Honey Pecan Skillet Quail
Seared in butter, finished with honey and crushed pecans. A car camp dinner for whoever brought birds back.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 58
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 45 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Dressed quail | 10-15 birds | skin on or off, both work |
|---|---|---|
| Pecans | 1/2 cup | crushed |
| Honey | 1/2 cup | squeeze bottle, not a jar |
| Salt | 2 tsp | |
| Black pepper | 1 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Cayenne | 1/2 tsp | |
| Butter | 4 tbsp |
Method
- At home or at the table, put the pecans in a zip bag and crush them with whatever is heavy. A rock works. Set aside.
- Mix salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne, then rub it over the birds.
- Get a cast iron skillet over the fire on a grate, or on a liquid-fuel stove. Melt 2 tbsp butter.
- Sear the quail in batches, a third of them at a time. Two to three minutes a side. Crowding the pan steams them instead of browning them. Add the rest of the butter as the pan dries out.
- Return all the birds to the skillet, pull it off direct heat to the edge of the coals, cover, and let them go 10-15 minutes until the thigh juices run clear.
- Drizzle the honey over the birds in the pan and scatter the pecans on top. Two more minutes so the honey loosens and coats.
- Eat straight from the skillet.
This is a cooler-and-cast-iron dinner, not a pack meal. Quail are small and lean, which means they go from raw to dry in about a minute of inattention. The two-stage method is the whole point: hard sear in butter for color, then covered low heat off the direct flame to finish them through without driving the moisture out.
The honey goes on last for the same reason. Sugar over a hot fire turns black fast, so it hits the pan only after the birds are cooked and the skillet has been pulled to the cooler edge. The pecans are there for texture against soft meat, and they toast a little in the residual butter.
Packing
Birds ride frozen in the cooler and thaw on the drive. Premix the four spices into one small jar at home. Crush the pecans at home too and the bag is one less job in camp.
Variations
- No quail, use bone-in chicken thighs and add 10 minutes to the covered stage.
- Swap the pecans for walnuts if that is what the store had.
- A splash of vinegar in the pan after the honey cuts the sweetness.
https://realtree.com/timber-2-table-wild-game-recipes/honey-pecan-butter-braised-quail-recipe