Roast Quail in Rhubarb, Ginger & Orange Sauce

-Drizzle olive oil and freshly ground black pepper on quail. (If you've never prepped quail before, keep in mind how small they are when deciding how many to cook!  I used four for my husband and myself and had one leftover.  The following quantities made MORE than enough sauce, so I'll be using the remainder as a marinade for some lovely bison I've got in the freezer).

-Combine 1 cup of chopped rhubarb, 1 large chopped yellow onion, 4 cloves of pressed garlic, 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock, zest from one small orange, 1 Tablespoon of freshly minced ginger and 1/2 cup of red wine in a cast iron skillet and cover over low until thickened.  Let cool and puree and set aside.

-In the same pan, heat some olive oil and sear the quail on each side til browned and internal temp = 160F.  Some prefer their quail a bit on the pink side, but I'm not amongst them!

 

-Pour the pureed sauce on top of the quail and serve.  I was NOT keen on the colour (or lack thereof) of the brownish-purple looking sauce so I added some orange zest and served it on some mesclun greens.

It's definitely 'work' to eat it, as the bird is so little and picky, but a nice change from other birds, nonetheless!