Smothered Quail

When we got Sadie Mae, we knew we wanted to bird hunt whether that be quail, grouse or pheasants. I didn’t grow up bird hunting so therefore, I never ate upland birds.

At first my recipes with quail were pretty bland or basic the ole stick them in the oven & bake them, maybe fry them up, nothing too crazy.

I knew I wanted to create better recipes where the quail could shine, and be treated more like the rarity & delicacy that they are. I wanted to create something gourmet, but still easy & of course tasty.

So I became inspired and this hearty meal became smothered quail. And serving it over mashed potatoes is an absolute MUST! I actually just made this in Ohio for my whole family and it was a homerun. The quail was a hit, but this gravy was also an allstar! I’m talking bathe in the gravy good, lick the plate, you know ALL the things!

Has anyone ever seen a prettier dish than this?! Who knew brown food could look so tasty!

Smothered Quail

Recipe by Tasha Barbour- Rural Roots RecipesCourse: Meat, Recipes

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Total time

45

minutes

Ingredients

• 6-8 quail

• 2 tsp thyme leaves

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter

• 3 stalks of celery chopped

• 1 cup chopped onions

• 1 lb of mushrooms quarted and sliced

• 2 cups chicken stock

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

• salt & pepper to taste (I prefer fresh ground black pepper) use in gravy & to season quail

Directions

• Season Quail with thyme & salt + pepper
• Add vegetable oil to a dutch oven an heat add quail a few at a time until they are nicely browned on each side.
• Once the quail are browned line them on a baking sheet and put into a 350 degree oven to keep them warm.
• Add butter to dutch oven, add onion & celery cook for 3-5 minutes.
• Add mushrooms and cook for another 4 minutes & stir.
• Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer and then add the heavy cream.
• Add a touch of slat & ground black pepper to taste. At this point if it’s not thickened to your liking make a slurry 1 TBP cornstarch & 1 TBP of water & add it to gravy.
• Add quail in and simmer on stovetop for 20 minutes or finish off in oven.
• Serve over mashed potatoes

Notes

• For an unhealthier version, I like to coat my quail in flour. Add 1/2 cup of flour (as much as needed), salt, pepper & thyme to a ziplock bag & coat quail. Resume following recipe above.