Bacon-Wrapped Quail Stuffed with Morels, Grape Leaves & Feta
Jun 14th, 2010 | By Peter Minakis | Category: Bacon, Cheese, Featured, Greek, Greek Grill, Greek Wine, Herbs, How To, Main, Spices
Like many other countries, Greece has a hunting heritage. I remember my Uncle Pavlo (dearly departed) going out for all-day and weekend hunts and he would often come back with game birds. Squab (pigeon), pheasant, duck, grouse and other game birds…like quail. Most of you by now have seen little quail eggs being offered at the market and they seem to be the darling ingredient of chefs on many TV shows.
Lots of Greek tavernas will have quail on offer on their menu, usually appearing as part of a mixed grill and even sometimes all on their own. These little birds are lean, most of what’s for sale at the markets are farm-raised and the flesh can range from light-tan to a medium-brown colour.
Quails range from 4 to 5 ounces, so you’re looking at one per person if serving as an appetizer or two if serving as a main. They are a lean bird and therefore lean and they could benefit from a little fat. The farm pig comes to the rescue here, namely bacon. I’ve also incorporated a marinade that uses Greek favoured flavours: olive oil, citrus, garlic, thyme, some sweet paprika and warm, cozy cinnamon.
The birds are small, the meat is lean and therefore I wouldn’t go beyond six hours for marinading. It is also important not to overcook quail. This recipe requires some searing of the the skin and the wrapped bacon and then some indirect heat to finish off these finger-lickin’ birds.
Not to be satisifed with marinading and bacon-wrapping the quails, I though to also stuff these cuties with just in-season grape-vine leaves (yeah, the kind us Greeks use to roll-up Dolmades), Morel mushrooms can be found in the markets now and ubiquitous Greek tart, briny and rich Feta cheese for that “pop” of flavour.
Some of you may have access to fresh grape vine leaves (like I am). I pick, wash and jar them with a brine solution and then available in my pantry all-year ’round. If you don’t want to jar grape-vine leaves but have access to them, simply blanching for a couple of minutes in salted water and place in ice cold water and pat-dry.
Morel mushrooms. Definitely royalty when it comes to mushrooms. They are not as expensive as truffles but at $30/lb. fresh at the market, they are amongst the elite. Many fine stores will also carry dried Morels and that’s what I used for this dish. Simply boil some water and pour enough to just cover your dried Morels in a small bowl. Give them about 5 minutes to rehydrate and you may use them in your dishes.
Finally, Feta cheese. A little goes a long way. Feta is made of goat’s milk, sheep’s milk or a combo of the two. Feta cheese is exclusively made in Greece and it NEVER contains cow’s milk. Ask for Greek Feta at your deli stand, visit a Greek grocer or…(if living in the US), place an order of Greek Feta from Christos Marketplace. Taste the difference.
Bacon-Wrapped Quail Stuffed with Morels, Grape Leaves & Feta
(serves 4)
8 whole quails
16 strips of bacon
1/4 cup olive oil
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 Tbsp. of orange zest
1 tsp. sweet paprika
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves (plus extra thyme leaves for garnish)
wedges of lemon for garnish
sprigs of rosemary
coarse salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Filling
8 grape vine leaves
8 Morel mushrooms (if using dry Morels, simply rehydrate in some boiling hot water for 5 minutes)
approx. 1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese
- Rinse and pat-dry your quails. In a large baking vessel, add the oil, lemon and orange zest, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, cinnamon and thyme and mix well. Add your quails and rub the marinade all over the birds. Cover and place in the fridge for up to 6 hours.
- Allow the quails to return to room temperature. If using jarred grape leaves, rinse under cold water and pat-dry. Place the grape leaves on your work surface with the vein side facing up. Spoon about a tsp. of crumbled Feta in the center of each leaf and then place a morel mushroom in the center.
- As if you were rolling up a cigar, fold the bottom part of the leaf up, then fold the left and ride sides of the leaf into the center and then roll-up the remaining leaf to form the parcel. Now insert the parcel inside the cavity of the quail. Repeat and stuff the remaining quails.
- Lightly seasoning the quails with coarse sea salt and some fresh ground pepper. Tuck0in the wings of the quails. Now wrap each quail with one strip of bacon across and around the breast bone and then wrap another strip of bacon vertical over the breast and under to the back bone.
- Now make a an incision into the shank part of the quail leg and then insert the other leg into this opening to secure the legs and help seal the cavity.
- Pre-heat your gas or charcoal grill. Brush the grill surface well to remove any residue. We want a medium-high heat (count up to five when placing your hand over the heat).
- Place the quails on your grill and sear on all sides of the quails or until the bacon has crisped-up. Now ensure one side of your grill has no heat and place your quails on the side of the grill without heat. We are now finishing cooking the quails over indirect heat.
