So yes, I went down that path once again. That path of creating something so foreign to me growing up but so good that I really don’t know why I never tried making it. Maybe it was intimidation? Maybe it  was procrastinaton and sheer laziness, or maybe it was just plain ignorance.

Continuing on with our discussion on game meats from the previous post, I found myself liking, no, lusting over the recipes from David Bitton’s Book and the sudden exponential increase of game meats in my freezer thanks to the recent blogger event by Game Farm and Bitton Cafe. What to do what to do? I do not have a single recipe in my repertoire that will do the quail, spatchcock and duck justice. I do not even know how to prepare any of these meats (er, what’s the cooking time, dear sir?). What I do know is what remembered from that night: tender game meats, deep colours and rich flavours.

Oh, and a bowlful of butter, Monsieur Bitton. I like!

So to start off my wonderful adventure with game meats, I thought I’d share with you the first of many game meat dishes in the Sugarlace household, starting with a wonderful Asian-inspired glazed quail breasts with a spicy apple stir fry on the side.

Glazed Quail with Spiced Apple Stir-fry

Adapted from the David Bitton Cookbook

Quail:

8 quail breasts

Olive oil

2 tbsp Kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) or Bitton Asian Dressing

Spiced apple stir fry:

Olive oil

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

4 granny smith apples, peeled and sliced thinly

1 thumb-sized ginger, peeled and minced finely

1 tbsp white sugar

1/2 bunch coriander, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 200 deg C.

2. In a frying pan, stir fry the apples in olive oil for 30 seconds. Add the chilli flakes, ginger, sugar, coriander and salt and pepper. Stir and cook the apple for another 30 seconds.

3. Pan fry the quail breasts on medium heat for a minute. Add the olive oil and turn the breasts over, skin side down for another minute or two. Place fried quail in a baking dish, place in the oven for about 3 – 4 minutes. Remove from oven and drizzle with the Asian dressing or sweet soy sauce. Serve quail with the spiced apple stir fry and red wine. Enjoy!

Quail breasts courtesy of Game Farm

Bitton Asian Dressing - coriander, ginger & sweet soy sauce flavours

Many thanks to Lauren from DEC for the event invite, to David Bitton of Bitton Cafe for the David Bitton Cookbook and Bitton Asian Dressing, and Game Farm for the complementary meats.