Last April, The Telegraph asked ChatGPT to come up with three Michelin-star quality dishes. The parameters were simple: the dishes had to use British ingredients that were in season.
The first dish? Roasted quail with wild garlic and asparagus. Specifically, the Silicon Valley chatbot called for searing a well-seasoned quail breast in a cast iron pan until the skin is golden brown, then finishing it in the oven. Bring 100ml of chicken stock to a boil, reduce it, then stir in cream and truffle oil. Finally, serve the quail on top of blanched wild garlic and boiled asparagus spears, with the truffle sauce drizzled over everything. Sounds perfectly spring-y and delicious.
Say what you will about AI, but ChatGPT hit at least one nail on the head: Michelin-starred chefs love quail. Foodies do, too.
Growing up in Madrid, I remember seeing quail, or cordoniz, as a specialty dish on restaurant menus, usually signaling hunting season—and a great chef in the kitchen. Today, quail is available year-round thanks to farming. In fact, my company Campo Grande now ships quail, both whole, spatchcocked and drums and thighs, to the United States. If you haven’t tasted quail, or as we call it, the “Ibérico of poultry,” I highly recommend you do. Here, a closer look at why chefs and foodies love quail, plus some tips and inspiration for cooking quail at home.
The better ‘white meat’
If you aren’t already sold, there are so many reasons to cook with quail. For starters, it’s healthy. Compared to other meats, quails have a low fat content. If they’re hunted wild or farm-raised on a soy- and corn-free diet, they also have a low level of PUFA. I’ve written before about PUFA, or polyunsaturated fats, like linoleic acid—it’s the stuff found in industrialized farm animals, not to mention, processed oils like vegetable oil. The stuff that cooks your McDonald’s fries.
For people, the harmful risks of consuming excessive amounts of PUFAs include inflammation, asthma, type 2 diabetes, and more. That’s why, when choosing where to source our quail, Campo Grande works exclusively with family farms in Aragon and Cataluña, who feed their birds a corn-free, whole-grain rich diet, meaning much lower PUFA levels. Also, we never work with producers who inject animals with antibiotics or hormones. The end result is a healthier product for our customers.
If you ask chefs why they cook with quail, they’ll often cite the delicate flavor. Typically smaller than other game birds, like partridges, quail meat is softer and more tender. It’s more decadent than chicken, but just as versatile. You can grill it, stuff it, roast it, or pickle it (escabechada in Spanish). You can serve it with rich, savory sauces, or sweet flavors like quince, figs, or grapes. Chefs and home cooks alike really flex their creative muscles when preparing quail. At the same time, a simple roast also makes for a beautiful meal. As chef Tom Perini told Garden and Gun, because quail is often juicier and more flavorful than chicken, it doesn’t need a lot of seasoning. The options are endless, but here are some of our favorite recipes, to inspire your cooking adventures with quail, with some tips for preparing it at home.
How chefs cook quail
The options for cooking quail run the gamut. In the fall, my grandmother from Caceres used to roast it with caramelized quince. In the winter, nothing warmed us up like her stewed quail with giant white beans and hunks of tender pink ham. In Spain, you’ll sometimes see it pickled and served with vegetables like carrots and onions. The vinagre-y touch makes the delicate quail flavor sing.
Taking inspiration from a classic dish from the French region of Gascony, chef Daniel Boulud shared his recipe for roasted quail with turnips, radishes, and sage with a grape sauce spiked with cream and cognac. It doesn’t get any more cozy, French countryside.
Mexico City-born chef Hugo Ortega offered Wine Spectator his take on quail—bacon-wrapped and stuffed with a mix of plantain, apples, apricot, and raisins, and served with butternut squash purée and pomegranate mole. For me, this recipe nails the sweet and salty, dulce y salado, possibilities of cooking with quail. As Ortega notes, two quails per person are enough for a main dish. One per person would be more of an appetizer.
In Buffalo Gap, Texas, chef Tom Perini and his wife Lisa are proprietors of Perini Ranch Steakhouse. There, they serve a fun take on the southern classic, chicken-fried steak: cast-iron chicken-fried quail with mashed potatoes and gravy. (Is your mouth watering yet?) Said chef Perini, “There’s just something about the way cast iron holds heat, and something about the way quail looks frying in the pan.” Takeaway: the cast-iron pan is a must to make this southern recipe sing.
Finally, across the pond in London, chef Margot Henderson of Rochelle Canteen shared a recipe for roast quails with lentils, watercress, and a light punch from Dijon mustard—an elegant, comforting dinner. Chef Henderson cautioned, “Quails are succulent, you don’t want to undercook them. When you wiggle the legs, they should easily pull away.”
I hope these ideas are getting your culinary creativity wheels turning. In the end, the beauty of high-quality quail is that it’s a perfect canvas for experimenting with new sabores in the kitchen; but it’s naturally flavorful and succulent enough to hold its own—an impressive, unfussy dinner for any night of the week, no artificial intelligence required. And with our spatchcocked quail, you don’t even have to worry about the bones!
Feel free to drop a note in the comments, and share your favorite way to prepare the “Ibérico of poultry.” Que aproveche !
