Best Stuffed Quail Recipes

STUFFED QUAIL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place the bread on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and salt. Toast for 5 to 8 minutes, until crisp. Transfer to a large bowl.
• In a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat, heat the butter until it's melted and foamy. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the parsley, sage and chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper. Add the toasted bread and toss to combine. If you need more liquid for the bread, add more chicken stock 1/4 cup at a time. Remove pan from heat and allow to cool to room temperature
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Once the stuffing is cool, wear kitchen rubber gloves to stuff the cavity of the quails with about 1 cup of stuffing per quail. Place the remaining stuffing on the bottom of a roasting pan or large cast-iron skillet. Season the quail with salt and pepper and rest on top of the stuffing. Roast the quail for 15 to 20 minutes or until juices run clear when you pierce the skin. Serve right away.

SOUTHERN STUFFED QUAIL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven broiler.
• In a bowl, mix the pork, parsley, carrots, celery, garlic, bread crumbs, and pepper.
• Arrange the quail in a baking dish. Separate the skin from the breast of each quail, and stuff with equal amounts of the stuffing mixture. Brush with bacon drippings.
• Broil the quail 7 minutes on each side in the preheated oven, or to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C).

MUSHROOM-STUFFED QUAIL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Lay the quail skin side down on a baking sheet and season lightly with 1 tablespoon of the Creole seasoning. Insert 1 portion of the mushroom stuffing into the cavity of each quail and wrap the bird around it. Replace each bird on the baking sheet, breast side up. Brush the butter over the quails and season with the remaining tablespoon of Creole seasoning.
• Roast until the birds are tender and golden brown, 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve 2 quails per person. Serve with Truffle Sauce.
• Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms, salt, and pepper, and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are wilted and begin to caramelize. Add the wine and cook, stirring to deglaze the pan and until the liquid has almost all evaporated, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer the mushrooms to the bowl of a food processor. Add the cheese, bread crumbs, parsley, basil, and oregano, and process on high speed to a thick paste.
• Transfer to a bowl and divide into 8 equal portions. With your hands, pack each portion into a tight ball. Set aside until ready to stuff the quail.
• In a mixing bowl, mix the butter and truffle oil together. Place the butter on plastic wrap, form a log and wrap tightly. Refrigerate until firm. In a saucepan, combine the white wine, shallots and garlic. Season with salt and white pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the cream and cook for 1 minute. Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces. Reduce the heat to medium-low and whisk in the butter, 1 piece at a time. Reduce the heat to low and keep the sauce warm. Garnish with shaved truffles and chives.

STUFFED BONELESS QUAIL WITH WILD RICE, SAGE AND APPLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash the quail and rub the inside of the cavities with salt and 1 teaspoon of orange zest.
• In a small pot bring the vegetable stock and the wild rice to a boil. Add the bay leaf and reduce the heat to a simmer for 35 to 40 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. Heat a nonstick pan and spray with vegetable oil. Saute the onions until translucent, add celery, sage and apples saute for 2 minutes and transfer to mixing bowl. Add the egg white, remaining orange peel, walnuts, black pepper, cooked wild rice and parsley to the mixing bowl. Stuff the cavities of the quail with the wild rice stuffing and place into a nonstick pan with vegetable spray. Lightly season the quail with salt and cracked black pepper and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
• When the quail is done, remove from the pan and deglaze with a 1/2 cup of chicken or vegetable stock. If available add a 1/4 cup of brown stock to the mixture and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain and ladle over quail. Garnish with blanched lemon peel.

