BBQ Quail

BBQ Quail


Whilst in the butchers I saw a packet of four Quail and being one for buying on impulse that is exactly what I did, purchase the four Quail. All I had to do now was work out how I wanted to cook them. I had planned a BBQ that evening and intended to cook chicken and chorizo kebabs. The Quail would now supplement those kebabs.

For the Chicken and Chorizo kebabs recipe see below.

Serves 2
Ingredients:

4 Quail
1 large orange
1 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp sweet paprika or sweet smoked paprika
1 ½ tbs light soy sauce
4 tbs Olive oil. (a good slug will do)
½ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp Tuscan herb mix (see note)
1 tsp salt
6 fresh chorizo sausage cut into 1” length (dried chorizo / or very good quality English sausage or even small tomatoes.
(See building the skewers below)


Note:
The Tuscan herb mix is a dry herb mix. It is a nice warm blend of Fennel, Marjoram, Basil, Oregano, Lemon Thyme and Bay. It is great for slow-cooked meat dishes. It is available from The Spice Shop, Portobello Road Market (0207 221 4448). If you can’t find Tuscan herb mix improvise with your own mix of dry herbs


Method:

Prepare the Quail by removing the wings completely with a sharp knife taking care not to damage the breast meat. Remove the tips of the legs.

Prepare the marinade:
Grate the zest from the orange into a large bowl. Cut the orange in half and squeeze the juice from the orange into the bowl with the zest. Cut each half of the squeezed orange into three pieces and place in the bowl. Add the garlic granules, sweet paprika or sweet smoked paprika, light soy sauce, olive oil, cayenne pepper, Tuscan herb mix, salt to the bowl. Place the prepared quail in the bowl and mix well with your hands to ensure the birds are well covered with the marinade both inside and out.

Leave to marinade for at least 1 hour longer if possible.

Building the Skewers:
The marinated quail are then threaded on kebab skewers. I cooked all of my quail on one long skewer. How many quail you have to a skewer will depend on the length of skewers you have available and the size of your barbecue cooking area.

Take the skewer and firstly thread an orange slice onto the skewer. Next thread a slice of chorizo sausage, small piece of English sausage or even a small tomato on to the skewer and push down onto the orange piece. Now thread the quail onto the skewer with the open cavity of the bird facing the orange segment (neck of bird furthest from the orange piece) You should now find the chorizo, tomato or whatever you are using acts as a bump stop between the cavity of the bird and the orange piece. It does not matter if the chorizo slides into the cavity of the bird.

Now add another segment of orange skin, then chorizo and quail repeating the process as described above. You will be left with a skewer of alternating orange / chorizo / quail.

You are now ready to barbecue your quail. I do not propose to tell you how long to cook the quail for. There are too many variances for me to accurately gauge your own cooking time. It will depend on the barbecue you are using whether gas or coals or wood, height from the cooking surface, wind etc. Quail do not take long to cook. They are a game bird and are very lean and can dry out if over cooked. My quail were cooked for about 10 – 15 minutes over a lump wood charcoal barbecue.

Finally do not try and eat your succulent barbecue quail with a knife and fork. Once cooled a little they are best enjoyed eaten with you fingers.

Easy Thai Style Chicken Curry

Easy Thai Style Chicken Curry
This is truly a delicious curry it is very easy to make. You don’t need a whole long list of Thai ingredients to make a great Thai style curry.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1lb chicken thigh meat after bones and skin removed. Roughly diced.
2tbs oil
1 onion thinly sliced
3 or 4 waxy potatoes peeled, quartered and rinsed
3 cloves garlic crushed or chopped
1 1/2” fresh root ginger peeled and finely chopped
2tbs Sambal Oelek
2tsp Tamarind paste
5 or 6 Kaffir lime leaves
1pt coconut milk
1tsp of Jaggery (Palm Sugar)
1tbs Fish Sauce

Method:

1. Heat a heavy based pan and add the oil, then the onion. Fry onion until soft then add the garlic and ginger.

2. Add the diced chicken and cook over a high heat until the chicken is browned.

3. Now add the Sambal Oelek, Tamarind paste heat through for a couple of minutes. Add the coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves and palm sugar.

4. Add the potatoes. Bring to the boil. Then simmer for at least an hour preferably 1 1/2hours or longer. I cook mine for about 2 hours. The potatoes should be squidgy soft.

5. The fat will separate from the coconut milk after an hour or so. I always prefer to spoon off the fat that collects on the surface.

6. You are aiming to get a thick rich reduced sauce that clings to the chicken and potatoes.

7. Garnish with the chopped coriander leave and a whole red chilli.

Notes:
Sambal Oelek is a chilli based spice paste available from Thai supermarkets. If you can’t find any try a little sweet chilli sauce instead

Kaffir Lime leaves keep well in the freezer. I always have some handy. If you can’t obtain any from your Thai supermarket then improvise with a little lime zest and juice.

You could easily substitute lamb for chicken.

You can always add more fresh chilli if you wish to suit your own taste.

Serve with sticky white rice

Surrey Chump Chops

Surrey Chump Chops & Beans
Lamb Chump End Chops & Cannellini Beans

Serves 2

Ingredients:
6 X lamb Chump end chops
1 X large onion sliced
2 X cloves garlic crushed
2 X large carrots. (Halved lengthways, then cut into ¾” strips on the diagonal)
2 X 410g tins of Cannellini beans
1 ¼ pints of lamb stock
Herbs
Any herbs that you like will be ok. I do recommend using rosemary. It has a particular affinity with lamb. My preferred mix is below;
5 sprigs rosemary
5 sprigs thyme
4 sage leaves



Method:

Warm the oil in a large casseroles or large heavy based saucepan. Add the garlic and gently sweat for a couple of minutes to release its flavour. Add the sliced onion and carrot and cook for about 5 mins until the onion has begun to soften.
Drain the potatoes and return to the pan. Let the potatoes cool for a few minutes. This also helps to rid the potatoes of steam and excess moisture.

