Oven Roasted Quail: Quick Romantic Dinner

Name: Oven Roasted Quail
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 4 quail (whole and bone-in. Thawed if frozen.); 4 small pieces of sliced orange with the peel on; 1 tablespoon butter (melted); 1 tablespoon orange juice; Salt & Pepper to taste; 4 small sprigs of rosemary; 1/2 cup lavender balsamic vinegar (may use plain balsamic if desired); 1/2 cup chardonnay; 2 tbs orange juice; 1 slice of lemon; 1 3-inch sprig of rosemary; 31/2 cups water; 1/2 cup heavy cream (may use milk but you'll lose A LOT of creaminess); 2 tablespoons butter; 1/2 teaspoon salt (more to taste); 1 cup quick cooking grits; 8 ounces Camembert Cheese (1 wheel - rind removed (it doesn't melt)); 1/2 cup pecans (toasted in a 350F oven for about 5 to 7 minutes)

Glazed roast quail, served over decadently creamy cheese grits, is perfect for special dinners or family suppers. BEST of all it only takes about 30 minutes from start to finish!

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Forget the restaurant. This is fine dining at home - a romantic dinner anytime! Add this red velvet martini to set the mood.

If you can make chicken you know how to make quail!

A whole roasted quail on cheese grits — `Whole, oven roasted quail is glazed with balsamic and served with creamy camembert grits.`

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🧾 Ingredients
🍗 How to truss a quail
🥫 Storage
📚 Related recipes
Serve with
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

This easy quail recipe gives you in a gorgeous, restaurant worthy dish in under 30 minutes!

The glaze is sweet, citrusy, tangy and it makes the skin crispy. The meat is buttery-sweet and just melts in your mouth with every bite.

The grits are perfectly creamy with an earthy saltiness from the Camembert cheese.

I toasted the pecans almost to the scorched state - they are crunchy with a little smoky bitterness that I love. When everything is taken together and eaten in one bite then washed down with a sip of the chardonnay it's just ... wonderful.

Perfect for a cozy evening in front of a crackling fire or for a romantic Valentine's Day dinner.

🧾 Ingredients

whole quail
orange
butter
salt & pepper
fresh rosemary
lavender balsamic vinegar
chardonnay
lemon
heavy cream
quick cooking grits
Camembert cheese
pecans

Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the green recipe card below.

Defrost quail if it's frozen.
Preheat the oven to 500F.
Truss the bird according to the instructions below.
Place a small sliver of orange and a sprig of rosemary in the cavity of each bird.
Brush with melted butter.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast in a 500F degree oven for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and brush with the glaze (recipe in recipe card).
Return to the oven for 3 to 5 minutes.
Remove from the oven and set aside to rest.

🍗 How to truss a quail

Uncooked quail is trussed for the roasted quail recipe - link to ck mondavi and family website — `This is what a quail looks like when it is trussed.`

Trussing a quail keeps the bird shaped nicely and ensures that it will brown evenly.

Cut off 16 inches of kitchen twine for each quail.
Start with the bird breast side up.
Cross the middle of the string over the end of the legs and flip the quail, bringing the two ends to the front of the bird. Make sure that the string holds the wings tight against the body.
Make a knot and turn the bird back over, breast side up.

Expert tip:You can cook quail any number of ways but I think the best way to cook it is to roast it at a high temperature for a short period of time. This recipe calls for the quail to be roasted at 500F for 15 minutes and then left to rest. It won't be quite done when you take it out of the oven but will finish cooking during the resting time. This keeps the meat juicy.

