Title: Stuffed Quail
Categories: Poultry Game
Yield: 2 Servings

2		Quail
STUFFING
2		Carrots, finely chopped
1	sm	Onion, finely chopped
100	g	Lean pork, finely chopped
1/2	c	Chopped mixed herbs (parsley,oregano,rosemary)
		Salt and pepper
100	ml	Vin Santo (Italian dessert wine)

Place stuffing ingredients in a flat dish and steam gently in the oven at about 250'C for 15 min. Allow to cool for about 10 min, then add a beaten egg and process until a thick paste is produced.

Take a boned quail and spread it out, skin side down on a board. Season with freshly ground black pepper and place half of the stuffing on the bird. Reshape the bird around the stuffing and tie in place with either string or cocktail sticks. Repeat with the other bird. Place both birds in the dish used for cooking the stuffing. Dot with butter and cook in a moderately hot oven for about 40 min, until golden brown. Serve with freshly steamed veg and spuds, to rapturous applause!

Boning those quail.

If you can find a butcher stupid enough to do this then I would recommend this, however if you can't it is fiddly, but not difficult, and definately worthwhile. Place the bird, breast down on a board and cut along the back bone, from end to end. Pull the skin and meat back away from the bone. When you reach the joints for the legs and wings use a heavy knife to break the joint. The bone should pop out of the sockets fairly easily. Keep pulling the meat off the breast bone, using a knife if neccesary. Finally you should be able to remove the backbone, ribcage, and brest bone as one. The leg and wing bones can be left in place, and in fact help maintain shape during reforming, and cooking. This took me about 20 minutes for the first one, and about half as long for the second.

I haven't done an in depth study but it would seem that this recipe is fairly low in fat, especially if you leave the wine out and replace it with stock? (chicken??, veg?). It is also cheap at less than three pounds per head. Enjoy!

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