SAUSAGE STUFFED QUAIL

Steps:

• Coat a large saute pan lightly with olive oil. Toss in the fennel, onions and crushed red pepper. Season with salt and bring the pan to a medium-high heat. Cook the onions and fennel until they are soft and wilted but don't have any color, 7 to 8 minutes. Turn off the heat and let them cool.
• In a bowl, combine the sausage, breadcrumbs, Parmigiano, egg, parsley and cooked onions and fennel. Mix well to combine.
• Divide the stuffing among the 4 quail. Press each quail to lightly flatten and evenly disperse the stuffing. Wrap each quail with a bacon slice and secure the bacon with a toothpick. Tie the quail's legs together with butcher's twine (otherwise they will look like road kill).
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and bring the pan to a medium-high heat. Sprinkle the quail with salt and add it to the pan. Brown them really well on each side, 3 to 4 minutes. When the quail are brown on both sides, transfer the quail to a baking sheet and put them in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove the toothpicks and reserve the quail.
• Meanwhile, ditch the fat from the pan and add the port wine. Cook the wine over medium heat until it has reduced by half. Add 3/4 cup chicken stock, season with salt and reduce by half. Add the remaining chicken stock and reduce it by about three-quarters, or until it seems a little bit thickened. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
• Divide the arugula among 4 serving plates. Place a quail on each pile of arugula and spoon some of the sauce on the quail and the arugula. Serve immediately.

BACON-WRAPPED QUAIL STUFFED WITH GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Season each quail inside and out with salt and pepper. Transfer to 1 to 2 large bowls, add oil, thyme, and garlic, and toss to combine. Refrigerate, covered, at least 1 hour and up to 48 hours.
• Preheat oven to 500°F. Remove 1 quail from marinade. Stuff cavity with 1 ounce goat cheese and 1 sprig rosemary and tie legs together loosely with kitchen string. Wrap 1 strip bacon around breast and transfer quail, breast side up, to rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining quail, using 2 to 3 baking sheets. Roast until just cooked through (cut into inner thigh; meat will still be slightly pink), about 15 minutes.

STUFFED BONELESS QUAIL WITH WILD RICE AND SAGE STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a roasting pan.
• Wash quail and rub the inside cavities with salt and 1 teaspoon of orange zest.
• In a medium saucepan bring vegetable broth and rice to a boil. Add the bay leaf and reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute onions until translucent; add celery and sage and saute 2 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the egg white, remaining orange zest, walnuts, black pepper, cooked rice and parsley; mix well. Stuff the cavities of the quail with the rice mixture. Lightly season the skins with salt and cracked black pepper.
• Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through.
• Remove quail from pan and de glaze with the chicken broth. Strain and ladle over the quail.

BONELESS QUAIL STUFFED WITH WILD RICE AND MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Prepare the quail and set aside.
• Cook the wild rice and drain.
• Heat the butter in a skillet and add the onion and shallots. Cook, stirring, until wilted. Add the mushrooms and cook about one minute, stirring. Add the wild rice, salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with bourbon and stir. Remove from the heat and let cool.
• Spoon equal portions of stuffing onto the opened quail. Carefully fold over the quail halves to enclose the filling.
• Lay out eight squares of plastic wrap, one square at a time. Place one stuffed quail in the center and carefully fold the plastic wrap to enclose the stuffed pieces. Wrap securely.
• Place the stuffed quail in one layer in the top rack of a steamer. Set aside. Add enough water to boil in the bottom of the steamer to steam the quail when added.
• When ready to cook, place the quail over the steamer and cover closely. Let the quail steam for 15 to 20 minutes or until done. Serve with cream of chicken sauce. A serving suggestion: spoon a little of the sauce onto a hot plate, top with two stuffed quail and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley. Spoon the remaining sauce over the quail.

BOUDIN-STUFFED QUAIL WITH CRANBERRY-BOURBON SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ground pork and chicken liver and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 10 minutes. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic, and continue to saute for 5 minutes.
• Bring 2 cups water and a pinch of salt to a boil in a small saucepan. Add rice, cover, and bring back to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
• In a small saucepan, combine the cranberries, bourbon and sugar in pan. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, over medium heat until the berries are soft and the sugar is dissolved, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool bit, then pour into a blender and puree until smooth.
• Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the quail with salt, pepper, cayenne, chili powder and smoked paprika. Swirl some canola oil in the skillet and then add the quail. Cook on one side for about 5 minutes; flip and cook for another 5 minutes-the quail won't be fully cooked yet, but that's okay. Set aside.
• Mix the cooked rice into the ground pork mixture and season with salt, pepper and cayenne¿now you have boudin.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Stuff each quail with boudin and place back in the cast-iron skillet. Roast until cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Serve the stuffed quail atop cranberry-bourbon sauce.

