A yummy way to dispatch fowl

I pressure-fried quails this weekend. They were delicious. I think
this method of cooking will work well with cornish game and other
small birds.

Here is what I did. I cut the quails along the breast bone and opened
them up, flattening them. Then I marinated them for a couple of hours
in olive oil and red wine vinegar + some herbs and spices that I had
(I didn't really measure the quantities). When I took them out from
the marinade, I dried them really well with a paper towel and rubbed
them with some dry rub and finely crushed garlic (I usually crush
garlic in a mortar with some coarse salt, which acts as an abrasive).
Then I heated up a lot of clarified butter in a skillet (I buy it
really cheaply at an Indian grocery - it's called "ghee"). There
should be enough butter so that when the birds are pressed down by a
weight, they are almost submerged. I fried them in batches on high
heat a couple of minutes per side - they were really tiny. You are
supposed to put some weight on them as they fry, according to this
method. I suppose a brick or a stone should work well. I happen to
have a heavy cast iron kettle that fits perfectly inside my skillet. I
partly filled it with water to make it even heavier and then, after I
put the birds in the skillet, I pressed them down with the heavy
kettle. After I turned them to the other side, I pressed them down
again. They came out completely flat, like pancakes - tangy and juicy.
If you don't care for the tangy taste and would like them slightly
pink inside, you could skip the marinating step. I guess this depends
on how gamey your birds taste. Marinating them in youghurt should also
work. I served them with hot pepper sauce, cilantro leaves, and a
little bit of finely chopped raw onion.

As a side dish, I served a salad made with cucumbers, creme fraiche,
garlic, and mint. Husband and children also got rice.

Sounds marvelous!

I've copied it and can't wait to put it into action...thanks!

DustyB

"Sad_Person" wrote in message
om...
I pressure-fried quails this weekend. They were delicious. I think
this method of cooking will work well with cornish game and other
small birds.
....

Sad_Person wrote:

I pressure-fried quails this weekend.

Um, no you didn't pressure-fry them. That's a term already in use and
means that you would have had to fry them in a pressure cooker like
KFC does with their chicken.

What you actually did was spatchcock the birds (Anglicization of the
Italian "spaccato" or chopped open). It can be done either on both
sides of the backbone (the more usual way) or down the center of the
breast as you did.

You then fried then with weight on them. There's no special name for
doing that. Many people do that with bacon. Put a bacon press or bacon
weight on it to keep the slices flat. It works.

Other than that terminological quibble, it sounds wonderful. Will work
with chickens, as well, but at lower cooking temperatures. That yogurt
marinade makes for a wonderfully different flavor edge to the finished
dish. I like to do this and, as a finish, drape the bird with paneer
cheese and toast/brown it under the broiler. Serve with chutneys.

Pastorio

They were delicious. I think
this method of cooking will work well with cornish game and other
small birds.

Here is what I did. I cut the quails along the breast bone and opened
them up, flattening them. Then I marinated them for a couple of hours
in olive oil and red wine vinegar + some herbs and spices that I had
(I didn't really measure the quantities). When I took them out from
the marinade, I dried them really well with a paper towel and rubbed
them with some dry rub and finely crushed garlic (I usually crush
garlic in a mortar with some coarse salt, which acts as an abrasive).
Then I heated up a lot of clarified butter in a skillet (I buy it
really cheaply at an Indian grocery - it's called "ghee"). There
should be enough butter so that when the birds are pressed down by a
weight, they are almost submerged. I fried them in batches on high
heat a couple of minutes per side - they were really tiny. You are
supposed to put some weight on them as they fry, according to this
method. I suppose a brick or a stone should work well. I happen to
have a heavy cast iron kettle that fits perfectly inside my skillet. I
partly filled it with water to make it even heavier and then, after I
put the birds in the skillet, I pressed them down with the heavy
kettle. After I turned them to the other side, I pressed them down
again. They came out completely flat, like pancakes - tangy and juicy.
If you don't care for the tangy taste and would like them slightly
pink inside, you could skip the marinating step. I guess this depends
on how gamey your birds taste. Marinating them in youghurt should also
work. I served them with hot pepper sauce, cilantro leaves, and a
little bit of finely chopped raw onion.

As a side dish, I served a salad made with cucumbers, creme fraiche,
garlic, and mint. Husband and children also got rice.

Bob Pastorio wrote in message .. .
Sad_Person wrote:

I pressure-fried quails this weekend.

Um, no you didn't pressure-fry them. That's a term already in use and
means that you would have had to fry them in a pressure cooker like
KFC does with their chicken.


What would be the difference in terms of the physics of this process?
Doesn't a pressure cooker create pressure that bears down on the food
one is cooking? Wouldn't putting heavy weight on them amount to the
same? Or would there be a lot more pressure in the pressure-cooker
that one could possibly apply mechanically? Just curious.

Sad_Person wrote:
Bob Pastorio wrote in message .. .

Sad_Person wrote:

I pressure-fried quails this weekend.

Um, no you didn't pressure-fry them. That's a term already in use and
means that you would have had to fry them in a pressure cooker like
KFC does with their chicken.

What would be the difference in terms of the physics of this process?
Doesn't a pressure cooker create pressure that bears down on the food
one is cooking? Wouldn't putting heavy weight on them amount to the
same? Or would there be a lot more pressure in the pressure-cooker
that one could possibly apply mechanically? Just curious.

It's the difference between atmospheric pressure that bears equally on
all surfaces and a heavy thing piled on top. The amount of pressure
isn't the question, it's the kind. The pressure in a pressure cooker
won't go above 15 psi, but it surrounds the food and presses the
(flavored) steam or immersion juices into the food. A weight squeezes
it in one plane and acts to prevent uptake of flavoring ingredients by
compressing the material.

It's a nomenclature quibble, though. Having cooked good foods both
ways (not for the same dishes), they're both certainly valid techniques.

Pastorio