Oolong Smoked Quail (IMBB 17)

My kitchen is empty and its cupboards are bare.  Today I’ll be moving into an apartment with a sparkling new kitchen, but yesterday I feasted on tea-smoked quail.  The dish was very much an experiment for me; I had never cooked quail, tea, or smoked food of any kind before, so I was unsure of what to expect. 

Although I chose tea as the theme of this month’s Is My Blog Burning event, I can’t say that I know very much about it.  Until a few months ago, I only thought of tea as a staple.  I drank it regularly, but little did I know how many different types existed, and how much teas of the same name varied in flavour.  Thankfully, my friend Renée, who is very much a tea addict (err.. I mean, tea connoisseur) introduced me to the world of fine tea.  Three weeks ago, when it came time to pick a theme for this month’s IMBB event, tea was the obvious choice.  Cooking with tea would be both challenging and interesting.  The possibilities of infusing wonderful tea aromas into food seemed endless. 

I chose to do a quail dish because I occasionally have quail at restaurants, but had never prepared it myself.  I also attempted to make a matcha-raspberry-lichee tart, but it turned out terribly, due in part to poor instructions and a picture-recipe mismatch.  Once I’m settled into my new kitchen (hopefully later today), I will attempt to do another tea-based dessert. 

The tea-smoked quail preparation I used is quite straightforward and is based on a recipe by Patricia Yeo (of New York’s Sapa).  I simply substituted the lapsang souchong with the more subtle ti kuan yin (oolong), and glazed the quail with honey after smoking to give it an extra touch of sweetness and shine.  The quail was very moist and succulent, however I found the flavour to be a bit too smoky for my taste.  The smoke from the pot also stained all my kitchen cupboards orange.  But that was okay since I was planning to clean them anyway.  I’d highly recommend Patricia Yeo’s Asian slaw as an accompaniment to the quail.  Its sweet, tart flavour contrast wonderfully with the quail.  I also sauced the dish with an orange juice reduction made from orange juice, butter and soy sauce.

Stay tuned… more tasteTea cooking to come.

Comments

[J]

hi clement, that looks gorgeous - the perfect crisp skin-molten fat-tender flesh package ;) cheers,j

[Chubby Hubby]

Clement, that looks great. I had the pleasure of meeting Patricia Yeo quite a few years ago. Great chef.

[chika]

Hi Clement,

I have never cooked, let alone smoked, a quail myself, but it looks fun and your quail looks gorgeous! I am sorry it wasn't all the way to your taste though.

I have cooked and shot some tea things, and am getting around to do a post about it. sorry for the delay.

And congratulations on your move... may much happiness flows in your new place!

[Petit]

http:\\petitcareme.blogspot.com

Your quail has a lovely colour. I actually tried tea smoked chicken for this months IMBB but it looked like something the dog brought home so I didn't bother to post it. I agree with you that the taste is abit smokey. It was also a very messy business.

[babe_kl]

wow yr quail looked lovely. i must try it one day cos it seems there are several entries on smoked meat/fish for tasteTEA. thanks again clement.

[santos.]

"fat tender flesh package", indeed! lovely, although i can imagine how too much smoke can overwhelm the little guy. still.

congratulations on your new home and kitchen!

[E Fung]

Where did you get the tea you used (aka Iron Goddess, I think)? I know Toronto has several high end tea stores but I never know who has a good tea for a good price.

[ac]

Clement, wonderful smoked quail you have there. Smoking meat with tea leaves does make a nice change from smoking meat with wood chips. Too bad about having to clean up =P but i'm sure it's worth it.

[Reid]

Hi Clement,

Thanks for hosting IMBB? this month. It was a pleasure participating and I was anticipating another fabulous dessert from you. That said, I am not disappointed that there was no dessert as this quail looks absolutely delicious. So sorry that the smoking stained your cabinets...ahhh well, at least you did it before you moved right?

Great job!

[soycap]

Hi Clement!

This is my first time commenting on any food blog but I just wanted to say that your quail looked awesome :) And congratulations to your new house and a new exciting kitchen!

[Lady Amalthea]

I just wanted to join everyone in saying your quail looks wonderful and congrats on your move. May only good things await you there.

And thanks so much for hosting. It was a lot of fun.

[robert wemischner]

In case you didnt know about it, Diana Rosen and I have written a book, Cooking with Tea published in 2000 by Periplus Editions; woefully out of print but available through on line booksellers....great site....and glad that you have shone the spotlight on tea as an ingredient. Sincerely,
Bon appe-tea!
Robert Wemischner.

[Barbara]

Thanks for hosting Clement. Enjoy getting to know your new kitchen. I'm sure you will both get along nicely.

[Rachel]

Hi Clement, your quail looks so beautiful. I've never smoked meats before, but I'm tempted... except, it worried me that your cupboards turned orange! Is this something you just have to accept as part of the smoking process?

[Rachel]

Hi Clement, your quail looks so beautiful. I've never smoked meats before, but I'm tempted... except, it worried me that your cupboards turned orange! Is this something you just have to accept as part of the smoking process?