Tastes of Quail

Recipe by Chef Warwick Hilli of Kingston Heath Golf Club, Heatherton, Victoria, Australia. Home of the World Cup of Golf, November 2016

buy book

Tastes of Quail
with Sous vide breast, confit Maryland, pinot jus, parsnip puree, hazelnuts, verjuice & lemon dressing.​
​
Ingredients        
                                                           

• 4 Large quails- boned, into 8 breasts & 8 Maryland’s (reserve boned frame for roasting)

For the Confit leg
                                                                                               

• 8 quail legs
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• 1 diced shallot
• 1 tsp sugar
• Duck fat rendered & melted – 250mls

For the Sous Vide Breast Fillets

• 8 quail breast
• 40mls extra virgin olive oil
• 40mls verjuice
• Sea salt & cracked pepper
• Vacuum pack bag for sous vide

Parsnip Puree  
                                                                                           

• 350gm parsnip peeled & chopped
• Bay leaf  x 1
• Full cream milk, just enough to cover
• Sea salt & pepper to season
• Butter 30gm
• 40ml cream

Verjuice & Lemon Dressing

• 100mls canola oil
• 30mls white wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tblsp verjuice
• Lemon zest x ½

Pinot Jus

• ​Boned quail frames
• Salt & cracked pepper
• 200 ml chicken stock
• 100 mls Pinot 

Garnish

• Toasted Hazelnuts

Preparation

Roast the quail bones in oven till brown, deglaze pan with pinot, transfer to small pot cover with chicken stock, and reduce by 1/3rd .
Confit legs- Mix salt, sugar, thyme, pepper, sliced shallot & garlic together, spread over quail legs and marinated for 5-6 hours, rinse off marinade & pat dry, cover with melted duck fat poach at 140 degress for 1 hour or until duck meat has cooked through, remove & reserve leg.

Sous vide breast- place quail breasts into a vacuum ( cryovac bag) drizzle with olive oil & verjuice, season &seal bag, cook in water bath at 56 degrees for 2 hours. Place bag into ice water when finished cooking.

Parsnip puree- place parsnip into small saucepan & cover with milk & bayleaf, season lightly, bring to boil then simmer till tender, remove parsnip & keep the poaching liquid, puree mixture adding butter, cream & poaching stock, season to taste.

Verjuice & lemon dressing- blend all ingredients together season to taste with sea salt & pepper.

Assembly
​
Bring quail back up to serving temperature by cooking in a pan with approx 20 gm of  butter, you want it skin side down to achieve golden crispy skin, set aside to rest.

Spoon parsnip puree down middle of serving plate, arrange 2 breast & 2 legs on each, scatter with toasted hazelnuts, quail jus & finally verjuice dressing

Serves - 4

Wine Match

​2013 Innocent bystander Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley Victoria ​

subscribe to print magazine

The clubhouse at Kingston Heath Golf Club, Melbourne, Australia. Image courtesy, Kingston Heath.