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Quail with green garlic, medjool dates and braised escarole (printable page)

Quail marinade:

½ cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, sliced

1 heaping tablespoon whole grain mustard

½ bunch parsley, chopped

½ bunch chives, chopped

1 teaspoon Salt

Filling:

1 heaping tablespoon duck liver pate

¼ cup medjool Dates, chopped

½ cup green garlic, cut into ¼ inch pieces

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

reduction of one shallot, ½ cup white wine, and ½ cup chicken stock

½ bunch parsley

½ cup fresh rustic bread crumbs( hand torn, untoasted)

Dish:

6 marinated stuffed quail

2 tablespoons olive oil

¼ cup white wine

¼ cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon butter

Escarole:

2 heads escarole, quartered

¼ cup white wine

½ cup chicken stock

Potatoes:

1 pound Yukon Gold “c” potatoes

2 tablespoon olive oil

So lets talk about quail, a bridge between game and domestic fowl, quail has a more pronounced flavor and a darker meat than chicken. It also is leaner in the breast so the breasts overcook very quickly. That’s the challenge of quail, dealing with essentially two cooking times for the same bird. We’ll show you how we do it.

Whatever you want to do with your quail start with marinating it. The marinade will do three things. It will flavor the quail, tenderize the quail and it will preserve the quail. The marinade can be as simple as salt and olive oil. Our marinade will include, garlic, mustard, parsley, chive, olive oil, and salt.

Step one: marinate. combine marinade ingredients toss in your quail mix and cover. Marinate in the fridge for 24-48 hrs.

Step two: prepare the stuffing. First step is to dice shallots. Sauté the shallots in olive oil over medium heat until translucent deglaze with white wine and add chicken stock. Reduce to a glaze. Cool. Bring ½ cup water and 1 teaspoon olive oil to a boil over high heat, throw in the green garlic and cook covered over medium heat until the water is gone and the green garlic is tender. Combine duck liver mousse, dates, bread, reduction, whole grain mustard, parsley. Season and taste.

Step three stuff quail: remove the quail from the marinade, remove the marinade from the quail, bits stuck to the outside of the quail will burn in the pan. Stuff a heaping tablespoon of the stuffing into the crotch or the neck(whichever opening is larger) of the quail. It may seem like too little stuffing but the quail will contract while cooking. If you add too much stuffing it just squeezes out and burns in the pan. Once stuffed prepare the quail for the pan. Push the wingtips back behind the bird to the shoulder blades. With a toothpick pin the legs together through the hamstring. This holds everything in the right place, breasts out and legs together.

Step four: sides. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Place potatoes in a pot with heavily salted water to cover over high heat. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer uncovered until tender but not falling apart 10-15 minutes. Drain and remove to a sheet pan. When cool cut in half. Add canola oil to a pan over high heat. When nearly smoking salt the pan and add potatoes cut side down lower heat to medium and add a knob of butter. Into the oven for 15 minutes.

Take the clean escarole and quarter the heads down the middle leaving a part of the core in each side. Add butter and oil to a pan over medium heat. When the butter is done foaming add the escarole cut side down. Sauté without coloring for two minutes add wine and chicken stock to the pan. Season with salt and pepper and cover with a cartouche and braise in the oven for 15 minutes

Step five: Quail. Add oil to a pan over high heat. When nearly smoking add seasoned quail breast side down. Reduce heat to medium and leave for one to two minutes. The quail may stick if one tries to move it early. If it sticks an even steady pull will release the skin without ripping. The quail will brown nicely and you will be able to see the color as the quail contracts. Brown sides for 30 sec apiece. Turn quail. Sit the quail up in the pan using the side of the pan as a backrest. Leave for two minutes This will help to cook the legs and hips all the way without overcooking the breasts. Defat the pan. Deglaze the pan with white wine and reduced chicken stock. Bring the liquid to the boil. Put it in the oven to finish for 5-6 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and the quail from the pan. How to test for doneness; sqeeze the bird at the hip. It should be cooked all the way through leaving the meat firm. Contrast with a slight give left in the breast. A bit of extruded protein in the crotch is a sign that the hips are done.Rest in a warm place for 5 min. reduce the pan drippings to sauce consistency and mount with a knob of butter.

Step 6 plating. Throw it on the plate. The quail should be juicy and just barely cooked, the stuffing warm. If you are ballsy, cut the quail in half to neatly show the stuffing.