Grives ou Merles à la Liégeoise

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch (30 cm), 5-quart shallow enameled cast-iron braiser with a tight lid, or certified flameproof earthenware casserole
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Small wire rack for the croûtons

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the quail

   Take the quail from the cold twenty minutes before cooking. Check the cavities, remove any remaining pinfeathers, and dry every surface thoroughly. Season inside and out with the salt, working a little beneath the legs and wings. A wet bird cooks pale, while a dry one gives the butter a proper bronze surface to baste.

2. 2

   Fry the croûtons

   Melt 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 43 g) of the butter over medium heat in a broad, heavy casserole. Add the bread rounds and fry for about 2 minutes per side, turning once, until evenly butter-gold and crisp at the edges. These are croûtons, butter-fried bread rounds, and they belong inside the finished casserole rather than beside it as decoration. Lift them onto a rack, then wipe away any loose dark crumbs without scrubbing away the golden butter film.

3. 3

   Cook uncovered

   Add 5 tablespoons (75 ml / 71 g) of the butter and let it foam. Arrange the quail breast-side down in one snug layer and brown for 3 minutes, then turn them onto their backs for another 3 minutes. Lower the heat to medium-low and continue cooking uncovered for 8 to 12 minutes, turning the birds onto each side and basting them with the foaming butter every 2 minutes. They are nearly done when deeply bronzed and an instant-read thermometer placed in the thickest thigh without touching bone reads about 155°F (68°C). Keep the butter hazelnut-brown, never black.

   If the milk solids turn black or smell bitter, lift out the quail immediately. Pour away the burnt butter, wipe out the loose black specks, add the reserved 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of fresh butter, and return the birds over gentler heat. Ça se rattrape. Do not scrape bitter solids back over the meat.
4. 4

   Add juniper late

   Finely chop the juniper now, not earlier, and sprinkle exactly two berries' worth over each nearly cooked bird. Nestle the croûtons around the quail and spoon a little of the aromatic butter over their upper surfaces. Do not fry the juniper separately or leave it bubbling uncovered. Prolonged heat turns its clean woodland scent resinous and medicinal.

5. 5

   Close and serve

   Cover the casserole at once and keep it over the lowest heat for 2 to 4 minutes. The closed final moment finishes the quail, perfumes the croûtons, and leaves their tops crisp while their undersides drink the butter. Check that the thickest thigh has reached 165°F (74°C); if not, cover for 1 minute more. Carry the covered casserole directly to the table and uncover it there. Serve two birds and two croûtons to each diner, spooning over every drop of the juniper-scented butter. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use farmed quail from a reputable butcher or game supplier. Thrushes and blackbirds are protected or tightly controlled across many jurisdictions, so never substitute casually trapped garden birds. The quail are a lawful, inspectable equivalent with the delicacy this short cooking method requires.
• •Juniper must smell fresh, piney, and faintly citrus-like when crushed. Dusty berries taste only bitter. Chop them with a knife rather than grinding them to powder, and keep the source ratio intact: two berries per bird, added near the end.
• •Choose a casserole broad enough to hold all eight quail in one layer. Crowding traps moisture and prevents browning. Use flameproof earthenware only when its maker certifies it for direct stovetop heat; otherwise, enameled cast iron is the honest home equivalent.
• •Serve the casserole immediately with pommes purée or simply cooked cabbage if you want a fuller table. A light red wine works well, though a malty Belgian brown ale keeps the plate closer to Liège.

Advance Preparation

• •The quail may be cleaned, dried, and lightly salted up to 8 hours ahead. Refrigerate them uncovered on a rack, then take them out 20 minutes before cooking.
• •Cut the bread rounds earlier in the day. The croûtons can be fried up to 2 hours before serving and held uncovered on a rack, but chop the juniper only when the birds are nearly done.
• •The finished dish does not improve by waiting. If leftovers remain, refrigerate the quail for up to 3 days and reheat gently in fresh butter; make new croûtons, since soaked ones will not regain their proper edges.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 205g)