QUAIL STUFFED WITH POMEGRANATE

Steps:

• Combine the wine, honey, mint and sage in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Peel the pomegranates and carefully remove the seeds by breaking the pomegranates into sections.
• Place the pomegranate seeds and the quails in the wine mixture. Let marinate in the refrigerator, 2 to 4 hours.
• Remove the quails from the marinade and pat dry. Drain the seeds out of the marinade. Reserve 1/3 cup of the seeds and stuff the quails with the rest. Reserve the marinade.
• Truss the quails and wrap each in two slices of pancetta.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• In a large ovenproof skillet, heat the lard or oil and quickly brown the quails. Place them in the oven and bake 6 to 8 minutes.
• Remove the quails from the oven and transfer them to a serving platter. Deglaze the pan with the reserved marinade over high heat, stir in the reserved pomegranate seeds, pour over the quails and serve.

STUFFED QUAIL

Steps:

• Cook sausage and mix in the bread,.
• Sauté veggies and herbs in butter until tender.
• Mix into bread with chicken broth and apple until moist and stuff quail (wrap and secure with small skewers or just lay under the quail) Place in baking tray and put in over breast down for 30-35 minutes at 325°F.
• I basted them about every 8 minutes with basting sauce.

CHARCOAL-GRILLED STUFFED QUAIL

Steps:

• Heat a charcoal grill until white ash forms on top of the coals.
• Split each quail neatly along the backbone. Set aside.
• Put the bacon or salt pork and garlic on a flat surface and chop until almost a paste. Put the mixture in a mixing bowl and add the bread crumbs, carrot, celery, basil, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Blend thoroughly with the fingers.
• By hand, carefully separate a portion of the breast meat from the bone, to form a small pocket. Push equal portions of the pork stuffing into the cavities. Push any additional stuffing under the skin of the birds without breaking the skin. Brush the birds all over with bacon fat or oil.
• Place the quail skin side down on the grill and cook until nicely browned on one side, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn and press the outer portions together to give the bodies more of their original shape. Let cook 4 to 5 minutes on the second side, or until the desired doneness is reached.

QUAIL STUFFED WITH SAUSAGE

Steps:

• In a large container, mix together the pineapple juice, orange juice, and honey. Marinate the quail in this mixture overnight, refrigerated.
• Stuff each marinated quail with a small rolled ball of the hot sausage. Dust each quail lightly with Everglades Seasoning, then wrap each quail with a strip of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Smoke the quail over indirect heat for 2 to 3 hours.

ROAST QUAIL STUFFED WITH FOIE GRAS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Season quail, stuff with foie gras and wrap with bacon. In oven proof saute pan heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over moderate heat until hot. Add quail and cook until golden on all sides. Transfer to oven and roast 15 minutes. Transfer quail to a serving dish.
• Discard all but 2 tablespoons fat from pan. Add shallot and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Deglaze pan with Armagnac, scraping up brown bits clinging to bottom of pan. Add veal stock and reduce to 1 cup. Add enough arrowroot to lightly thicken sauce. Whisk in remaining butter.
• Pour juices from platter containing quail into sauce and stir to combine. Coat quail with sauce and garnish with chervil.
• Recommended Wine: 1983 Gevrey-Chambertin, Clos Prieur, Domaine Rene Le clerc

STUFFED ROAST QUAIL WITH MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and shallot and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid has cooked away and the mushrooms are tender, 5 minutes. Add the bourbon and cook until it has evaporated, 45 to 60 seconds. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate to cool, 10 minutes. Once cooled, add the ground chicken and herbs. Season with salt and pepper. (To taste and adjust the seasoning, simply zap a teaspoon or so of the mixture in a bowl in the microwave to cook it through. Season with salt and pepper as needed.)
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Using a tablespoon, stuff the interior of each quail with the mushroom-chicken mixture. Using kitchen twine, tie the legs of each bird together, and then flip the wingtips under the back of each bird to hold the wings in place. Brush the birds with the melted butter, and then season heartily with salt and pepper. Roast, basting occasionally with the melted butter, until the birds are pale golden brown and the interior of the stuffing registers 165 degrees F when measured with an instant-read thermometer, 30 minutes.
• Switch the oven to broil and place the birds under the broiler to darken the skin, if desired, for 45 to 60 seconds depending on the strength of your broiler. Serve immediately.

