Madeleine Kamman

Almost Wild Spit-Roasted Quail

Preparation info
  • FCR—

    6

    servings
    • Difficulty

      Easy

Appears in
top 1000The New Making of a Cook
The New Making of a Cook

By Madeleine Kamman

Published 1997

  • About

Quail run year-round on my hill in the Napa Valley, but we look at them with great love, hatching their eggs when a wildcat kills their mother, and buying raised quail for our table. This is the way to make raised quail taste wild. Serve with a fresh mesclun salad seasoned with a lemon juice, garlic, mint, and olive oil dressing.

Ingredients

  • 12 large quail
  • 12 large cloves garlic, crushed
  • 12 fresh sage leaves

Method

Wash the birds inside and out and pat them completely dry. Push 1 garlic clove, 1 sage leaf, and 2 juniper berries into the cavity of each bird. Season the cavity with salt and pepper. Truss with thin kitchen string using the needleless method outlined. Brush each bird with olive oil and allow the flavors to penetrate the birds for 24 hours in the refri