Roast Quail With Juniper Berries Food

ROAST QUAIL WITH JUNIPER BERRIES

Steps:

• Cut the orange and lime, with their skins, into a ¼ inch dice. Set aside. Tie the ginger, cinnamon sticks, chili and vanilla bean in cheesecloth and set aside. Place the sugar in a heavy large skillet, preferably one with straight sides. Stir constantly over high heat until sugar turns light amber. The sugar must be cooked carefully to prevent burning; break up lumps as you go. Stir in the orange, the lime and the bag of spices, and cook over high heat, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Fold in the raisins and cranberries, stirring gently to coat with caramelized sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring gently, until about half of the cranberries pop open, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and cool. Remove the bag of spices and spoon the relish into sterilized jars. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 1 month.

ROAST QUAIL WITH JUNIPER BERRIES III (QUAIL)

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 450 F. Holding quail, breast up, tuck wing tips under. Place a little of the pancetta, a sage leaf, and 2 juniper berries in the cavity of each bird. Sprinkle the cavity and outside of each bird with a little salt and pepper. Push each leg joint downward and fasten it to the carcass with a toothpick, pushing 1 toothpick through both legs. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy skillet over very high heat. Arrange birds in pan, breasts down. Saute, shaking pan occasionally until breasts are lightly golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Place the skillet in the oven and roast 5 to 6 minutes. Use tongs to turn birds' breasts up and continue to roast until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven and transfer the quail to 6 warm serving plates; keep warm while preparing sauce. Discard any fat from the skillet and place the pan over medium-high heat. Deglaze the skillet, adding the gin and wine, scraping up any browned bits in a pan. Add your stock and boil gently until reduced enough to coat a spoon lightly. Stir in the remaining juniper berries, adjust your seasonings, and pour this over the birds. Serve immediately.

ROASTED QUAIL WITH JUNIPER BERRIES AND BALSAMIC VINEGAR

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500°F.
• With poultry shears or a sharp knife cut off necks, feet, and first 2 wing joints of each quail and discard. Finely chop garlic. Finely chop juniper berries and sprinkle half inside quail. Season quail inside and out with pepper and salt.
• In a 12-inch ovenproof skillet heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Add quail, breast sides down, and brown on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes total. Transfer quail to a plate and wipe skillet clean. In skillet melt butter and add quail, breast sides up. Transfer quail to middle of oven and roast, basting twice, until meat is pink for medium-rare, about 8 minutes. Transfer quail to a platter. Add garlic and remaining juniper berries to skillet and cook over low heat, stirring, 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Remove skillet from heat and stir in vinegar and any quail juices that have accumulated on platter. Spoon sauce over quail.

PAN ROASTED QUAIL WITH PORT SAUCE

Steps:

• Using a wire whisk, combine the marinade ingredients in a stainless steel bowl. Add the quail and rub thoroughly with the marinade, inside and out. (Don't be afraid to use your hands.) Cover the bowl and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
• The Port Sauce with which the quail will be served may be made while the quail is marinating. Combine the bones, vegetables, and seasonings in a roasting pan and roast in a 375 degrees oven for 2 hours, turning occasionally, until everything is well browned. Transfer the bones and vegetables to a heavy bottomed stock pot and cover with the water. Bring to a boil, add the veal stock or beef broth, lower the heat to a simmer, and cook 1 1/2 hours. Strain this rich stock into another sauce pan, add the cup of port, and simmer again to the reduce liquid to 11/2 cups. At this point, the sauce may be cooled and refrigerated for up to two days. Rewarm the sauce during the quail's preparation and add the final enrichment of port and butter just prior to serving. This will both enhance the final flavor and give the sauce a silken sheen.
• To cook the quail, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a cast iron or other heavy bottomed, ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Drain the quail of excess marinade and pan roast, uncovered, until mahogany in color (about 3 minutes on each side). Place the ovenproof skillet and quail in the oven for 9 minutes. Serve immediately with the port sauce.