If you are tired of common dishes from ordinary ingredients, then make something interesting from unusual ingredients. For example, buy quails and cook a chic dinner.

What it is?

The quail is a small bird from the genus Pheasantidae, the subfamily of the partridge and the order Galliformes. In nature, there are about 10 species, but two of them are almost completely exterminated by mankind. And one species (common quail) is considered the most common and is even bred in the household by many farmers.

If a few years ago quail meat was considered a delicacy, today it is increasingly found on store shelves. The length of one carcass is usually no more than 20 centimeters, and its weight does not exceed 150 grams.

Quail meat is quite healthy and surpasses chicken and even rabbit meat in dietary properties. 100 grams contains only 230-250 calories. In addition, such a product contains a lot of substances necessary for a person, for example, protein, vitamins C, PP, B1, B2, A, as well as calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, magnesium, potassium and much more. The taste of quail fillet is tender and pleasant.

How to choose?

What to look for when choosing quails in the store?

• If you buy chilled carcasses, then evaluate the meat. It should be light pink and quite elastic. After pressing the fillet will quickly return to its previous shape.
• Frozen carcasses cannot be too heavy. A lot of weight will indicate that the manufacturers went too far with ice.
• If possible, evaluate the smell. It should be subtle and quite pleasant, similar to the smell of chicken meat.

How to store?

The chilled carcass can lie in the refrigerator for about a week (but it is better to use the meat immediately). In the freezer, the shelf life increases to several months.

Preparation

If you purchased a whole carcass, preparation will be required. It consists of several stages:

1. First, cut off the neck and legs, and cut off the tips of the wings. All this can be used to make broth.
2. If feathers are visible on the skin, then singe the carcass. To do this, rub it with alcohol and lightly fry in a pan, then remove all excess.
3. Then you can rub the carcass with salt so that it marinates a little.

What to cook?

How delicious to cook quail? There are a great many recipes, because quail meat can be fried, stewed, boiled and baked - any dishes are delicious. We offer several cooking options.

Option one

Bake the quail in the oven in a sour cream-garlic sauce. You will need the following ingredients:

• 3-5 quail carcasses;
• 5-7 garlic cloves;
• 5 tablespoons of sour cream;
• ½ lemon;
• 1-2 bunches of dill greens;
• 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil;
• salt and pepper to taste.

Cooking method:

1. First, prepare the quail carcasses. Rinse them under running water and dry well with paper towels. Then sprinkle each carcass with lemon juice and rub with salt. Let the quail marinate for at least half an hour.
2. Now start making the sauce. First, peel and mince the garlic. The best way to do this is with a garlic press. Mix garlic with sour cream and add salt and pepper. Mix everything well.
3. Prepare a baking sheet. Lubricate its bottom with vegetable oil so that nothing burns. Better yet, cover the bottom with foil (it should also be lubricated with oil).
4. Now generously grease each carcass with sour cream and garlic sauce and place on a baking sheet.
5. Send the baking sheet to the oven, preheated to 180 degrees, for about 40-50 minutes.
6. You will get juicy and mouth-watering quails like in a restaurant.

Option two

Quails cooked in a pan with onions are delicious. You will need the following ingredients:

• 2 quail carcasses;
• 1 onion;
• 5-6 tablespoons of olive oil;
• 1/3 teaspoon rosemary;
• salt and pepper to taste.

Cooking method:

1. First you need to prepare the quail carcasses. If necessary, singe them, dry and butcher. To do this, cut each carcass along the abdomen, unfold the carcass and cut it along the ridge. As a result, you will have two parts.
2. Prepare the marinade: Mix olive oil (3 tablespoons, save the rest for frying) with rosemary, salt and pepper. Rub the quail carcasses with this mixture and leave them to marinate for half an hour.
3. Heat the oil in a frying pan, and then lay out the quails. Fry them a little on one side, then lightly on the other, then turn the carcasses and fry them until a delicious crust appears and turn over again to fry until cooked through on the other side.
4. Peel the onion and cut into thin half rings, put it in a pan with quails. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer the quails with onions for about 20 minutes. As a result, the meat will become tender and juicy, while the onion will slightly crunch.

Option three

Cook quails in a mustard-honey marinade in a sleeve. For this you will need the following ingredients:

• 4 quail carcasses;
• 1 teaspoon of honey;
• 2 teaspoons of mustard;
• 1 teaspoon of salt;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• pepper and salt to taste;
• vegetable oil.

Cooking method:

1. First you need to prepare the marinade. Mix honey (it should not be too thick and candied), mustard, salt, 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil, pepper, and garlic crushed on a garlic crush. Mix everything well.
2. Lubricate the quail carcasses with marinade and leave them to marinate overnight or at least for several hours so that the meat is well soaked and becomes more tender.
3. Place the carcasses in the baking sleeve, tie it on both sides and place on a baking sheet.
4. Send the baking sheet to the oven, heated to 180-190 degrees, for about half an hour.
5. After half an hour, cut the sleeve and send the baking sheet to the oven for another 5-10 minutes so that the quails are browned.
6. Ready!

Option four

We offer you a recipe for quail with vegetables. For cooking you will need:

• 5 quail carcasses;
• 3 potatoes;
• 1 small eggplant;
• 1 bell pepper;
• 1 carrot;
• 2 tomatoes;
• 1 onion;
• 5 tablespoons of mayonnaise;
• salt and pepper to taste;
• vegetable oil.

Cooking method:

1. Wash and dry the quail carcasses, then rub with salt and pepper and leave for half an hour.
2. While the quail is marinating, take care of the vegetables. Peel potatoes and cut into cubes.
3. Cut the eggplant lengthwise and immerse in salted water for 15 minutes to remove the bitterness, and then cut into cubes.
4. Peel the onion and cut into half rings. Grate carrots on a coarse grater.
5. Peel the bell peppers, remove the stalks. Cut it into cubes.
6. Cut the tomatoes into small cubes too.
7. Mix all vegetables and season with salt.
8. Now cut the foil into squares about 35x35 centimeters in size. A total of five sheets are required.
9. Take one sheet of foil, grease it with oil. Put one quail carcass in the center, put vegetables around it and put vegetables on top. Also put a tablespoon of mayonnaise on top. Fold up the foil, bringing the ends together at the top. Do the same with the remaining carcasses and vegetables.
10. Bake quails in the oven for 40-50 minutes at 190 degrees.

Enjoy unusual and delicious quail dishes!