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.