Steamed and Fried Quail With Aioli

Ease of Preparation: Medium
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

For the quail:

• 4 x 5-ounce (142 g) quails
• 1 pound (454 g) kosher salt, divided
• 1 orange, zest
• 3 sprigs thyme, leaves
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ½ star anise, toasted
• ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) black peppercorns
• 4 cups (960 ml) oil, for frying

For the four spice mixture:

• ½ cinnamon stick
• ½ cup (120 ml) black peppercorns
• ¾ teaspoon (3.5 ml) cloves
• 1 ½ tablespoons (22 ml) nutmeg
• 2 ½ cups (590 ml) potato starch
• Kosher salt

For the aioli:

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic
• ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) Dijon mustard
• ¾ cup (180 ml) light vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper

Method:

For the quail:

In a mortar, combine ¼ kosher salt, orange zest, thyme leaves, bay leaf, garlic, star anise, and peppercorns.

With a pestle, crush the ingredients to a rough powder and combine with the remaining salt to make a cure mixture.

Using butchers’ shears or a knife, remove the backbone from the quails.

Season the quails thoroughly with the cure mixture.

Refrigerate for two hours.

Rinse the cure off the quails.

Using a stove top steamer, steam the quail for twenty minutes.

Cool quails to room temperature and reserve.

For the four-spice mix:

In a dry pan over medium-heat, toast cinnamon, peppercorns, and cloves. Remove from pan and cool.

Grind toasted spices in a spice grinder.

In a bowl, combine ground spices, nutmeg, and potato starch.

Season with kosher salt.

For the aioli:

In a blender, combine the egg, lemon juice, garlic, and Dijon mustard, blend on low.

While blending, slowly drizzle the oil into the mixture to make a mayonnaise.

When thick, season with salt and pepper. Reserve.

To finish:

In a large heavy pot, heat frying oil to 400 F (205 C).

In a large bowl dredge the quail in four spice mix.

Fry quails in batches for 2 minutes per batch or until crispy. Drain.

Let rest for 5 minutes and serve with aioli.