Roasted Quail with Grapes and Brown Butter

Amber, crispy skin that cracks under the teeth, revealing pink and juicy meat. Cooking juices deglazed with white wine coat the grapes that burst in your mouth.

• Prep time: 15 min
• Cook time: 20 min
• Difficulty: Medium
• Calories: 678
• Protein: 64 g
• Carbs: 11 g
• Fat: 40 g

Ingredients

• 4 piece Whole quail ( cleaned )
• 60 g Minimum butter sweet ( in pieces )
• 200 g Chasselas grape ( plucked from stems )
• 100 ml Dry white wine
• 4 piece Garlic ( unpeeled )
• 1 tbsp Thyme ( fresh )
• 2 pinch Gray sea salt
• 1 pinch Black pepper ground
• 1 piece Cooking twine ( for trussing )

Instructions

1. Preparation and seasoning

   Dry the quails with a cloth. Generously salt and pepper the inside and outside. Slip a sprig of thyme and a crushed garlic clove into each cavity. Then truss the quails with kitchen string to keep the limbs tight against the body.

2. Browning in the pot

   Heat the butter in a Dutch oven. When it is foamy and smells nutty, sear the quails on each side. The skin should be well browned before putting them in the oven.

3. Roasting in the oven

   Place the pot in the oven at 200°C. Baste the birds every 5 minutes with the cooking butter. The quails are cooked when the leg meat is flexible but firm.

4. Deglazing and resting

   Remove the quails, carefully remove the kitchen string and let them rest on a rack. Discard the fat from the pot, deglaze the juices with white wine. Add the grapes and let reduce until the sauce coats the spoon.

Chef's tips

• Resting is key: let the quails sit for 5 minutes under foil after cooking, the juices will redistribute and the meat will be much more tender.
• Never pierce the skin with a fork, use tongs to prevent the juices from escaping.

Storage

Eat immediately to keep the skin crispy. Keeps for 24h in the fridge but the skin will lose its texture.