Broiled Quail
Dress quail, split down back. Place the quail in hot spider, oiled with a little fat. Put flat tin over quail and press down with weight. When the quail begins to brown put a lump of butter on each quail, turn often. When quails are nicely browned add a cup of hot water and cook slowly until tender. Season well with salt and pepper.
A weighted-skillet method — what a modern kitchen would call cooking under a brick — followed by a short braise. The recipe assumes small wild birds that have already been plucked and drawn.
- SpiderA spider is a heavy cast-iron frying pan, originally a legged one meant to stand over coals. Any heavy cast-iron or carbon-steel skillet does the job; the mass is the point, since it holds heat when cold birds hit it.
- The weightA flat tin pressed down with a weight flattens the split bird against the pan so the whole breast and thigh touch metal at once. A second heavy skillet, or a foil-wrapped brick, gives the same result. Press firmly but do not crush the ribs.
- "Dress quail"Here this meant plucking, drawing and singeing a bird brought in from the field. Farmed quail today come cleaned and often semi-boneless; split them along the backbone with shears and flatten with the heel of your hand.
- Turn oftenQuail is very lean and the skin scorches quickly over a hot pan. Turn every minute or so once colour starts, and keep the fat moderate rather than smoking.
- The cup of hot waterThis converts the dish from a broil to a braise and is what actually tenderises an older wild bird. Farmed quail are tender to begin with — the added liquid mainly builds a small pan sauce, and a few minutes covered is enough.
- DonenessCook the birds through; poultry, including game birds, wants an internal temperature of 165F at the thickest part of the thigh. The legs of a wild quail take slightly longer than the breast, which is why the weighted press matters.
- YieldThe original gives no count. Allow two dressed quail per person as a main course, one as a first course; a 10-inch skillet holds three or four split birds at a time.
- SeasoningThe recipe seasons at the end. Salting the flattened birds a half hour ahead and patting them dry gives better browning if you have the time.
Quail was ordinary American table food when this book was written: the bobwhite was shot across the eastern and southern states in autumn. The weighted-pan method described here is a domestic descendant of grilling small birds over coals — pressing the split carcass flat gives a broiler's fast, even contact on a coal or gas range top, and the trick survives in Italian cooking as al mattone, under a brick. The closing cup of water is a frugal touch: it rescues a tough bird and leaves a spoonful of gravy in the pan rather than wasting the browned fond.