Southern Stuffed Quail Food

SAUSAGE STUFFED QUAIL

Steps:

• Coat a large saute pan lightly with olive oil. Toss in the fennel, onions and crushed red pepper. Season with salt and bring the pan to a medium-high heat. Cook the onions and fennel until they are soft and wilted but don't have any color, 7 to 8 minutes. Turn off the heat and let them cool.
• In a bowl, combine the sausage, breadcrumbs, Parmigiano, egg, parsley and cooked onions and fennel. Mix well to combine.
• Divide the stuffing among the 4 quail. Press each quail to lightly flatten and evenly disperse the stuffing. Wrap each quail with a bacon slice and secure the bacon with a toothpick. Tie the quail's legs together with butcher's twine (otherwise they will look like road kill).
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and bring the pan to a medium-high heat. Sprinkle the quail with salt and add it to the pan. Brown them really well on each side, 3 to 4 minutes. When the quail are brown on both sides, transfer the quail to a baking sheet and put them in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove the toothpicks and reserve the quail.
• Meanwhile, ditch the fat from the pan and add the port wine. Cook the wine over medium heat until it has reduced by half. Add 3/4 cup chicken stock, season with salt and reduce by half. Add the remaining chicken stock and reduce it by about three-quarters, or until it seems a little bit thickened. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
• Divide the arugula among 4 serving plates. Place a quail on each pile of arugula and spoon some of the sauce on the quail and the arugula. Serve immediately.

SOUTHERN-FRIED QUAIL WITH BLUE CHEESE DRESSING

Steps:

• Mix the 100ml buttermilk, cumin and a large pinch of salt together in a bowl. Put the quail halves in the buttermilk mix so they are completely covered, then chill for at least 6 hrs or overnight.
• To make the dressing, beat the mayonnaise, buttermilk, cheese and celery salt together - don't worry if it's not totally smooth. Keep chilled.
• When ready to cook, mix all the spiced flour ingredients together. Heat a deep-fat fryer or a deep pan with sunflower oil to 175C. Remove the quail from the fridge, then dip each half in the spiced our and carefully drop them in the fryer.
• Fry for about 6 mins until golden and crisp, then drain on kitchen paper and leave to rest for 2 mins or so. Pile onto a large serving plate, put the blue cheese sauce on the side for dipping, and scatter over the celery leaves, if you like.

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).

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.

CHARCOAL-GRILLED STUFFED QUAIL

Steps:

• Heat a charcoal grill until white ash forms on top of the coals.
• Split each quail neatly along the backbone. Set aside.
• Put the bacon or salt pork and garlic on a flat surface and chop until almost a paste. Put the mixture in a mixing bowl and add the bread crumbs, carrot, celery, basil, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Blend thoroughly with the fingers.
• By hand, carefully separate a portion of the breast meat from the bone, to form a small pocket. Push equal portions of the pork stuffing into the cavities. Push any additional stuffing under the skin of the birds without breaking the skin. Brush the birds all over with bacon fat or oil.
• Place the quail skin side down on the grill and cook until nicely browned on one side, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn and press the outer portions together to give the bodies more of their original shape. Let cook 4 to 5 minutes on the second side, or until the desired doneness is reached.

STUFFED QUAIL

Steps:

• Cook sausage and mix in the bread,.
• Sauté veggies and herbs in butter until tender.
• Mix into bread with chicken broth and apple until moist and stuff quail (wrap and secure with small skewers or just lay under the quail) Place in baking tray and put in over breast down for 30-35 minutes at 325°F.
• I basted them about every 8 minutes with basting sauce.

STUFFED QUAIL WITH CRAWFISH DRESSING

Steps:

• Rub quail with the rosemary, black pepper, and salt (and Tony Chachere's, if preferred).
• Prepare stuffing by sautéing remaining vegetables and basil in butter until tender.
• In a mixing bowl combine sautéed vegetables with cracker meal, crawfish, eggs, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
• Stuff quail liberally and bake in 350 degree F oven for 45 minutes or until done. Don't overcook.
• Baste with butter once while cooking.
• Place cooked quail on bed of brown or wild rice. Cherry sauce is optional.

SOUTHERN STYLE BARBECUED QUAIL

Steps:

• Split quails by snipping up the backbone with kitchen shears. Flatten them and place in a dish.
• Mix buttermilk with 3/4 teaspoon Tabasco and pour over the quails, coating them well. Cover and refrigerate overnight, up to 24 hours.
• Preheat grill or broiler. Remove quails from the marinade and place onion slices in marinade. Grill or broil quails close to the source of heat until lightly browned, three to five minutes on each side. As soon as the quails are done, grill the onion slices a minute or two on each side until lightly browned.
• Arrange the onions on a platter and top each with a quail. Mix the vinegar with a few drops of Tabasco, sprinkle over the quail and serve.