Inspired by our custom of cooking dishes with rum, which make for incredibly good results, we've made this Quail with Rum and Apple dish. Refined yet simple, and with taste to spare.
Why we ❤️ it
Cooking with rum is not unfamiliar to Dominicans, totally the opposite actually. Thank goodness, because this Quail with Rum and Apple is just too amazing.
Some of the dishes that may be cooked with rum are rabo encendido and chivo liniero (each family has its own recipe and lore about these dishes).
With a wide variety of world-class rums available at reasonable prices here, it is no surprise that we have found several ways of incorporating it into our cuisine.
Quail eggs are a lot more common than quail meat in the DR, but it's not rare to find it in local supermarkets, even if we treat it as something to serve for special occasions. When I found it in our "neighborhood" supermarket I decided to treat my husband to a dish that includes one of his favorite things about our country: rum.
Adding apples was my idea. Rum-based sauces has a certain degree of bitterness that I dislike, and the apples tame that. I'm not sure what my husband liked more, the rum or the apples. Try it yourself and let me know what you think.
I don't recommend this dish for children for the obvious reason that children should stay away from alcohol, but also because quails have many very small bones that can be a choking hazard for kids. Consider this a special "grown-up" dish.
Recipe
Quail with Rum and Apple Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 quails
- Juice of 1 lime
- 12 spring onion bulbs, peeled
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar (white, granulated)
- 4 cup water, (may be more)
- ⅓ cup golden rum
- 3 sprigs curly parsley, minced finely
- 2 fuji apples, peeled and cut into thin wedges
Instructions
- Rub the quails with the lime juice.
- Stuff the quails with the spring onions bulbs (save the leaves for another dish).
- Season the quails with salt and pepper pepper . Let it rest in the fridge for two hours.
- Heat the oil in a heavy-bottom pot. Add the sugar and let it heat until it browns.
- Add the quails (careful with splatters!), stir until they are golden brown all over.
- Add half a cup of water and cook covered over medium heat until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Turn the quails and add another half cup of water. Repeat this until the quails are cooked through.
- Add the rum, parsley and apple and cook over low heat for 5 minutes and you have about a cup of sauce in the pot.
Tips and Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutritional information.
