The other day I was at an Asian market and saw quail. I don't recall ever seeing quail at a store and bought them for old-time sake.
When I was a young boy, perhaps 8 or 9, we had a quail fly into one of the back windows at our home and it was killed. I told my mother I wanted to cook it, so she helped me find a recipe in the Betty Crocker Cookbook, and I plucked and cleaned the quail and baked it. I recall that the recipe had some kind of fruit in it, perhaps orange, and I also recall it was very good.
I found a recipe for Heavenly Baked Quail, recipe #264635 at Recipezaar.com. I followed the recipe with only slight modifications and it was fabulous.
The package came with four whole quail and the recipe also called for four. Many of the other recipes I looked at called for six or eight quail.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfjsQ7rBG3WPrKZ-5Xp0V-jBo3OcQXCfx_2MgJdZWEhcuGW4KdDm9_0-m7IknczbD6aSsqjagbV6zpCwPwNq4S7Eexwe4HibxFB5pTTV3bt73fNSPGvxBoW3wyyX6XevcE4aWjdkBkNU/s280/3+Four+whole+Quail.JPG)
I cut each quail in half
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzOqhxcvVPLJ7iaV9BWYodiJfw39bYe37kCRsLTBx8UUth_ucMJ3JDRaTZscahhr4H8bU_AdT9VFkyEcK3TFuD4drkNyb_xY9DZo0P4t-dXjsqise0ndIqwEY0Wzq6DNQh0l3EoL6QpRQ/s280/4+Cut+in+half.JPG)
And wrapped one-half piece of bacon around each half, securing it with a toothpick.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTC1BCfu3JRt_kNlCPouIH2vCDXSIWatxku6Lm3JcKHm9PADoPij3mDJVTTVOtCvRwOdZUhsiLJXJaCEcmwo1iAXYWXWWf7-egqv1pURJf7k00_3kaNgUKzsNYrAxYjLaW1eDc9RUWxFQ/s280/5+Wrapped+in+Bacon.JPG)
I coated each quail piece in flour and put it in a frying pan with oil.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCtxczq_YYhQU0Mo48UwCFMP6CM8_SUQEtnPr_4VMOOVkrj20vKqfaIHleqbnf2hOeDDFXAfYLqgfNqXPqqtmCaedpPQQziPMqOsZyc_f-gfElUPUb84ifs2-6i1hBjc9ZKrSmJzdgMHM/s280/6+Fry+in+oil.JPG)
When each piece was light brown
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9A8-zaEFH4MCRKt2EdpbfyPyvpSareSWo01qx5zArCjUQlnTflADVENvXcT0HnU77L1u_EM_j5I_Iqx1MOEwTRX9ukntYLidhQPgDo5kFL0RbgOksX99XBo_phO8X7Fb0-GrZtZeB4uhi/s280/7+Fry+until+light+brown.JPG)
I pulled them out, put them on a paper towel to let the oil drain and then put them in a casserole dish.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYI4qJNC-BbCgEQRlrxFf82cyt1dvs7nhzomILIZ7pJulNpirWrvc8kZ_yEAVXMQGnt5VT8q7_Gl2fEg5rNafPpPOQ4PKLBrDBlZ3yQg7-XY_z-sJJMJ9-o1YiGJftDmzVDB7pakgwfbh/s280/8+Place+in+casserole+dish.JPG)
Then I added 1 diced red onion, a bunch of asparagus spears (the recipe called for a diced bell pepper and I think the asparagus is better), 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_pZBbDnmtcgmHCASVUq6QH3IOyDM5pmAbO47S4Dy5VRfO6ZTdC7xb7ZmDFuE74Vrfw-2MUNsMiu6y8dMzd7-Aa2PlcOuqKvCvJgXXDNndYew__m2IJrliECQR5cd6Eyq5oCxxuXASgXjX/s280/9+Add+onion,+asparagus.JPG)
Then I added 1 can of condensed golden mushroom soup mixed with one-half cup of water.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3w20n-4DLvG7aE6N5YQXvhEJHL49OC3FEczv3_JK6ugM5NHfL9vOdsK8OjaEq_xea2iz6zOFNIXFdLPlE_Y4I_-00-SbaPNFrR9N-bEgKM4kP8qRyyV3HdRh83wSPYrhD-wVi9yOx5jC/s280/10+Add+soup.JPG)
I placed the cover on the casserole dish and baked it at 350 degrees for an hour. Then I took the cover off and baked it for another 10 minutes.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7gVvaGDRUetxfPkcGKGSaKDMCVe0fFh0hqwaEnA1veZDY7lyIJsT_giNFAWrS_i0OfCH92FSQS0fikPDZILTNz9V4irHoSpWSbyoRVJ8Wibpy5DUtmg3fKqLt9Ey_WuSHqcU_9Ky4LGN/s280/11+Cook.JPG)
In the meantime, I mashed some potatoes. When the quail were finished, I removed the toothpicks, placed a big helping of mashed potatoes on my plate and three halves of the quail, along with the gravy mixture.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYUl1oqhG_pKvsLta0Xrwdn-bKgmXmAbseU-0hJsN6GPodCWQJgBmTSYqAP4JlT_eF5_0w6CmBPOzWU8_rGQC78IXRwXoW7P3aWRGyDE_ADwz6-MgVs-o6ifJKtzuX4D_HRDahHcIXxvlh/s280/12+Place+on+mashed+potatoes.JPG)
It was amazingly good. I ate my whole large serving and was stuffed. Judy ate less then two halves. The recipe serves four and that is about right. It has a strong pepper taste and a very rich flavor. There was a surprising amount of meat on the little bones, although certain parts, like the wing and neck, are virtually impossible to get any meat off of.
Judy felt it would be a good company meal (for those who are adventurous) and I suspect we'll be having it again.
Why didn't you develop these cooking skills while I was in high school?
ReplyDelete