YUM Quail.... thank you for reminding me of one of my favorite ways to cook quail - Preheat your oven to 350. Mix fresh diced sage leaves with a bit of butter and gently push some under the skin of each whole or half quail, then wrap them in prosciutto or nice thinly sliced bacon. Heat a large sauté pan to hot but not smoking. Lightly brown each quail on each side to seal in the flavors. Salt and black pepper them and finish in the oven. Serve with... perhaps a nice butternut squash risotto & garnish crisped sage leaves...... some brussels with hazelnuts on the side?
I like to get the semi boneless quail and season them with salt and pepper, olive oil, some sort of citrus or maybe a balsamic or raspberry vinegar. Then I grill them, cut them in quarters and arrange them on a bed of greens - dress the whole thing with a vinaigrette made from whatever acid you used on the quail. Light and delicious! I have also grilled them with a blueberry BBQ sauce with great results.
My simplest method for quail is to mix some good Dijon mustard (you could use another favorite) with a splash of soy sauce, then whisk in a little olive oil (nothing fancy and you could use some other oil). Coat the quail and let them sit for a few minutes if that's all the time you have or longer, even overnight, if you can. Season with salt (if you didn't get enough from the soy sauce) and pepper. Roast them for about 15 minutes at 425 or grill them.
Quail in Looing sauce.
http://www.recipejungle.com/recipe-00131534-Fried-Quail,-Chinese-Style.html
You can use whole quail. And tie them on strings to take them out of parboil in the looing sauce. With the strings under their wings. them let them drip dry, hanging on cabinet knobs--it looks like birdy bondage) with a pan to catch the drippings. It also helps to retrieve them from the hot oil christening. They should be dry when they hit the oil.
IMHO that recipe is a guide line. The quails are cooked fully in the looing sauce...I turn the boil off and let them sit covered in the sauce a bit longer; the fry is just to crisp up the skin. I also add orange slices and orange juice to the looing sauce and not so much star anise, but some cloves.
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http://www.recipejungle.com/recipe-00131534-Fried-Quail,-Chinese-Style.html
You can use whole quail. And tie them on strings to take them out of parboil in the looing sauce. With the strings under their wings. them let them drip dry, hanging on cabinet knobs--it looks like birdy bondage) with a pan to catch the drippings. It also helps to retrieve them from the hot oil christening. They should be dry when they hit the oil.
IMHO that recipe is a guide line. The quails are cooked fully in the looing sauce...I turn the boil off and let them sit covered in the sauce a bit longer; the fry is just to crisp up the skin. I also add orange slices and orange juice to the looing sauce and not so much star anise, but some cloves.