Quail with Tomato-Basil Beurre Blanc
Don’t let the name run you off. It’s just a wine and butter sauce. Great on fish and light-fleshed game, such as quail, which is what is seen here.
Try it with red wine (beurre rouge) with antlered game and waterfowl – and let me know what you think of it.
If you don’t like cooking with alcohol, that’s absolutely ok, just substitute with another liquid such as a stock, a cooking wine, or any other non-alcohol liquid. And the alcohol cooks off, we just use it for the flavor.
When it comes to wines, I always use wines from my neighbors in Lodi, California – Michael David Winery.
Want more quail recipes? Visit:
Quail with Citrus: quail-with-citrus
Roasted Quail with Pheasant Sausage Stuffing: roasted-quail-pheasant-sausage-stuffing
Fried Quail with Chipotle Cream Sauce: fried-quail-chipotle-cream-sauce
Quail with Tomato-Basil Beurre Blanc
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 3 tablespoons shallot peeled and minced
- 2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
- 6 ounces weight chilled butter, cut into pieces
- salt
- white pepper
- 1/3 cup tomato; peeled seeded and diced
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil minced (or substitute pinch dried basil leaves)
- 2 quail whole, brined
Instructions
Cooking the Quail
- Heat 1/2 cup olive oil to skillet. Add the quail to the skillet breast side down. Season with salt and pepper, or try a Hi Mountain seasoning of choice. Brown on both sides about 4 to 5 minutes each. Remove from pan and set aside. Reserve the pan and drippings.
Making the Sauce
- Using the same pan as what you used to cook the quail, heat wine, shallots and vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, uncovered. Reduce liquid to a few tablespoons. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, a few pieces at a time, until melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in tomato and basil and serve.
- Note: Do not bring sauce to a boil after butter has been added or it will break!
- Plate the quail and pour the sauce evenly over each piece.