Holy Quail
Confit Quail, Plum, Chile, Lemon, Fried Rice
Chef Javier Ramos of Sqirl | Los Angeles
Yield: 1 serving
Adapted by StarChefs | June 2017
INGREDIENTS
Confit Quail:
1 whole quail, deboned and butterflied
Salt
Pepper
Picked thyme
Bay leaf
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 cups rendered duck fat, melted
Fried Rice:
Butter
1 green onion, bias cut
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 Thai chile, seeded and thinly sliced
½ shallot, thinly sliced
¼ cup cooked Koda Farms Kokuho Rose brown rice
To Assemble and Serve:
2 ounces house plum jam
1 teaspoon Kikkoman tamari soy sauce
1 plum , cut into wedges
Juice of 2 lemons
1 Meyer lemon, juiced and peel finely diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Dandelion greens
Coriander flowers
5 sprigs cilantro
6 leaves mint
METHOD
For the Confit Quail:
In a shallow half-hotel pan, season quail with salt, pepper, thyme, bay, and garlic. Cover and cure in refrigerator for 3 days. Heat oven to 250°F. Rinse quail and pat dry. In a pot, submerge quail in duck fat. Cook in oven until tender but not falling apart. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Drain quail, reserving fat.
For the Fried Rice:
In a pan over high flame, heat butter and sauté green onion, garlic, chiles, and shallot until soft and fragrant. Add rice and cook until slightly crisp. Keep warm.
To Assemble and Serve:
To a smoking hot cast iron pan, add a little reserved duck fat and sear Confit Quail skin-side down for 2 minutes until crisp. Reserve quail, drain pan, and add jam, tamari, and plum wedges. When reduced by half, return quail to pan and baste until bird is lacquered. In a bowl, combine lemon juices and olive oil. In separate bowls, use half the vinaigrette to dress the dandelion greens, and the remaining vinaigrette to dress the coriander flowers, cilantro, and mint. Spoon Fried Rice onto a serving plate. Top with dressed dandelion greens followed by quail. Finish with herb salad and lemon peel.
