Cailles aux Raisins

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12 to 14-inch (30 to 35 cm) heavy ovenproof sauté pan
• •3 to 4-quart (2.8 to 3.8 L) shallow cocotte
• •Small saucepan and bowl for the ice bath
• •Small sharp paring knife
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Tongs and wooden spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Peel the grapes

   Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Cut a shallow nick beside the stem of each grape, lower the fruit into boiling water for 8 to 10 seconds, then move it immediately to ice water. Slip off the skins, working from the nick, and dry the grapes thoroughly. Measure the wine, verjuice, and fumet now; once the quails are cooked, the sauce moves quickly.

   If a skin clings, finish that grape with a small paring knife rather than blanching it again. A second bath softens the flesh, and the grapes must remain firm enough to survive their final warming.
2. 2

   Prepare the quails

   Pat the quails completely dry inside and out. Tuck the wing tips underneath and tie the legs together if they splay widely, then season all over and inside with the salt and pepper. Let them stand for 15 minutes while the surface dries again. Moisture makes butter sputter and prevents the bronze skin the sauce depends upon.

3. 3

   Brown in butter

   Melt 1½ tablespoons of the butter in a 12 to 14-inch ovenproof sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, lay in four quails breast-side down. Brown for 2 to 3 minutes, then turn them onto each side for about 1 minute, moving them only when the skin releases cleanly. Transfer them to a plate and repeat with another 1½ tablespoons butter and the remaining birds. Keep the final tablespoon in reserve. If the butter solids turn black, lift out the birds, discard the burned fat, wipe away only the loose black specks, and continue over lower heat with the reserved butter. Ça se rattrape.

4. 4

   Roast the quails

   Return every quail to the skillet breast-side up, fitting them snugly without stacking. Add the reserved butter if it wasn't needed during browning, then roast for 6 to 9 minutes. Begin checking early: remove the birds when the thickest part of a thigh reaches 160°F (71°C) without the thermometer touching bone. During the final 2 minutes, place the empty cocotte in the oven to heat. Transfer the quails to the hot cocotte and leave them uncovered while the sauce is made; carryover heat should bring them to 165°F (74°C). Verify that temperature before serving, returning the cocotte to the oven briefly if needed.

5. 5

   Déglacer the pan

   Pour off the loose fat from the skillet while leaving its brown fond intact. Set the pan over medium heat, add the dry white wine and verjuice, and swill them over the entire floor of the utensil. Scrape with a wooden spoon until every savory brown deposit dissolves, then reduce for 30 to 45 seconds, until the liquid is sharp-smelling and nearly syrupy. The fond must be brown, never black; scorched deposits make a bitter sauce and should be left behind.

6. 6

   Reduce the fumet

   Add the strong game fumet, exactly 4 tablespoons, which preserves the book's proportion of half a tablespoon per quail. Boil briskly for 1 to 2 minutes, swirling the pan, until the sauce looks glossy and lightly coats a spoon. It should remain a concentrated jus, not thicken into gravy. If it reduces to a sticky glaze, whisk in hot water one teaspoon at a time until it flows again. Ça se rattrape. If it remains thin, give it another 20 seconds rather than reaching for flour.

7. 7

   Warm the grapes

   Take the skillet off the heat, add the peeled grapes, and roll them through the sauce for 20 to 30 seconds. Warm them through and no further. If one begins to split, lift all the grapes out immediately and spoon them around the quails; don't let the fruit turn to pulp. Pour the glossy pan sauce over and around the birds in the hot cocotte, distributing exactly one ounce of grapes per quail. Serve at once. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy quails of similar size so they finish together. Farmed birds vary considerably, and one very large quail among seven small ones makes timing needlessly awkward. Frozen quail are perfectly sound if thawed slowly in the refrigerator and dried with care.
• •White verjuice has the soft tartness and fresh-grape character this sauce requires. Vinegar cuts more harshly and lemon brings a flavor the source never asked for; neither disappears into the finished dish.
• •The fumet must be strong enough to give four tablespoons real authority, but it must not be aggressively salty. Taste it before cooking. If salt overwhelms its game character, reduce it less rather than concentrating the fault.
• •Serve with a quiet accompaniment that catches the jus, such as pommes purée or a small potato galette. The quails and grapes are already the occasion; the plate needs no decorative performance.
• •A dry Chenin Blanc or restrained white Burgundy works beautifully at the table. Pour something with enough acidity for the butter and enough body for the game fumet.
• •Leftover quail and sauce keep refrigerated for up to 2 days, but the grapes soften. Reheat the birds and sauce gently, then warm a freshly peeled handful of grapes in the sauce just before serving.

Advance Preparation

• •Have the finished strong game fumet measured and ready before cooking. It may be prepared according to its own method, chilled for up to 3 days, and brought out while the quails are seasoned.
• •The grapes can be peeled up to 4 hours ahead. Dry them carefully, cover, and refrigerate; bring them out 20 minutes before cooking so they warm without chilling the finished sauce.
• •The quails may be dried, seasoned, and held uncovered in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours. This short rest seasons the meat and leaves the skin especially dry for browning.
• •Do not make the finished pan sauce ahead. It depends on the fresh fond from the quails, and the grapes belong in it only during the final half-minute.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 225g)