I have foie gras, and quail. Suggestions Please?

[sommrluv]

I ordered some Foie Gras B, Some Foie Butter, and some Whole Quail from Bella Bella.

I planned to cook them last night, but silly me, didn't realize 'Whole' meant...whole. Heads, feet, undressed. So that put a cork in my prep time.

So I prepped them, wanting to pay full homage to the bird, would love some suggestions.

I have four birds, right now they still have their feet, but that could be accomplished in a second.

I kept their heads just in case someone comes and tells me quail brains are a delicacy.

I also reserved the heart, liver..what I think are the kidneys. I discarded the pancreas, stomach, lungs, and intestine.

I was thinking of using the foie gras butter and stuffing them with some sort of foie gras risotto, since they only cook for 8-15 minutes in the oven? Browning them lightly in a pan first, maybe?

Should I bard them, or is that not neccessary if I'm stuffing them.

It was my first experience dressing a bird...I'm quite proud of myself! LOL

[jfood]

jfood has foie gras one way - seared and med-rare. Then he has a fruity chutney to go with and some good salt on top. Do not overcook. a glass of sauterne on the side.

he has never made quail, only in restos, but he would also ust cooked through and let the great flavors of the quail tickle the tongue. Sounds great, jfood is VERY jealous.

[sommrluv]

We got hungry, and impatient.

Did a foie risotto on the side instead, and I pan seared the birds with a press and finished them in a warm oven (300) to carry over cook. They turned out pretty good. And green beans.

I ate too much risotto and only managed most of one bird.

I thought I had a bottle of left over champagne, but I didn't, so I used onions, light garlic, and white zin for the risotto. And I finished with toasted pine nuts.

[north60]

One of my favourite quail recipes is to stuff the deboned quail with herbed butter (nutmeg, pepper, sage, thyme, parsley, etc) then wrap with pancetta or non-maple smoked bacon then sauted in a hot pan then deglazed and set ablaze with cognac and some seedless grapes. But, used to get them stuffed with foie gras, wrapped in puff pastry, roasted and served with a port reduction....going to try that tonight.

[Rubee]

Wow, kudos for dressing the birds yourself! I woudn't know where to start.

One of the best dishes I had at a tasting menu once was a quail with a foie gras and bread stuffing, so I like your idea of stuffing with a foie gras risotto. I also googled and thought this sounded delicious:

Quail stuffed with foie gras and pistachios

http://www.professorbainbridgeonwine....

[Romanmk]

My favorite way to eat a slice of foie gras is seared over a salad. Madeleine Kamman suggests spit roasting quail since they cook so quickly. She has a recipe where the quail are fried in 4 inches of oil and then finished in a 400F oven.

Quail do not render enough fat when just oven roasted at 375 to 400F resulting in flabby skin. Many recipes suggest roasting at 450 to 500F. Mario Batali grills quail, or browns them then finishes in a covered pan with braised artichokes.

[sommrluv]

Thanks! We're having a late dinner tonight, so please..anyone else?