushrooms, breadcrumbs, parsley, tarragon, salt and pepper. Mix well and moisten with a little of the white wine. Stuff the mixture into the bird cavities.
• Heat the oil in the skillet. Add the stuffed quail, breast down and brown lightly. Add the remaining wine and the garlic cloves. Cover and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Turn the quail breast up, turn up the heat to 400 and continue cooking for five to 10 minutes or until the quail are cooked.
• Remove the quail to a heated platter. Bring the sauce in the skillet to a boil over high heat and reduce by about a third. Remove the garlic cloves and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the quail, sprinkle with almonds and serve.

BRAISED QUAIL

Steps:

• Clean the quail and pat dry.
• Place a slice of pancetta, a sage and rosemary sprig, and a sliver of garlic.
• Heat the oil in a large, lidded frying pan and brown the quail all over quickly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add extra rosemary and sage leaves and the white wine.
• Put the lid on, turn the heat down to low and cook very slowly adding more wine and chicken stock as needed. Cook until well done.
• Serve with polenta and a salad of radiccio or rocket if you want to.

BRAISED QUAILS WITH WILD MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Season the quails with salt, and pepper. Melt half the butter with a drop of oil in a heavy casserole, and brown the quails on all sides over medium-high heat. Cook's Note: you could also use lard. Remove the quail from the pan, and set aside. Add the bacon to the pan, brown it, and remove. Finally, fry the onion until golden, adding more fat to the pan beforehand, if needed.
• Stir the flour into the onions, and cook 1 minute. Deglaze the pan with the wine, stirring up the good bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Return the onions, bacon and quails to the pot. Pour over the stock, cover, and simmer until the quails are just cooked through, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining butter (a little more if you like) and cook each type of mushroom separate, as the various types cook differently. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper as you go, then, at the end, toss them all together with the chopped parsley.
• When the quails are done, remove them from the cooking liquid and keep them warm while you boil the juices, uncovered, to reduce to thin sauce consistency. Add the mushrooms to the sauce. Tilt into a serving dish, set the quails on top, and serve.

BRAISED QUAIL WITH POBLANO CHILES, SAFFRON, AND CHORIZO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• In a small bowl combine broth or water and saffron.
• Thinly slice enough onion to measure 1 1/2 cups and finely chop garlic. Remove casings from chorizo and cut sausage into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Peel tomatoes *(see below) and seed. Cut enough tomato into 1/4-inch dice to measure 1 1/2 cups.
• With poultry shears or a sharp knife cut off necks, feet, and first 2 wing joints of each quail and discard. Pat quail dry and season with pepper and salt. In a 12-inch heavy skillet heat butter and corn or canola oil over moderately high heat until foam subsides. Add quail, breast sides down, and brown on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes total. Transfer quail to a plate.
• In a large shallow flameproof kettle with a tight-fitting lid cook onion in olive oil over moderate heat, stirring, until pale golden. Add garlic and chorizo and cook, stirring, until garlic is softened but not browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Add cumin, oregano, and bay leaf or leaves and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add saffron mixture, tomato, and pepper and salt to taste and bring to a simmer.
• Add quail to chorizo mixture and braise, covered, in middle of oven, basting every 15 minutes, 1 hour total. While quail is braising, roast and peel poblanos . Wearing rubber gloves, cut chiles into thin strips. Chop cilantro.
• Arrange quail on a platter and keep warm. Discard bay leaf and skim any fat from chorizo mixture, if desired. Stir in chiles, cilantro, and salt to taste and bring mixture to a boil.
• Spoon chorizo mixture around quail and serve with lime wedges and polenta or rice.
• To peel tomatoes:
• Have ready a bowl of ice and cold water. Cut an X in blossom end of each tomato. In a saucepan of boiling water blanch tomatoes 10 seconds. Transfer tomatoes with a slotted spoon to ice water to stop cooking. Peel tomatoes.

