• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
LindySez | Recipes
  • About/Contact
  • Recipes
  • Tips & Techniques
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About/Contact
  • Recipes
  • Tips & Techniques
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About/Contact
    • Recipes
    • Tips & Techniques
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Backyard BBQ » Grilled Quail with Pomegranate and Orange Glaze

    Grilled Quail with Pomegranate and Orange Glaze

    Published: Sep 10, 2015 · Modified: Nov 13, 2022 by Linda Baker · This post may contain affiliate links

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    "Quail marinated then grilled with a deliciously sticky glaze makes this recipe for Grilled Quail with Pomegranate and Orange Glaze finger-licking good."

    Grilled Quail on a pewter platter.
    Finger licking good!

    The Story Behind Grilled Quail with Pomegranate and Orange Glaze

    This recipe for Grilled Quail with Pomegranate and Orange Glaze was inspired by a recipe in Evan Goldstein's book Perfect Pairings. Evan is a Master Sommelier and has been nominated four times for the James Beard Award "Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional of the Year". You could say, Mr. Goldstein knows his wine. He also knows his food and has a joint relationship with major chefs in a few eateries.

    The recipe I found, Pork Loin Glazed with Pomegranate and Orange, was written by his mother, Joyce Goldstein,  who was the chef/owner of Square One Restaurant (since closed) in San Francisco. She has authored a number of cookbooks and is well known in the culinary world.

    I first met them at Fleur De Lys (also since closed) in San Francisco when BB, who then worked as VP of Sales and Marketing for the San Francisco CVB,  and I were having dinner with Joyce Goldstein, Journalist Burt Wolf, of Burt Wolf Travel on PBS,  BB's boss, John Marks, then President/CEO of San Francisco CVB and his lovely wife Marty. We were all talking and enjoying our amuse; a silky cold asparagus soup served in an eggshell (sorry no pictures, this was WAY back in the olden days when we didn't take pictures of our food. I know, can you even imagine?) - and this guy turns to us and starts telling us what wines we should be having with our meal.

    The nerve.

    I didn't know it was Even - talking to his mom. Needless to say, the wines he chose went perfectly with each delicious course Chef Keller prepared for us. I do miss Fleur De Lys ...

    this recipe is finger licking good.

    Anyway, the reason I was looking in the book for a recipe is; we were having a friend and his son come for dinner. Phillipe and his son had just come down from attempting a hike to the summit of Mt. Rainier and were coming this way to check out some colleges. As Phillipe deals in French wines, BB challenged me to come up with a perfect pairing for a French Burgundy. Being familiar mostly with California Pinot Noirs, and not so much with the wines of France, I thought I would do some research and found this recipe which I thought would be a great match. But I didn't want to do a pork loin roast and thought with two guys just coming down off the mountain, quail would be a good choice of protein. It was.

    Grilled Quail with Pomegranate and Orange Glaze

    Quail is a great little bird to eat. They are small, mild in "wild" flavor, low in fat and calories, and cook quickly - 2 per person is the perfect amount. You can cook them whole, as I did, or spatchcock them - that is remove the backbone and open it up. I left them whole so they were more "manly".

    The flavors in the rub and basting sauce were perfect for bringing out the flavors in the wine. Pomegranate brings out the fruit, orange highlighting a bit of acidity making them perfect partners. Soy, ginger, and mustard are natural friends; Pinot Noir is known to be good with Asian foods, and the honey puts a nice glaze on the bird. You do need to take care when grilling as the honey will also burn quickly, so I suggest when you grill the quail, start without the glaze. Get them almost cooked, then start basting them and let the glaze caramelize on the quail.

    the quail do have to marinate for at least 6 hours, so plan accordingly.

    These were so good that even the boy who wouldn't eat or try hardly anything that was served declared these ..." Finger licking good". Yes, he might venture out onto the highest mountain peaks, in snow, wind, and rain, but not so adventurous in the kitchen.

    LindySez and Friends

    No, they didn't make it to the summit of Mt. Rainier. The weather, as it is prone to do near the summit, got so bad, winds so high, that they were forced to return to base camp. A great adventure that they will just have to try again.

