Roasted Quail with cornbread & pickled mirliton dressing

by

From Chef Greg Sonnier of Kingfish

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 semi-boneless quail
salt & pepper or favorite seasoning
cornbread & mirliton dressing (see recipe below)
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup mayhaw jelly

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 400˚F.
  2. Sprinkle salt & pepper or your favorite seasoning on the inside of the quail. Stuff cooled cornbread dressing inside the cavity of the quail birds and place in shallow roasting pan. Roast birds for approximately 20 minutes or until the inside of the bird reaches 165˚F. 
  3. Remove the quail from pan and set aside. Deglaze the pan with cider vinegar and then add mayhaw jelly.
  4. Cover the quail birds with the mayhaw mixture and serve.

 

Cornbread & Mirliton Dressing

Ingredients:

1/4 lb. butter, divided
2 cups onions, finely diced
2 cups celery, finely diced
1 large red sweet pepper, finely diced
1/2 lb. mirliton, pickled and diced
2 medium carrots, grated
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 whole bay leaves
3 cups chicken stock
1 pan cornbread, crumbled and dried out a bit (see recipe below)
2 tbsp. chopped flat leaf parsley

Method:

  1. Reserve 2 tbsp. of butter for later. Brown the remaining butter in a deep pan. Add 1 cup onions and 1 cup celery. Cook until vegetables are a little soft and then add the diced pepper. Continue cooking until vegetables are almost browned. Add the remaining onions and celery as well as the mirliton and carrots and cook until the vegetables are soft.
  2. Add salt, black pepper, cayenne, and bay leaves, then stir in chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. 
  3. Turn off the heat and add crumbled corn bread (recipe below). Gently fold everything together with the chopped parsley. Put mixture into a 4-quart, buttered casserole and dot the 2 tbsp. of reserved butter on top. Bake at 350°F for 30-45 minutes or until browned.

 

Cornbread

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup corn flour (Zatarain’s unseasoned Fish-Fry is 100% corn flour)
1/4 cup yellow corn meal 
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 extra lg. egg
1/4 lb. melted butter - cooled
3/4 cup whole milk

Method: Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients in another bowl. Combine the two until just mixed. Pour the batter into an oiled 10-in. cake pan and bake for 20-25 minutes at 375°F until golden brown.