Monday, September 14, 2009

Grilled: Half Pint Quail 2 Ways, 2 Days, Part 2

Oh, wow, this was one the best leftover dishes, ever! I hadn't eaten my half of the servings on night one due to a lack of appetite caused by accidental ingestion of wheat.

The quail stuffing was: a seeded chopped tomato from Arethusa, a clove of elephant garlic (I didn't want the strong garlic flavor of locally grown), a couple sprinkles of dried cilantro, chipotle powder, and gluten-free breadcrumbs.

Just mix and stuff the cavities.

Okay, I know this looks funny, but I wanted absolutely every essence from every ingredient for a butter-finished pan-sauce. I cut an onion and put in in the pan, along with about 1/2 cup of chardonnay. The stuffed artichoke recipe is in the previous post.

Did I mention that it was raining during the cook? I set the controls to 1/2 on the opposite side of the quail (they were not over heat) and left the cover down for about 30-40 minutes, until the internal temperature of the quail stuffing was 150f.

Then I threw the corn on for 6-7 minutes a side, and finished the skin of the quail on direct high heat for about half the time. Corn on the grill is so easy. Just remove the dead silk (or watch in amusement as it catches fire) and leave the corn on each side long enough for the leaves to burn. Let rest maybe 6 minutes afterward on a plate before serving to cool a bit, then done!

See how burned it gets?

On the other side of the grill, few tablespoons of butter and the sauce is complete!

Since this was reheated, I served the stuffed quail split in two over the roasted corn cut from the cob, the filling from the stuffed artichokes, and some sticky sushi rice. Very tasty. The meat was still moist and had a slight gaminess, the tomato stuffing was a nice complement - not overpowering or distracting, letting the flavor of the quail stay forward and shine.

Dan said it could have been more garlicky for his taste.