- Insert a sprig of thyme and rosemary in between where the legs cross and meet the enclosure of the cavity. The herbs will add more flavour to the quails and offer added flare to your presentation. Cook the quails over indirect heat (internal temp of grill at 400F) for 20-25 minutes.
- Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with some grilled red peppers, grilled oyster mushrooms and a wild rice pilaf. I paired this meal with a Pavlou Estate Kappa P35 Rose.
If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.
© 2007-2010 Peter Minakis
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© 2010 – 2013, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.
Looks divine! The idea with the stuffed grape leaves is great!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Kalofagas Greek Food and Moerbie, Daniel Koontz. Daniel Koontz said: The most delicious food post I've ever seen: Bacon-Wrapped Quail Stuffed w Morels, Grape Leaves & Feta http://ow.ly/1Y7Q8 via @Kalofagas [...]
Fantastic! That recipe is so original and those quails must be extremely flavorful! Heavenly!
Cheers,
Rosa
My father still hunts, he fed us lots of deer, moose, rabbit, duck, and partridge when we were kids. He raised quails for a while in his backyard a few years ago, but he made pets of them, we never ended up eating any (although I do remember having the eggs a few times). I have had quail, just at a Greek restaurant in Ontario, not at home.Yours looks way better than what I had though!
…I wonder what quail would be like wrapped in boar’s bacon? To keep up the “game” theme…might be too lean, though…
Another restaurant quality dish from you, that one is truly decadent
A decadent meal and so perfectly prepared.
When I read about these stuufed quails on twitter I had nothing as elegant and beautiful as this in mind. Unbelievably beautiful Peter! Those little “dolmades” stuffing are just so clever!
A work of art! You should open your own restaurant… like down here in Southern California.
wow! how clever! this quail wrapped in bacon and grilled with that stuffing is positively a food fit for kings, or Alexander himself !
You need to enter this is some contest! I just had some quail last week, but nothing fancy like this!
I have never cooked quail, but this recipe makes me want to run out and buy some. There’s a quail farm not far from me and all these flavors together sound divine. It looks like that tiny quail is crossing its legs in the photo.
Quail are abundant here and I am assured that the quail we see walking in our yard are not what is served up at our local restaurant:D They are just so darn cute:D That said they are delicious and I love that you have stuffed them with tiny little morel and feta bundles.
They look both beautiful and delcious. I have only eaten quail twice. The first time was part of a mixed grill and the second was in one of those Brazilian rodizio places. I rather liked it and have been dying to make it myself at some point. I’ve done duck. I’ve done pheasant. Quail is on the list for sure. I don’t know if I could make one look as beautiful as this though! It’s not that easy to get around these parts, but there is a nice Italian specialty store in my neighborhood that sells it sometimes, so one day I’m going to be adventurous and try cooking it.
This looks fabulous! I love your photos! I have not had quail in way too long!
This is great…a lovely looking dish so well presented and with all the information required to reproduce it. Great job, Peter.
The quail looks so full of flavor and are beautifully presented.
Beautiful Peter! I’m sure the stuffing went well with the dark-meat quail. YUM!
wow, these look good. I’ve never cooked quails but will try this at some point. The citrus zest and cinnamon in the marinade is lovely, exotic touch.
greetings from gibraltar,
brian
απίστευτο !!!! υπέροχη παρουσίαση και φαντάζομαι, τέλεια γεύση !!!!!!!!!!
φιλια πολλά πήτερ !!!
Wow, Peter this is absolutely a meal made just for me! Game birds, dolmades,feta, mushrooms AND bacon, all in one dish!!!
This may just be your best dish yet, Peter. Those little birds are a wonder to behold.
My dad used to take me quail hunting when I was a young girl. I never was a good enough shot to get one myself, but I did my fair share of helping to devour them. I guess these days I’d rather shoot them with my camera, but would never say no if presented with a beautiful offering such as yours. Bravo!
Wow – that looks like something from a posh restaurant! Can I book a seat next time you make this?!! :)
Those quails must be soo flavorful!! Great recipe!
This is a beautiful dish Peter! What an inspiring combination. I really enjoy quail meat so whenever I get a chance to find some of these small birds I’m definitely cooking them your way!
Magda
Dare I say this is a very sexy dish Peter? This would make it on any classy restaurant menu…great play on flavours and textures and for bringing the ortiki up to the next level!
Peter, seriously, you never cease to amaze me. These quail are fabulous!
Peter, you had me at bacon but you really sealed the deal with morels. That is one delicious looking plate of food!
Simply gorgeous, Peter — I’m completely swooning over that morel filling… and those herbs. Great presentation!
That looks utterly gorgeous. I always find quail a bit fiddly, but that looks worth it.