293182 Mon Jun 16 00:17:53 -0700 2003 5 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1603181 Do quails taste similar to cornish hens/chickens? I stumbled upon having to prepare for a last-minute dinner party, and have no time to experiment. I have a crowd-pleaser-idiot-proof recipe for baking an herbed cornish hen within a crust, which reserves all of the juices and has great presentation. Everytime I serve it to guests however, the portion is much too large. My question is whether quails can be used interchangeably for cornish hens, or is there a recipe modification I should make? Thanks for any help. If anyone is interested in the recipe, email me and I will be happy to share. Mon Jun 16 00:17:53 -0700 2003 0 Wumanchild 1 1603182 Try cutting cornish game hens in half. Mon Jun 16 01:34:31 -0700 2003 1603181 0 chowfish 1 1603183 Quails and cornish hens neither taste alike nor cook in similar times or ways. As you have noted, half a cornish hen is sufficient for a meal. Two or three quails, on the other hand, are required for a serving. Quails are a lot of bones with a bit of delicious meat. Although quails whose breat bones have been removed are sometimes available, it is nonetheless best to enjoy quail in a setting where bone gnawing is acceptable. They are a dark meat critter; in that sense in the goose-duck family rather than the turkey-chicken family -- although very lean. I usually split them in half and either marinate and grill them, Vietnamese styles, or cook them in a sauce for pasta. Pat G. Mon Jun 16 06:53:11 -0700 2003 1603181 0 Pat Goldberg 2 1603206 "Best to enjoy quail in a setting where bone gnawing is acceptable". So my question is...is a restaurant ever the appropriate venue for bird bone gnawing, especially since it's the fancier places that serve quail. Is eating quail like asparagus where you just pick it up and go for it or is it more like if you don't want stares don't order quail? I made this mistake once as a shy teenager and have never ordered quail again. Now I don't really give a damn but I like to know the "rules." Mon Jun 16 12:50:20 -0700 2003 1603183 0 Hershey Bomar 3 1603212 Many quail dishes at fancy restaurants use boned quail, which are much easier to eat with knife & fork. Mon Jun 16 13:05:37 -0700 2003 1603206 0 dude 1 1603209 I concur with Pat G. Quail have requirements distinct from those of cornish hens. I wouldn't put quail in a crust, even semi-boneless quail. They cook very nicely in an iron pan or on a grill, especially if the breastbone is removed and they are flattened. Easy and tasty to marinate in olive oil and herbs, which keeps them from drying out. Also, for the poster below, whether in a restaurant or at a barbeque, you eat a quail by splitting it down the middle with a knife and fork, doing what you can with cutlery (the breast is easy to eat this way), and then picking up each half and nibbling away. The ones in restaurants almost always have the breastbone removed. Mon Jun 16 13:02:18 -0700 2003 1603181 0 lucia