
Yesterday I saw a great deal on quail at my local grocer so I decided to make a roast quail for dinner. A lot of people are intimidated by quail (or other game birds for that matter) but the truth is they are no more difficult than chicken. This roast quail with brown butter four seasons vegetables is a perfect meal to class up a winter dinner party.
Right next door to the grocer is a fantastic cookery store (which ends up taking tons of my money). I guess they are in a good location since I’ll go there for food inspiration. This time I bought the quail first, then went and bought an Emile Henry baking dish. Of course I got it in red to match my Emile Henry Cocotte, ramekins, and brulee dishes.

Roast Quail
The dish starts with a marinade for the quail. Due to their small size, some people have trouble keeping them moist, and this contributes to their dislike of the bird. Not to fear, this recipe will turn out perfectly juicy roast quail every time. The marinade is a simple mix of olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and a healthy amount of sweet smoked paprika.

I do quail a little differently than many of the popular online recipes in that I roast it first, before finishing it on a hot pan. Most people will sear the bird before roasting to “lock in juices” but as I use a whole lotta butter, I want to finish the quail in the pan to get some final nutty brown butter flavor in there.
Four Seasons Vegetables
This is a vegetable medley consisting of cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, peas, and carrots. I love this mix because of the vibrant contrast in colors, plus they go really great with poultry.

Now, the first cooking part means these veggies are essentially poached in butter. Later, while the bird is resting, I saute the vegetables in the brown butter to really tie the two main parts of the dish together. I know the amount of butter I use can be off-putting, but no one said this was a healthy dish.
After the oven, I took out the roast quail , strained the butter from the vegetables, then added a few tbsp of butter to a pan on medium heat. Browned the quail a bit then set aside to rest. Added the rest of the butter and cooked until brown butter was made, then added all the veggies and sauteed for a few minutes.


Roast Quail With Brown Butter Four Seasons Vegetables
Equipment
- Roasting Pan
- Saute Pan
Ingredients
- 2 large Quail The Common Quail is the standard cooking quail if you are in Europe, but you can also do with a Japanese farmed quail.
- 200 grams Butter non-salted
- 400 grams Mixed Vegetables I used four seasons mix which includes cauliflower, broccoli, peas, beans, and carrots.
- 4 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Paprika I used Hungarian sweet smoked paprika
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 2 tsp Salt or to taste
- 1 bulb Garlic
- 1 tsp Black Peppercorns plus more for cracking in the marinade
- 1 tsp Dill chopped, optional.
Instructions
- Make the marinade. In a plastic bag add the olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, a tsp of salt, and some freshly cracked black pepper. Add the quails, close the bag, and massage to get the marinade all over and in the birds.
- In a roasting dish place a bed of mixed vegetables. Sprinkle with salt.
- Remove the quail from the marinade and into the body cavity of each add two cloves of garlic sliced in half, and a cube of cold butter. Use kitchen twine (or quail leg skin) to tie the legs together. Place atop the mixed vegetables. Cut some dill over the entire dish.
- Cube the rest of the butter and add on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and place into the oven at 175 Celsius or 350 Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.
- Remove the dish from the oven. In a skillet on medium heat, add a couple tbsp of melted butter from the roasting dish. Brown the birds on each side (2-3 minutes per side. If the butter starts to burn, just add some more butter.
- Remove the birds and set aside to rest. Strain the butter out of the vegetables, and add to the pan. Let cook on medium heat until the milk solids begin to brown and a nutty aroma is made. Reserve 2 tbsp of the browned butter, then add all the vegetables to the brown butter in the skillet. Toss for a minute or two.
- Back into the casserole dish, add the brown butter vegetables. Place the quails inside, then drizzle a tbsp per bird of the reserved brown butter. Serve right in the roasting dish.