CHICKEN-FRIED QUAIL WITH CREAMY THYME GRAVY

Steps:

• Quail
• Preheat the oven to 200°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a brown paper bag.
• Rinse the quail and pat dry with paper towels. Combine the buttermilk, egg, and hot sauce in a shallow bowl and whisk to mix. In a separate shallow bowl or plastic bag, combine the bread crumbs, flour, salt and black pepper to taste, and cayenne and stir or shake to mix.
• Pour canola oil 1/4 inch deep in a large skillet, add the bacon drippings, if using, and place over medium-high heat until sizzling hot (see Know-how, page 100).
• Dip each quail into the buttermilk mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture to evenly coat. Place in the skillet 3 or 4 at a time, taking care not to overcrowd the skillet. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes per side, until golden brown and crispy and the interior is slightly pink. If the quail are browning too quickly, reduce the heat slightly. Transfer the quail to the lined baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining quail, and pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the oil, reserving the pan drippings.
• Gravy
• Add the shallot to the same skillet and cook and stir over medium heat for about 1 minute. Sprinkle the flour over the shallot and cook and stir for 1 minute more, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Whisk in the milk, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring, until the gravy is thick and creamy, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Spoon the gravy over the quail and serve warm.
• On the Side
• This chicken-fried quail is delicious with Summer Succotash (page 232), Spring Coleslaw with Fresh Herbs and Light Honey Citrus Vinaigrette (page 258), and Watercress Angel Biscuits (page 54). Or try them for breakfast over Country Ham and Hominy Hash (page 82) or with Buttermilk Waffles (page 91) in place of fried chicken.
• Chew on this: About Quail
• Southerners have long been crazy for quail, a small bird favored for eating and-perhaps especially-hunting. It was one of the few game species to flourish in the new landscape carved out by cotton farming, and the birds remain a favorite catch of hunters today.
• That was certainly true in my family, and I've been eating quail for as long as I can remember. Whenever my dad and grandfather brought them home from a hunt, Granny Foster would dust them lightly with flour and fry them in a skillet for breakfast along with pan gravy and angel biscuits. Like many Southerners, my grandfather called quail "bobwhites" for their characteristic whistle, which sounds like they are singing "bobwhite! bobwhite! bobwhite!" The meat tastes sort of like chicken, but with a lovely, nutty-sweet twang, and quail can be prepared in all the ways you'd prepare chicken-but with much shorter cooking times.
• Quail are so dainty that you will want to budget at least one, but more likely two, per person. Farmed quail can be bought from a number of online providers and usually come partially boned (see Sources, page 377).