Roasted Quail Stuffed With Creole Oyster Dressing Food

STUFFED QUAIL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place the bread on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and salt. Toast for 5 to 8 minutes, until crisp. Transfer to a large bowl.
• In a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat, heat the butter until it's melted and foamy. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the parsley, sage and chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper. Add the toasted bread and toss to combine. If you need more liquid for the bread, add more chicken stock 1/4 cup at a time. Remove pan from heat and allow to cool to room temperature
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Once the stuffing is cool, wear kitchen rubber gloves to stuff the cavity of the quails with about 1 cup of stuffing per quail. Place the remaining stuffing on the bottom of a roasting pan or large cast-iron skillet. Season the quail with salt and pepper and rest on top of the stuffing. Roast the quail for 15 to 20 minutes or until juices run clear when you pierce the skin. Serve right away.

LOW COUNTRY STUFFED QUAIL WITH OYSTER-LEEK RAGOUT AND HOMINY GRITS CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. In medium sauce pan, render bacon over medium heat until bacon is crisp. Remove bacon, leaving rendered drippings in pan. Set bacon aside. In same pan as bacon, sweat onions and celery together until translucent. In a medium bowl, combine sweated onions, celery and reserved bacon with cornbread, pecans and melted butter. Pour enough chicken stock to bind all ingredients so that stuffing can be formed into balls and hold their shape. Stuff each quail with stuffing (approximately 1 1/2 tablespoon per quail). Season each quail with salt and pepper. Sear quail, breast side down, in a saute pan until golden. Turn quail and place in the oven. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until desired doneness is achieved.
• Place 2 Hominy Cakes on each plate. Top with 2 quail. Surround with Oyster and Leek Ragout.
• In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat, bring the water, cream, butter, garlic, salt, and pepper to a boil. Stir in the grits and bring back to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes, or until the grits are tender. If the grits need more liquid, whisk in some of the milk. Fold in the cheese and set aside in a warm place to be used later in making hominy cakes.
• Blanch Hominy in salted water until tender - omit this step if using canned hominy. Drain. Fold hominy into reserved cooked grits. With a 1-ounce ice cream scoop, scoop mixture onto a sheet pan. Approximately 12 scoops. Cool. Form hominy cakes into cylindrical cakes. Season flour with salt and pepper in 1 bowl. Mix eggs with water in second bowl and season bread crumbs with salt and pepper in third bowl.
• Dredge cakes in flour, then egg wash and finally panko (Japanese bread crumbs). Pan fry hominy grit cakes until golden brown. Place in oven to finish heating through, about 5 minutes.
• In medium saucepan over low heat, sweat shallots, garlic and leeks in butter for 3 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add oyster liquor and heavy cream to mixture; reduce by half. Adjust seasoning. Add oysters and poach until plump and just cooked through.

ROASTED QUAIL STUFFED WITH CREOLE OYSTER DRESSING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan.
• Add shallots, onions& celery.
• Cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add the garlic& continue sautéing for 1 more minute.
• Add the 1 cup of reserved oyster liquid& bring to a simmer.
• Add the chopped oysters& cook another 2 to 3 minutes.
• Place into a large bowl with bread cubes& season with thyme, salt& pepper.
• To prepare the quail, season the quail very well, including the inside of the meat, with salt& pepper.
• Stuff each quail with 2 ounces of the stuffing& brush with butter.
• Roast the quail about 20 minutes.
• Because quail are so small, serve 2 quails per person.

OYSTER DRESSING (STUFFING)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 2 quart casserole dish.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add celery and onion; cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes. Mix in the bread crumbs and parsley and remove from the heat. Add the oysters and eggs, and season with salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and thyme. Stir in enough liquid from the oysters to moisten and mix everything thoroughly. Transfer to the casserole dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the top is toasted and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

TURDUCKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lay the boned chicken skin-side down on a platter and season liberally with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning. Lay the boned duck skin-side down on top of the chicken and season liberally with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning. Cover and refrigerate.
• Lay the boned turkey skin-side down on a flat surface. Cover with a layer of cold Sausage and Oyster Dressing and push the dressing into the leg and wing cavities so they will look as if they still have bones in them.
• Lay the duck on top of the turkey skin-side down and cover it with a layer of cold dressing. Lay the chicken on top of the duck skin-side down and cover it with a layer of cold dressing.
• With the help of an assistant, bring the edges of the turkey skin up and fasten them together with toothpicks. Use the kitchen string to lace around the toothpicks to help hold the stuffed turkey together. Carefully place the turducken, breast up in a large roasting pan.
• Roast covered for 4 hours or until the turducken is golden brown. Continue to roast uncovered for 1 hour or until a meat thermometer inserted through the thigh registers 180 degrees F. and a thermometer inserted through the stuffing registers 165 degrees F. Check the turducken every few hours to baste and remove excess liquid. There will be enough pan juices for a gallon of gravy. Carve and serve.

SOUTHERN STUFFED QUAIL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven broiler.
• In a bowl, mix the pork, parsley, carrots, celery, garlic, bread crumbs, and pepper.
• Arrange the quail in a baking dish. Separate the skin from the breast of each quail, and stuff with equal amounts of the stuffing mixture. Brush with bacon drippings.
• Broil the quail 7 minutes on each side in the preheated oven, or to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C).