[title subtitle=”recipes and images: courtesy Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays”][/title]
Fried quail is as integral to our family’s Christmas morning as playing Johnny Mathis songs and searching in vain for AAA batteries for our kids’ Christmas presents. My husband grew up enjoying fried quail at his grandfather’s house every Christmas morning; today, my father-in-law is usually the one manning the skillet. Back in those days, it was 100 percent certain that the quail had come from a recent hunt. These days, quail hunts on the ranch aren’t as common, so we aren’t averse to hunting down (get it?) the game birds from local markets if we have to. Saves time for more important things. Like remembering to buy AAA batteries for our kids’ Christmas presents. Fried quail, in case you’ve never tried them, are just delicious. The only downside is that they’re tiny little things and can take a little time to eat. But that just makes them more special! This is as dreamy a Christmas morning brunch as you can get.
FRIED QUAIL
Makes 12 servings
- 12 whole quail, cleaned (available frozen at good meat counters)
- 3 cups buttermilk
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons seasoned salt (such as Lawry’s)
- 1 Tablespoon ground black pepper
- 4 cups peanut or vegetable oil, for frying
Place quail in large plastic bag. Pour buttermilk over the top. Seal and place quail in fridge for at least 1 hour. Mix together flour, seasoned salt, and pepper. Dredge each quail in flour mixture, pressing to coat thoroughly. Lightly shake off excess flour, place on baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining quail. Heat oil in large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Preheat oven to 350°. Fry quail, 4 or 5 at a time, turning halfway through, until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove quail to a paper towel–lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining quail. Remove paper towel and set baking sheet in oven for 6 to 8 minutes, or until quail are cooked through. Serve alongside biscuits with quail gravy, see recipe here.
Variations
• Instead of quail, fry patties of breakfast sausage and serve with gravy recipe, next page. • Instead of quail, fry chicken. Buy chicken pieces to make it easy (chicken pieces will take longer to cook). Use same gravy recipe.
