Quail recipes (2024)

FAQs

Which cooking method is best for quail? ›

Grill: Whole quail and stuffed quail are best cooked when seared over a high heat then allowed to finish roasting over indirect heat. On a gas grill turn the front and rear or left and right burners to medium-high and leave the middle burner off.

Grilled, broiled, or sautéed, they're almost impossible to ruin. The medium-dark flesh has a mildly gamey flavor that readily takes to being marinated, stuffed, or highly seasoned. They are small, so allow one quail per person for an hors d'oeuvre, and at least 2 per person for an entrée.

For my oven, roasting quail for 14 minutes at 525 degrees is the sweet spot. The skin gets crispy after 14 minutes and the meat is still juicy. Depending on your oven, if you can go higher than 525 degrees, consider roasting it for 12 to 13 minutes. If 500 is as high as you can go, roast for 15 to 16 minutes.

Northern Bobwhite Quail are the most popular quail breed and are used for hunting and training bird dogs and they're great to eat.

You don't need to marinate or brine the quail, but since the meat is lean and fairly dry, doing so can reduce the risk of drying the meat out during the cooking process.

QUAIL ARE EXCELLENT MEAT BIRDS

Their small size may have you wondering if quail are worth raising for meat, but they actually make great meat birds. Quail grow quickly and are ready to be butchered between 6-12 weeks of age, depending on your preference.

Quail is rich in protein, vitamins, minerals, iron and macronutrients such as calcium, phosphor, zinc and more. Here are a few prominent health benefits: it contains a host of vitamins, including Vitamin A, D, K and B. Quail eggs and meat are rich in selenium, essential fatty acids and antioxidants.

What's great about quail is that it's one of the easiest birds to cook. You have to try really hard to mess them up. In classic French cooking, they're often served with the meat still pink, but that meat, like duck, remains delicious even when it's fully cooked through.

However, while quail and chickens are similar, they do have some differences. Most importantly, you shouldn't expect quail to taste exactly like chicken. Many people consider quail to have a much gamier taste than chicken. It is often referred to as tasting like a mix between chicken and duck.

Roasted quail is neither as tender as chicken nor as fatty as duck. Deep-fried quail is pretty good, like deep-fried anything, but it just made me wish I was eating fried chicken. Quail is too small and bony for soup. But simmering the quail quickly on the stove is the best way to savor its quail-ness.

What tastes better quail or pheasant? ›

Quail is high on my list of favorite game birds because it offers the best of both worlds. Its flavor is a nice balance between light and dark meat, and in my experience, cooking quail is more forgiving than pheasant.

Ducks, geese, grouse, partridge, pheasant, and turkey are all delicious when handled proplerly in the field and cooked well in the kitchen. Developing favorite recipes for each species led to a list of the best-eating game birds.

Once the water has reached a hard boil, add the quail eggs. Next, you will need to set your timer for 10 minutes, if you'd like a soft boiled egg the steaming time is 8 minutes. Keep in mind, anything longer than 10 minutes will cause the egg whites to become rubbery in texture.

Place the pot or pan on a stovetop and heat on high, bringing the water to a rolling boil. Once boiling, add the quail eggs. Start your timer! Let the eggs boil for two minutes (soft-boiled), three minutes (medium-boiled) or three and a half minutes (hard-boiled).