Perdrau à la Gitane

The gipsies of the Camargue, having stolen some fine plump chickens, would bury them whole, feathers & all in the clay under their campfires. If any suspicious farmer turned up, searching for this missing fowl, there was nothing to be seen. A few hours later, when the coast had cleared, the birds were dug up & the feathers pulled off together with the now hard-baked clay. Flo cooks quail, small chickens & partridges in a similar way: first they are cleaned & plucked, then stuffed with muscat grapes, wrapped in oiled leaves & buried in the sand under a charcoal fire for 2-3 hours. It seems worth a try. Ideally, the packed earth or sand keeps the birds moist & allows the grapes’ perfume to penetrate their flesh.