If you’ve never had quail, you’re missing out. It sounds fancy, like something you’d only order at a restaurant, but it’s actually really easy to cook — and honestly one of my favorite things to make at home. The meat is a bit darker and richer than Chicken, with a mild, slightly gamey flavor. And since the birds are so small, they cook quickly once they’re on real heat.
I came up with this recipe after a lot of trial and error. Quail is lean, so it dries out fast if you’re not careful. I wanted that deep smoky flavor without losing the juiciness, so I settled on a two-step method: a short smoke at 225°F, then a quick finish in a hot oven to crisp up the skin. And since quail is so small and easy to overcook, I always keep a reliable thermometer close by to nail the timing.I also vac-seal the quail in its marinade before smoking — it just gets way more flavor into the meat than tossing it in a bowl ever does.
End result? Crispy skin, juicy meat, and yes — people really will tell you it beats chicken.
Smoked Roasted Quail
Description
Want a delish dish that is unique and will be getting your friends and family saying “This is better than chicken!” This is the dish and it’s simple with just a little time of preparation and marination.
Ingredients
Instructions
4 quail are used in this recipe but you can double it. 2 Quail Per Person.
Place your quail on a pan and begin to coat with olive oil (see YouTube video link).
Apply 1/2 of the vinegar on top of the quail (don't worry about all the excess, we are keeping that!).
Apply all the dry seasonings and coat well all over.
Place your quail in a vac sealer bag or zip lock back if you do not have a vacuum sealer
Pour all the marinade that was generated by coating the quail into the bag and vac seal. You will most likely need a
chamber sealer due to all the liquid If you do not have a chamber sealer you can just sqeeze all the air out of the ziploc bag.
Place in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
Preheat smoker to 225ºF and preheat your oven inside to 400ºF.
Place quail in smoker for 30 minutes.
Remove quail at 30 minutes and bring inside.
Insert instant thermometer in breast (I use the ThermoWorks signals which is the extremely accurate
Place in oven and remove when internal breast temperature reaches 162ºF and let sit for 5 minutes.
Plate up with your starch of choice and vegetable of choice.
Note
If you do not have a smoker, you will just add a little times to your oven cooking. The 225ºF on the smoker allows a nice slower rise in temp so when you put it in the oven at 400ºF not only will the skin crisp up but the meat will have already
been raised to 110º-115ºF so the cooking time will be quicker.
Remember always use a real time thermometer during the cook to make sure you do not over cook the quail and dry it out.
Pinot Noir, Rose, Dry Sparkling
