Garlicked & Peppered Quail Dipped in Thai Chili Sauce

Post date: Sep 2, 2017 7:43:55 PM

Preparing Quail:

Using kitchen scissors, cut each quail along both sides of backbone. Placing index finger in neck cavity, gently pull down, removing the backbone and ribs. You omay need to use scissors or boning knife to remove ribs. Find the hip bone and cut around it, being careful not to cut off legs. Rinse quail thoroughly with water and dry with paper toweling to remove all excess moisture.

Marinade:

Combine garlic, lemongrass, cilantro stems, white pepper, and salt in mortar. Crush with a pestle to form a paste. Add black pepper, soy sauce, fish sauce, and oil. Stir to combine into loose paste.

Rub each quail with the paste. Stack quail atop one another and place in ziploc bag. Squeeze out alll ari and seal. Refrigerate overnight.

Chili Dipping Sauce:

Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Cooking & Serving Quail:

Preheat grill for 20 minutes. Remove quail from ziploc bag. Dry with paper toweling to remove any excess moisture. Grill quail on mediium-low for 10 minutes per side. Do not overcook. Sprinkle with cilantro leaves. Serve quail with chili dipping sauce on the side.

Notes:

(1) When I made this for Wolgang Knoll's visit in 2007, I ran out of time and was not able to make the lemongrass marinade. Instead, on the fly, I came up with impromptu/desperation short-cut using Âlternative Garlic-Pepper Rub. Preheat grill on high. Preheat oven to 550F. Heat oil over medium heat in large oven-proof skillet (Calphalon mega skillet). Sauté garlic, white pepper, and salt, being careful not to burn. Remove from heat and reserve. Pre-grill flattened quail on high 2-3 minutes per side. Do not overcook. Add grilled quail to reserved sauté pan with garlic-pepper sauce and toss to coat quail with garlic-pepper mixture. Place skillet in oven and bake for 7 minutes, being careful not to overcook quail. Serve with Chili Dipping Sauce.

(2) Made with lemon grass marinade for Reg & Theresa 9/3/17. Pretty intense.

(3) Next time, instead of grilling/baking quail, deep fry per original recipe by Thep Phanom. Without crowding, fry quail in 2 " of corn/vegetable oil at 375°F about 3 minutes each side. Drain on paper towels.