Add the lamb chops, the stock, herbs and cannellini beans. Season with salt and pepper.

Cover the pot with a layer of tin foil and then place the lid on. The idea is for a perfectly tight seal on the pot. Place in preheated oven for about 3 ½ - 4 hours. At least until the meat falls from the bone

Notes:
Lamb Chump End chops are a very cheap part of the lamb. They may not appear to offer much meat in relation to the amount of bone you get. They are however packed with fantastic flavour and meat on the bone is so much sweeter. Cooked properly this cheap cut of lamb will always impresses.

If you are using a stock cube for your lamb stock then make it at half strength often stock cubes are too overpowering for a dish. In this recipe you want the flavour of the lamb and herbs to marry with the beans and not be overpowered by the stock cube.

Serve with a good quality bread. No need for potatoes.

Wine:
Serve with a Beaujolais Village

It Has been a while!!

Hi,

Yes it has been a while since my last post. I guess I have been busy crashing motorbikes and breaking my leg ! My time away from my blog has taught me that I do need to make more notes on what I cook. It is not uncommon for me to cook a dish and think that in a few days I will remember what I did. Gosh if it were only that simple.

So Christmas almost upon us and a time that us foodies tend to really enjoy. I wonder if you are a traditional Christmas dinner person? No turkey at my table this year. It will be roast duck as the centre piece.

I am going to do a jamie oliver recipe for dessert. I saw jamie crumble christmas pudding over sheets of filo pastry add some cooking chocolate and then roll into a filo christmas cake roll before putting in the oven to cook. I'll let you know how it goes.

Mustard New Potatoes

Mustard New Potatoes
Serves 2

Ingredients:

A couple of handfuls of new potatoes.
1tsp of French whole grain mustard
1 tbsp Greek style natural yoghurt



Method:

Wash the potatoes. Leave the skins on. Cut into quarters and cook in boiling salted water until soft.

Drain the potatoes and return to the pan. Let the potatoes cool for a few minutes. This also helps to rid the potatoes of steam and excess moisture.

Add the yogurt and mustard to the potatoes. Mix to combine

These potatoes are a great accompaniment to salad, meat especially lamb.

They are quick and easy to do. You can of course omit the yoghurt and use Crème Fraiche.

BBQ Prime Rib of Beef (French Trimmed)

Barbeque Prime Rib of Beef


Easily feeds 8

Ingredients:
4 Rib, Rib of Beef, French trimmed.
2 carrots
2 onions

Method:

Allow the rib to be a room temperature for at least 2 hours before cooking.

Use a generous coating of chopped herbs of your choice. I used a good handful of Parsley, thyme and sage. Lots of salt and pepper. Lightly oil the rib rub the chopped herbs into the meat and season well with salt & pepper.

Bring your BBQ to temperature; place the Rib in a roast / oven tray with a couple of onions and carrots. The vegetables prevent the meat drying out.

Note:
If using the indirect grilling method on a gas BBQ do ensure your oven tray is not directly over the flame, likewise on a charcoal BBQ ensure the coals are not directly under the meat. The aim is to have an indirect heat source.

Place your oven tray with the ribs uppermost i.e. fat side up. Cook with the lid closed on your BBQ at about 170 degrees for two to two and half hours depending on how pink you want your beef and the weight of your rib. You will need to periodically check the rib and move it to prevent over darkening the meat in any one spot. When the meat reaches an internal temperature of 115 to 125 degrees remove it from the grill. Place it on a large serving platter and cover loosely with foil. The meat will continue cooking and the internal temperature will continue to rise. Let rest for at least 15 minutes, but no more than 30.

To serve place on board remove string and chine bone. Simply carve the rib to the thickness of your choice. Discard the vegetables from the roast pan.

Serve with new potatoes in butter and a salad of your choice. The rib goes well with butter nut squash and chickpea salad.


Notes:
Ask your butcher to remove the chine bone but tie it back to the rib with string. The bone can them be easily removed for carving.

If you want the roast rare to medium rare, remove from the grill when the temperature is 115 degrees and let it rest for 15 minutes. If you want it more well done, remove from the grill at 125 degrees and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Wine:
This rib will go very well with good Bordeaux and an aged Rioja or Ribero Del Duero.

Vindaloo

Vindaloo

This is great curry for pork and pork leftovers.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

4tbsp oil or ghee
1 large onion sliced
6-8 whole dried red chillies
2 tsp cumin seeds (ground)
2tsp coriander seeds (ground)
2tsp paprika
10 black peppercorns (ground)
1 inch sticks cinnamon (ground)
Seeds of 6 green cardamoms (ground)
2tsb brown mustard seeds (ground)
3 whole cloves (ground)
1 inch fresh ginger peeled and finely chopped
11 cloves garlic crushed or chopped
1 tsp salt
6tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp tomato puree
2lb pork shoulder cubed.




Method:

If using whole spices then heat them in a hot pan until they let of their aroma then grind in your pestle and mortar or as I do in an electric coffee grinder

Heat oil in large pan and fry onion until just starting to turn brown.

Remove the onion from the pan and place in a blender or processor.
Add the dried red chillies, the spices, garlic, salt, vinegar, tomato puree and 4 tbsp of water. Blend to a smooth paste.

Heat the pan, add the diced pork and cook until browned. Add the onion / spice mixture and cook for a few minutes over a high heat.

Turn to a gentle simmer and cook for about 1 1/2 hours or until the pork is very tender. Obviously leftovers pork will take less time to cook.
Notes:
I like to serve this with plain rice and some home made mango chutney and Raita