Cailles Nillson

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch (30 cm) lidded sauté pan or shallow braiser
• •1-quart (1 L) saucepan
• •Four 10 to 12 fluid ounce (300 to 350 ml) shallow cassolettes or ovenproof ramekins
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Dampened muslin or unbleached coffee filter
• •Fat separator or narrow heatproof jug
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Whiten the kidneys

   Cover the cocks’ kidneys with 4 cups of the cold water and 1 tablespoon of the salt. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then drain and rinse. Bring 2 cups fresh water to a gentle simmer, add the kidneys, and blanch for 1 minute. Lift them out, rinse under cold water, and peel away each translucent outer membrane without tearing the tender flesh. Bring the remaining 2 cups water to a bare simmer with the lemon juice and remaining tablespoon of salt. Poach the peeled kidneys for 4 to 6 minutes, until uniformly ivory and cooked to 165°F (74°C), then lift them onto a clean plate. Keep them covered; browning would destroy the white garnish the source requires.

   If a membrane clings, return that kidney to the simmering water for 20 seconds and try again. Ça se rattrape. Do not scrape hard or the surface will become ragged.
2. 2

   Season the quails

   Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Pat the quails completely dry, including inside the cavities, then season them with the teaspoon of salt and the white pepper. Tight trussing keeps the small birds compact enough to sit properly in their cassolettes. Wet skin will stew before it browns, so take the drying seriously.

3. 3

   Brown in butter

   Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a 12-inch lidded sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, add the quails and brown them on the breast, back, and both sides, about 6 to 8 minutes altogether. Aim for an even hazelnut bronze, not a dark crust that would make the liquor bitter. Transfer the birds to a plate. Lower the heat, add the remaining butter and shallot, and suer, meaning sweat without browning, for 2 minutes. Add the thyme and bay leaf.

4. 4

   Braise with Yquem

   Pour in the Château d’Yquem and scrape the pan floor until every browned deposit has dissolved into the wine. Reduce by half at a lively simmer; this cooks away raw alcohol while keeping the wine’s apricot and honeyed perfume. Add 1½ cups of the chicken stock, reserving ¼ cup for adjustment, then return the quails breast-side up. Cover and cook in the oven for 14 to 18 minutes, checking early, until the thickest part of each thigh reaches 165°F (74°C). Small birds seldom finish together, so lift each one when ready and keep it loosely covered. Longer cooking will not make quail more tender; it will only dry it.

5. 5

   Strain and degrease

   Transfer the quails to a clean plate. Pour the cooking liquor through a fine-mesh sieve into a fat separator or narrow heatproof jug, letting it pass under its own weight. Do not press the shallot, because pressing clouds the liquor. Rest it for 5 minutes, then pour the clear liquid away from the first layer of butter and quail fat. Wash the pan before returning the degreased liquor to it.

6. 6

   Clear it again

   Simmer the liquor gently until reduced to about 1¼ cups (300 ml). It should taste concentrated and feel lightly gelatinous on the lips, but it must remain a clear jus, never a flour-thickened sauce. Pass it a second time through a sieve lined with dampened muslin or an unbleached coffee filter, then skim away every remaining bead of fat. Test a spoonful on a cold saucer: it should cool to a clear, softly set film. If it is greasy or cloudy, do not serve it as it stands. Ça se rattrape: chill the liquor for 10 minutes, lift off the firming fat, and filter it once more. If reduction has made it too strong, loosen it with the reserved stock.

7. 7

   Fill the cassolettes

   Warm four individual cassolettes or shallow ovenproof ramekins. Return the quails to the clear liquor over the gentlest heat and turn them once, just until hot throughout. Set one quail in each cassolette and arrange four warm cocks’ kidneys around it. Ladle the cooking liquor over each bird so it coats the breast and pools generously beneath it, leaving the ivory kidney ring visible. The liquor should gleam without an oily film. Serve at once. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Cocks’ kidneys are rooster testicles, not the dark, lobed renal kidneys sold with poultry giblets. Order them from a poultry farmer, specialist butcher, or offal supplier. Chicken kidneys are not a substitute. If the cocks’ kidneys cannot be found, omit them and call the result Cailles au Château-Yquem; without the white ring, it is no longer Nillson.
• •Château d’Yquem is the wine named by the preparation, and only a modest glass goes into the pan. A sound Sauternes preserves the dish’s balance when opening Yquem is unreasonable, but its perfume will not be identical. Avoid inexpensive sweet cooking wine, which reduces to sugar without the needed acidity.
• •Use stock that becomes a soft, clear gel when chilled. Its natural gelatin gives the liquor body without roux, starch, or cream, all of which would obscure the bird and contradict the source.
• •Silver cassolettes are handsome but unnecessary. Four shallow, 10 to 12 fluid ounce (300 to 350 ml) porcelain ramekins are the honest home equivalent. They must hold one whole quail with room for its four-kidney ring.
• •Serve a dry white Bordeaux alongside rather than another sweet wine. Its acidity keeps the butter and Yquem in balance, and the sauce remains the fragrant part of the plate.

Advance Preparation

• •The quails and cooking liquor may be prepared up to 24 hours ahead. Cool them promptly and refrigerate separately, keeping the birds under a few spoonfuls of liquor. Once cold, the remaining liquor should form a clear, soft gel; lift off its firm fat cap before the second reduction and filtration.
• •To reheat, place each quail in its cassolette with a spoonful of liquor, cover loosely, and warm at 300°F (150°C) until the thigh reaches 165°F (74°C). Heat the remaining liquor separately and pour it over only at service, which protects both its clarity and the birds’ moisture.
• •The cocks’ kidneys may be soaked, blanched, and peeled a day ahead. Refrigerate them covered, then complete their gentle acidulated poach shortly before serving so they remain pale and tender.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 210g)