WILD MUSHROOM STUFFED QUAIL WITH TRUFFLE RISOTTO

Steps:

• QUAIL Bone the quail and reserve the bones. Dust with salt & pepper and roast at 375 until done, approximately 20 minutes. Refrigerate until required. SAUCE At a medium-high setting, heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in sauce pan large enough to hold all quail bones. Saute bones until browned, deglaze with mirepoix until caramelized, deglaze again with chicken stock and port ensuring that all brown bits are incorporated into the sauce. Reduce heat and simmer at a low bubble until reduced by half. Strain sauce through a fine seive or coffee strainer and keep warm. WILD MUSHROOM STUFFING Reconstitute dried mushrooms with double their volume of boiling water, about 15 minutes. Strain and reserve reconstitution liquid. At a medium heat setting, heat 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp of oil in saute pan and add diced shallots. When shallots are sweating add mushrooms and saute 5 minutes. Add garlic, 3 sprigs of thyme, balsamic vinegar and saute another 5 minutes. Salt & pepper to taste. Pre-heat oven to 300 F, stuff wild mushroom mixture into quail and re-heat for 10-15 minutes. RISOTTO At a medium-high setting, heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil and saute onions until they shine, 3-5 minutes, add rice and stir until all kernels are coated in oil. Add half of the reconstitution liquid and reduce heat to low so that the mixture is a constant low bubble. Keep stirring occasionally Once the liquid has almost fully reduced, add half of remaining liquid, once almost all reduced again, add remaining liquid. Risotto will use between 2 and 2.5 times it's volume of liquid. Rice should be slightly crunchy in the middle. SERVICE Arrange Rositto in a deep bowl and place Quail on top of rice. Drizzle sauce on Quail and add shaved black truffle over rice. Top with a couple of drops of truffle oil and a spig of thyme.

BONELESS QUAIL STUFFED WITH POULTRY QUENELLE

Steps:

• Make the poultry mousse.
• Cut the chicken into small pieces, season well with salt and white pepper, and place in bowl of food processor fitted with a sharp blade.
• Process the chicken, scraping bowl down as necessary, until it is completely broken down into a homogenous paste, about 2 minutes.
• Add the egg white and blend to incorporate and loosen paste, about 30 seconds.
• With processor blade running, slowly pour in the heavy cream.
• Process until all of the cream is incorporated, the grain of the mousse is very fine, and the mousse is solid enough that a scoop of it will not fall off of a rubber scraper held in the air, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer to a bowl and fold in chives and 1 tablespoon of the parsley.
• Preheat oven to 375°F Stuff the body of each quail with some of the chicken mousse.
• Save remaining mousse for another use (make sure to cover it well with plastic wrap to lessen air exposure).
• Tie quail legs together with a piece of butcher's twine.
• Season quails with salt and freshly ground white pepper.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet set over medium-high heat.
• Working in two batches so as not to overcrowd the pan, brown quail on both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side.
• Transfer quail to a baking sheet (do not clean skillet) and place in oven. Cook until firm and done all the way through, 15-20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add mushrooms to skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until about three-quarters done, about 5 minutes.
• Add garlic, season with salt and white pepper, and finish cooking, about 3 minutes more.
• Mix in remaining tablespoon of chopped parsley, transfer to a bowl, and set aside.
• Add chicken broth and thyme leaves to skillet and boil until reduced by two-thirds, to about 1 cup in volume, about 15 minutes.
• Transfer reduced broth to a blender and add foie gras terrine and remaining 2 tablespoons butter.
• Blend until smooth and frothy.
• Service:.
• Remove butcher's twine from quail and discard.
• Divide mushrooms and quail among warm plates.
• Spoon foie gras sauce over quail and mushrooms.

