savor — guide to food & dining on the azalea coast
88
WBM november 2013
Also difficult to find
on the shelves of most super markets,
Brasserie Du Soleil Chef Tripp Engle has
introduced all-natural quail from Manchester
Farms in South Carolina. The small and
sweet quail provides a healthier poultry
option than chicken, he says.
“The meat has a sweetness to it and overall
it is a darker meat than chicken,” Engle says.
“It is more of a pinkish red color. It is very
lean; there is little fat on it whereas a chicken
has a lot of fat on it. When you cook it in
the skin, being very lean and thin, it will get
really crispy.”
Engle’s preferred dry-heat cooking method
for quail is either roasted or grilled, but he
says brining would be a good idea regardless
of the technique.
“It takes very well to brining beforehand
to maintain juiciness, it is easy to dry quail
out because it is so small,” he says. “With
roasting it is nice to stuff it and filling the
cavity of the bird with the stuffing makes it
all big and round, and it is really pretty on
the plate. When grilled it tends to be a little
flat but still delicious.”
Engle says the size also makes it a good
option for dinner parties or a hearty appe-tizer
because it only takes 12-15 minutes
to roast.
Having cooked in restaurants like Le
Bernadin in New York City, Engle says
there is a drastic difference in how small
game meats are perceived there versus in
Wilmington.
“If we were in New York City I would be
selling a lot of rabbit, quail, venison, guinea
hen, veal, all kinds of things,” he says. “Here
it is a little different, you have people that
appreciate it and really like it and will order
it, but it is not a large percentage. It is just
a lot more common to eat these kinds of
things in other environments. For example,
in France you are going to see a lot of rabbit
and quail on the table.”
Like quail, rabbit is a very healthy and
sustainable meat to eat. However, Engle has
found that diners at the Brasserie are much
more apprehensive about trying it.
“I just love rabbit; it is very delicious and
underrated,” Engle says. “You can do so
many things with it but people are a lot more
scared to order rabbit than quail.”
Engle’s preferred dry-heat cooking
method for quail is either roasted or
grilled, but he says brining would be a
good idea regardless of the technique.
Smaller, leaner and sweeter than chicken, roasting a fork-tender whole quail looks
pretty on the plate. Brasserie Du Soleil Chef Tripp Engle serves up his cornbread
stuffed version over purple baby mustard greens, field peas and roasted Yukon
gold potatoes.