Growing up in the Midwest, I always enjoyed bird hunting with my cousins. Although I don't do it any longer, I still cook game birds on a regular basis. Usually make up some sort of marinade and grill the little beasties like you would miniature chickens. For this cook I wanted something different so we went with quail done with an Asian inspired marinade. Also reserved some of the marinade and made a dandy finishing sauce to further accentuate the Asian flavor profile.
Started with some farm raised quail sourced here in Texas. Spatchcocked them, dressed them out with salt and pepper and let them hang out in the refrigerator while I made up my marinade.
For the Marinade (enough for 8 quails);
3 tablespoons BBQ sauce (used Salt Lick's Honey Pecan)
3/4 cup light soy sauce
3/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons Sambal Oelek
2 tablespoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
4 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoons minced ginger
Took the quail and placed them in a 2 gallon plastic resealable bag. Combined all the ingredients for the marinade and added it to the bag. I refrigerated for about 5 hours turning every so often. When ready to cook I fired up my grill with a chimney of hot coals in my SNS. Kept the vents wide open, shooting for an indirect cook at about 500-600* or so.
Removed the quail form the marinade bag and seasoned them. Was out of Tony C's (my go to) instead substituted Heaven Made's Amazin Cajun (good stuff!) and allowed them to hang up while the kettle got up to temp...
I reserved all of the marinade. I poured it into a pot and set it on low heat and brought it to a gentle boil. I reduced it down by about 1/3, added 1/2 teaspoon of a slurry of corn starch to thicken it.
Placed the quail on the grill breast side up and placed a couple of chunks of apple wood on the coals. Went about 15 minutes, gave them a flip and grilled them breast die down for an additional 15 minutes. Also made some grilled asparagus along side to complete the dish.
Removed the quail and applied the marinade sauce with a brush for a gorgeous glazed finish. Thought about returning them to the grill to set the glaze but didn't want to dry out the birds, prefer them tender and moist. Result got a thumbs up out of my Asian wife, had enough heat and enough sweet to satisfy.
Easy and most satisfying way to make game birds or even chicken. Give it a try, Asian inspired umami flavors add so much depth and delight to your taste buds. Hope you give this a try....Troutman is out !!!
Started with some farm raised quail sourced here in Texas. Spatchcocked them, dressed them out with salt and pepper and let them hang out in the refrigerator while I made up my marinade.
For the Marinade (enough for 8 quails);
3 tablespoons BBQ sauce (used Salt Lick's Honey Pecan)
3/4 cup light soy sauce
3/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons Sambal Oelek
2 tablespoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
4 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoons minced ginger
Took the quail and placed them in a 2 gallon plastic resealable bag. Combined all the ingredients for the marinade and added it to the bag. I refrigerated for about 5 hours turning every so often. When ready to cook I fired up my grill with a chimney of hot coals in my SNS. Kept the vents wide open, shooting for an indirect cook at about 500-600* or so.
Removed the quail form the marinade bag and seasoned them. Was out of Tony C's (my go to) instead substituted Heaven Made's Amazin Cajun (good stuff!) and allowed them to hang up while the kettle got up to temp...
I reserved all of the marinade. I poured it into a pot and set it on low heat and brought it to a gentle boil. I reduced it down by about 1/3, added 1/2 teaspoon of a slurry of corn starch to thicken it.
Placed the quail on the grill breast side up and placed a couple of chunks of apple wood on the coals. Went about 15 minutes, gave them a flip and grilled them breast die down for an additional 15 minutes. Also made some grilled asparagus along side to complete the dish.
Removed the quail and applied the marinade sauce with a brush for a gorgeous glazed finish. Thought about returning them to the grill to set the glaze but didn't want to dry out the birds, prefer them tender and moist. Result got a thumbs up out of my Asian wife, had enough heat and enough sweet to satisfy.
Easy and most satisfying way to make game birds or even chicken. Give it a try, Asian inspired umami flavors add so much depth and delight to your taste buds. Hope you give this a try....Troutman is out !!!
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