CHORIZO AND RICE-STUFFED POBLANO PEPPERS

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir chorizo in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and discard grease.
• Add tomatoes, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, adobo, basil, and cilantro to the skillet with the chorizo. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add rice and simmer for 5 minutes more. Remove from heat, add fresh parsley, and let rest.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a baking dish with cooking spray.
• Stuff each poblano pepper half with the chorizo mixture; lay in the baking dish. Add water to the bottom of the dish. Loosely cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until peppers are tender but still firm, about 1 hour. Remove foil and sprinkle peppers with Cheddar, mozzarella, and pepper Jack cheeses.
• Turn on the broiler; broil peppers until cheese is brown and bubbly, 3 to 4 minutes.

ROASTED QUAIL WITH BRIOCHE AND CHORIZO STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• For the Quail and Stuffing: Spread the brioche cubes on a baking sheet and bake until dry but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and cook until crispy, about 3 minutes. Add the celery, garlic, onion, sage and apricots and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and cool slightly.
• Add the brioche cubes to the vegetables and toss. Add the egg, salt, pepper, and enough of the chicken broth to moisten the bread, and toss.
• Season the quail inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff each quail loosely with the brioche mixture and tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Put the remaining stuffing into a lightly buttered casserole dish. (The recipe may be prepared up to this point 1 day ahead, covered, and refrigerated.)
• Bake the stuffing until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil in an ovenproof medium skillet over high heat. Add half the quail and cook, turning as each side gets a rich mahogany brown, about 8 minutes in all. Transfer to a low roasting pan or casserole dish just large enough to hold the quail. Repeat with the remaining quail, adding more olive oil if necessary. Reserve the skillet and drippings. Transfer the quail to the oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the cavity reads 160 degrees, about 20 minutes.
• For the Sauce: Add the shallots to the reserved drippings in the skillet over medium heat and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the red wine and simmer until reduced by about half, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits. Add the demi-glace or chicken stock, the apricots and currants. Simmer until fruit is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
• Transfer the quail to a plate and tent loosely with foil. Whisk the butter into the sauce a bit at a time until the sauce is glossy and coats the back of a spoon. (If necessary, gently reheat the sauce before whisking in the butter off the heat.)
• To serve, spoon some of the stuffing into the centers of 4 dinner plates. Set 2 quail on top, spoon some sauce over, and ring with some of the Wilted Greens.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and chard stems and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown, about 6 minutes. Stir in the chard leaves and cook, tossing, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

CHORIZO-CHILE BURGER WITH PICKLED ONIONS AND POBLANO-AVOCADO SPR

Steps:

• Poblano-Avocado Spread.
• Hold poblano pepper with tongs over gas flame of burner or broil until charred on all sides. (Or place pepper on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake in a 425 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until skin is bubbly and browned.) Wrap in foil and lets stand for 20 to 30 minutes or until cool enough to handle.
• When cooled slip off blackened skin, twist off stem, and scoop out seeds and discard.
• Coarsely chop and transfer to small bowl.
• Add half of the avocado and coarsely mash with a fork.
• Slice the remaining half of the avocado and add to the bowl.
• Stir in lime juice, cilantro and mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt.
• Refrigerate until time to assemble burgers.
• Pickled Onions.
• In medium saucepan of boiling water, heat onion slices 30 seconds. Transfer to bowl of ice water to cool. Drain.
• In second bowl combine cooled onions, lime juice, vinegar, cumin, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Chorizo-Chile Burger.
• In large skillet over medium-high heat, cook chorizo about 5 minutes, until slightly browned and becoming crisp, breaking up meat with a spatula. Remove from heat.
• Spread on plate lined with paper towels to cool.
• Start charcoal fire or preheat gas grill for direct cooking.
• In bowl combined cooled chorizo with ground beef.
• Form into six 3/4-inch thick patties.
• Indent center of each patty.
• Grill over medium heat, covered, for 10 to 12 minutes, until done (160 degrees F), turning once midway through grilling time.
• Spread Poblano -Avocado Spread on buns.
• Layer patties and pickled onions on buns. Makes 6 burgers.