SHRIMP AND ANDOUILLE STUFFED QUAIL WITH SPICY WHITE WINE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat and cook celery, onion, thyme and garlic until wilted. Toss in shrimp and cook for 3 minutes. Add sausage to the pan, then stock. Place bread cubes in a bowl and pour the shrimp mixture over. Stir to completely moisten the bread, then add the green onions, parsley, and season with salt, pepper, and hot sauce, to taste. Let stuffing cool and then divide into 8 portions. Wrap 1 quail around each portion, using toothpicks to secure the back. Rub each quail with a little butter and season with salt and pepper. Place quail on baking sheet (not too close together) and roast for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown and firm, but not dry. To serve, place 2 quails on each of 4 dinner plates and spoon sauce over top.
• Place shallots, white wine, broth, and hot sauce in a small pot and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to about 3 tablespoons and then whisk in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Finish with a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt, if necessary. Spoon sauce over quail and serve.

STUFFED QUAIL GUMBO

Steps:

• Put quail on a flat surface and sprinkle cavity of each with salt and pepper and a pinch of file powder.
• Put rice in a bowl and add salt, pepper and a pinch of file powder.
• Open up cavity of each quail and spoon 2 level tablespoons of rice in. Place one slice sausage and one oyster on the layer of rice. Spoon 2 more tablespoons rice into each cavity, pressing down with fingers. Press all around openings of cavities to seal.
• Arrange quail breast up and close together in one layer in a baking dish. Sprinkle breasts with salt, pepper and a pinch of file powder. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the melted butter on top of each quail.
• Combine onion, green pepper, celery and garlic in a mixing bowl and set aside.
• Bring enough water to boil in a saucepan to cover four remaining slices of sausage. Add sausage slices and simmer gently about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a wide, heavy skillet and add the flour, stirring rapidly all around bottom with a wire whisk. Cook, stirring constantly, until flour turns light caramel in color. Reduce heat and continue stirring. Pay strict attention to the color, which will now deepen rapidly. The flour, when ready, should be dark brown; it should not blacken. Total cooking time is about 6 minutes.
• Immediately add onion mixture and continue stirring vigorously 3 to 4 minutes. Add broth while stirring rapidly. Bring to boil and cook, stirring, about 3 minutes. Add the oyster liquor, bay leaves and thyme sprigs and let simmer about 35 minutes. Be sure to scrape bottom of pan to prevent sticking and lumping.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Place quail in oven and bake 30 minutes or until breasts are nicely browned.
• Carefully transfer quail to the simmering liquid and continue cooking 5 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Serve one quail and one slice of sausage with equal amounts of the gumbo liquid in four soup bowls.

STUFFED QUAIL

Steps:

• Clean and skin the quails. Skinning a whole quail is kind of a tedious process, be very careful not to break the bones, or you can leave the skin on. Sometimes there will be small feathers stuck to the skin, make sure you pluck all those off. Mix all the ingredients in the first set to make a paste, and apply liberally on the birds in and out. Marinate for about an hour. Heat a large frying pan (which will be used to sear the quail in the next step), toast the pine nuts, remove and keep aside. Add a little oil to frying pan, carefully sear the birds one by one or more at a time, depending on the size of the pan. We just want to flash fry the outside, not actually cook the birds completely, so give about 2-3 minutes per bird. Add more oil in between if needed. In the same pan, add more oil if needed, and add the shallots, green chilies and raisins and saute till brown. Reduce the heat and add chili powder and pepper powder and saute for about a minute. Add the green onion slices, salt and toasted pine nuts and mix well till the green onions are wilted. Remove from the heat. Pre-heat the oven to 375F. Stuff the cavities of each quail tightly with the prepared stuffing. Arrange the birds on a greased baking dish, spray some oil on the birds and roast for about 35-45 minutes. Serve warm, with some fresh lemon squeezed over and with a side salad.