A little help

[Rick Redhair]

Man this forum and you folks are great, if I have half of much fun with the BS i just ordered from Chez Bubba as I do reading this forum, life will be good!
I know the is a huge section of receipes that you all worked hard on but I would like a tried and true no brainer for a brisket or pulled pork for my first meal.
And for the second shot I would like to see what happens with some of the best little birds on the planet (Bobwhite Quail). Me and my dog worked pretty hard for these and I don't want to screw them up. (Dry them out or get to smokey)
thanks in advance.
Rick

[Rick Redhair]

Did i say something wrong?[?] Is quail a bad word? The silence is deafening!

[manxman]

Hi Rick,

I did a quick search of the forum and there is a dearth of information about smoking quail.

There are a few references, particularly to quail eggs but nothing substantial, maybe this is why there have been no replies to date!?

Suspect you may have to take the lead on this and report back to the rest of us!![:D]

welcome to the forum.

Manxman.

[Phone Guy]

Wrap them babies in bacon and all will be well. I love quail, Pheasants and all other forms of wild meat. Quail is not a bad word.[:p]

[Rick Redhair]

Thank you gentlemen! You gave my direction, now I am on a mission

[JJC]

Welcome to the Forum, RR!

Sorry for the deafening silnce . . . quail reminds of theat Hoosier that was one breath away from the Presidency and regularly uttered quotes like "It's great to be in Latin America, where everyone speaks Latin" while visiting a Central American country [;)][:D] (sorry, Chez--just couldn't help taking a poke at your home state, even though we Massholes have plenty to laugh at ourselves about without worrying about anyone else!).  The other reason it sometimes takes a bit longer to get a response is if the post comes Friday evening, expecially in the summer, when many of us are too ensconced in smoke and brew on the weekend to check the Forum as often as we might during the week.  

I've never done quail, and as Manx says there's little on the Forum about it.  However, I've had quail a few times (not smoked, just cooked in the oven) and it's pretty similar to other birds in taste, maybe a bit tastier without being too gamey???  If that's true, I would look up how Habanero Smoker does his cornish game hens, since they're about the same size.  When I do a small bird, I keep the temp relatively "medium" in the smoker (220-230F) and use 1.5-2 hours of smoke--something mild like apple is great, but I bet cherry might be interesting with quail, too.  Check the internal temp and pull when the thigh is 165F (best to use a remote temp probe like the Mav ET-73 so you don't have to open the door).  Hard to predict the cooking time, but could be as short as 1.5 hr if you crank up the temp to high, or 2.5-3 hr if you cook it at low-medium heat.  If you want a crisp skin, pull when the thigh is 160F and put in on a very hot grill or 450F oven for about 5-10 min before serving.

Since you posted on a Friday, I bet you've already done the quail, so be sure to let us know how it came out.  As PG said, a llittle bacon never hurts, and you might also consider brining the birds ahead of time to keep them moist.

HTH for the future, at least.

John
Newton MA

[MallardWacker]

If there is any dought,  ALWAYS WRAP IN BACON![:p]  I don't care what it is.


SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know.  But...