    Delicious served with Forbidden Rice Salad or  Quinoa Salad with Dried Fruits 

    Wine Recommendation: A fruit-forward Pinot Noir or Red Burgundy. 

    Grilled Quail on a pewter platter.

    Grilled Quail with Pomegranate and Orange Glaze

    LindySez
    Quail marinated then grilled with a deliciously sticky glaze makes this recipe for Grilled Quail with Pomegranate and Orange Glaze finger-licking good.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 mins
    Cook Time 30 mins
    Additional Time 6 hrs
    Total Time 6 hrs 50 mins
    Course Other Meats, Poultry
    Cuisine American
    Servings 4 servings

    Ingredients
      

    • 8 quail any pin hairs removed, spatchcocked if desired
    • For the Spice Paste Marinade
    • ¼ cup fresh orange juice
    • 2 tablespoons reduced-salt soy sauce
    • 2 tablespoons grated fresh peeled ginger
    • 2 tablespoons pomegranate syrup or pomegranate molasses**
    • 2 tablespoon hot mustard I used Dijon
    • Grated zest of 1 orange
    • 2 teaspoons pressed garlic about 4 large cloves
    • Basting Sauce
    • ⅓ cup fresh orange juice
    • 3 tablespoons honey
    • 3 tablespoons pomegranate syrup or pomegranate molasses
    • 2 tablespoons reduced-salt soy sauce
    • 2 tablespoons reserved spice paste

    Instructions
     

    • Rinse and pat dry the quail being sure to remove any pin feathers. Place in a non-reactive container.
    • Prepare the Spice Marinade: Mix together in a bowl the orange juice, soy sauce, ginger, pomegranate syrup, hot mustard, orange zest, and garlic. Reserve 2 tablespoons. Pour the spice mixture over the quail, rubbing it into all the crevices. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours (I did mine overnight). Let the quail stand for about a half an hour to come to room temperature prior to cooking.
    • Prepare the Basting Sauce: In a bowl, whisk together the orange juice, honey, pomegranate syrup, soy sauce, and reserved spice paste; blend well. Set aside ¼ cup for spooning on at the end of cooking.
    • Heat the grill to medium-high heat. Place the quail on the grill, not too close to the heat source, about 3 - 4 inches away, and grill, turning a few times until mostly cooked. When mostly cooked start basting with basting sauce; turning and basting until the quail are cooked through and nicely caramelized. Let sit for 5 minutes, then drizzle the reserved basting sauce over them. Serve.

    Notes

    This recipe requires 6 hours to marinate.
    LindySez: If you don’t want to use quail, you could substitute Cornish game hen or chicken pieces. If you do it with game hen, do spatchcock them. 
    **Pomegranate syrup and/or molasses can be found in Middle Eastern markets and some specialty stores. If you can't find it, you can make something similar by reducing pomegranate juice over high heat until it becomes syrupy.
    Keyword BBQ, quail, wine-pairing
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    Related

    « Apricot Almond and Brown Butter Tart
    Zucchini Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce »

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Lindy.

    I am a home-trained chef who loves to cook and eat delicious food. As I like to say, "Life is too short to eat mediocre food". And I find too much food out there is mediocre. I don't think good food needs to be fussy, or difficult to prepare. Most of my recipes are fresh, quick, easy, and tasty while keeping both calories and fats in check. 

    More about me →

    Popular

    • The Best Hormel Chili No Beans Copycat Recipe
    • Slow Cooked Oven Baked Spaghetti Sauce
    • A Quick No Knead Crusty Rye Bread
    • Recipe for the Best Original Der Wienerschnitzel Chili Sauce
    • Easy Sweet Tart Homemade Applesauce
    • Just the Beginnings Chicken Soup
    • Hasenpfeffer (German Style Wine Braised Rabbit)
    • Red Wine Rosemary Risotto
    • Sauerbraten My Way
    • Sole with a Light Creamy Shrimp Sauce

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    Copyright © 2020 Lindy Sez