You can skip the grits if you want and serve this with fluffy, buttered rice.
The one thing to watch out for when you're cooking this small bird is overcooking which dries the meat out. Done right (and by right I mean my way) the succulent meat of this little game bird will be buttery-melt-in-your-mouth-omg tender.
When roasted quail is done the meat is still going to be a little pink. Don't worry, it's done.
No need to marinate but if you really want to you can either brine it for an hour or marinate it in a little olive oil and orange juice with a few slices of fresh ginger and maybe some fresh thyme. Don't leave it longer than an hour - the fibers in the meat can break down and get mushy. Ew.
I like to put a little slice of citrus or fresh thyme (or both) in the cavity just to give it a little more flavor. Rosemary is also good for this.
Salt it a little more than you think you should. The salt will balance out the sweetness of the meat. Mine were a tad under salted for most of my family's tastes.
I truss the birds to maintain their shape. To do this just wrap some twine around the legs then back around the body so the quail looks like a tiny Thanksgiving turkey.
Since the birds were frozen I wouldn't refreeze any part of this dish. And really, it's so easy to make that there's no reason to.
Roasted quail, no matter how gorgeous it looks, is not a pretentious dish - especially when it still has the bones in it. If you're at home just eat it with your fingers. Pull the legs and wings off first - seriously, a knife and fork are too clunky here. If you're at a restaurant it's usually got most of the bones removed - or choose something else on the menu.
Keep in mind that grits are bland and they'll diminish the flavor of anything you add to them. The Camembert makes them creamier and milder than my Cheddar Cheese Grits. Get a Camembert that's good and ripe or the flavor will be lost completely.
Of course, you know the old adage, don't use a wine for cooking that you wouldn't drink!
Lavender balsamic vinegar is merely white balsamic that's been infused with lavender buds. It is slightly sweet and citrusy. You can use the regular balsamic vinegar for this glaze but try it just once with the lavender flavor! It so good! You'll find a link to it on my Essentials for Success Page up on the top of the website.

Here are the questions I am most frequently asked about this recipe.

What do I serve with quail?

Check the menu suggestions at the bottom of this post for a romantic dinner idea. For a romantic dinner what about this red velvet cheesecake?

What temp should quail be cooked to?

150F then remove it from the oven and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

What is quail?

Quail is a small game bird that is most often found in the freezer section of your store. Most quail nowadays is farmed and only people who hunt get the wild kind. The brand I used was a Texas brand - that raises their quail responsibly and sustainably.

How big is quail?

It is about the size of your hand and you'll need at least one per person depending on what else you're going to serve.

What does quail taste like?

It's the one game bird that I don't think tastes "gamey". I think it tastes like a sweet chicken!

🥫 Storage

This easy quail recipe is best eaten fresh from the oven. Leftovers should be covered and refrigerated promptly.

I don't recommend freezing this dish.

I enjoy creating dishes with kaleidoscopes of flavors and textures. I don't mind throwing out my brilliant ideas that turned out to be not-so-brilliant and I love when they work out as well as this one did.

I'm the gal that will talk to you all day long about spiritual things, nano-technology, and whether or not the Loch Ness Monster is real but gets tongue tied at a party where she's expected to maintain a conversation that consists of small talk.

In other words, I like to put my whole self into anything I do. I've always thought of it as the ta da! of my life.

So when I was sipping a glass of chardonnay I started thinking about my vacation in France.

Then I had a daydream of being at a bed and breakfast in Normandy and what that would be like. Then I thought about opening a French bed and breakfast in Texas and what the menu would be like.

At the same time I was texting with my bestie and told her I was thinking about making quail. We brainstormed back and forth and all of a sudden I knew what I wanted to do -

Oven roasted quail, glazed with a lavender balsamic vinegar and chardonnay reduction, and served on cheese grits made with Camembert cheese. Toasted pecans add the garnish and sprigs of rosemary add color and a nice scent.

Serve with

Quail recipes are perfect for romantic dinners because they look so fancy but they're so simple! That's why this works for family and friends kind of casual dinners, too.

Finish the meal with something citrus and light. Use this menu for inspiration!

Stuffed mushrooms - get some umami on this menu!
Glazed Oven Roasted Quail with Camembert cheese grits
Romaine salad with a vinaigrette made with the same balsamic vinegar you used for the glaze - some grapefruit and orange sections with the membrane removed is really nice here.
Sourdough bread
Butter for bread (top with a little finishing salt - I like espresso salt with this)
Key Lime Hatch Chile Gelato or this Meyer Lemon Bundt Cake

📖 Recipe

Originally published December 1, 2017. Last updated January 5, 2021 for better instructions and more information.