Instructions
Hickory Smoked Sea Salt
Step #2 - Soak wood chips in water. Turn smoker on and allow to warm to 200-225 degrees.
Step #3 - Add Sea Salt to small baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Try to get Salt on single layer.
Step #4 - Place Salt in smoker, adding wood chips every 30 minutes for about 4 hours.
Step #5 - Remove salt and add to small container. This will make more salt then you'll use for this recipe, so store it in a small mason jar or another sealable container to use later.
Green Devil Hot Sauce
Step #7 - Wash the peppers and tomatillo's
Step #8 - Cut the ends off of peppers and remove husk from Tomatillos.
Step #9 - Roughly cut the peppers, tomatillos, garlic and onion and add to a small saucepan.
Step #10 - Add Vinegar and Salt.
Step #11 - Bring mixture to boil. Then reduce to a simmer. Allow to simmer to 10 to 15 minutes.
Step #12 - Remove from stove and pour mixture in food processor.
Step #13 - Puree for 20 to 30 seconds.
Step #14 - Allow to cool, taste and add more salt if needed. This will make a good bit of hot sauce, more than you can use here. Save it for a month or so and use scrambled eggs or anywhere else you'd use hot sauce.
Buttermilk Biscuits
Step #16 - Combine 1 Cup All-purpose flour, 1/2 tbsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp of kosher salt in mixing bowl.
Step #17 - Take half a stick of unsalted butter and cut into small cubes.
Step #18 - Add butter to mixing bowl with flour and cut the butter into dough with Dough Blender tool. You don't need to over cut it. You want there to be chucks of butter in the dough.
Step #19 - Pour Buttermilk into your mixing bowl and combine with flour mixture.
Step #20 - Pour out onto a well-floured surface, gently kneading the dough a bit for a minute or two. Be sure to fold the dough over onto itself several times to create layers in the dough, but don't over do it here.
Step #21 - Flatten dough so it's about 3/4 " thick, then use a biscuit cutter to cut your first biscuit. Do not twist the biscuit cutter when cutting the biscuits. Twisting can seal the edges, so they don't rise. This only makes 2 thick biscuits. If you want more biscuits, you can cut your dough thinner or double the recipe.
Step #22 - Form the rest of the dough back into a 3/4" block and cut the remaining biscuit, there should be hardly any dough left, just a few trimmings.
Step #23 - Place the cut biscuits on a small cutting board and stick in the freezer for 30 minutes or so. This will help create flaking biscuits.
Step #24 - Preheat Oven to 425 Degrees.
Step #25 - Mix 1 tbsp of melted unsalted butter with 1 tbsp of honey. Use a brush to apply mixture to the top of biscuits. Now sprinkle tops with Hickory Smoked Sea Salt.
Step #26 - Add 1 tbsp of butter to a small cast iron skillet and stick it in the oven. This will help brown the bottom of the biscuits and give them a nice crunchy texture.
Step #27 - When the butter is melted, add the biscuits to the middle of the skillet making sure they touch, this will help them rise.
Step #28 - Cook in oven to 17-20 minutes, until they are done in the center.
Step #29 - Move the biscuits to wire rack or cutting board to cool.
Sausage Gravy
Step #31 - Add milk to saucepan and allow to heat on low for a while. Heat cast iron skillet on medium heat, adding sausage.
Step #32 - Cook sausage until done. You should have left over sausage grease in the skillet. If you don't have at least one tablespoon of grease, you might consider cooking some additional sausage or you can add a little butter in a later step.
Step #33 - Remove the sausage patties from skillet and add 1 tbsp of flour, using a fork to combine flour with left over sausage grease.
Step #34 - If your sausage doesn't make enough grease and your flour still looks powdery in the skillet, add 1 tbsp of butter.
Step #35 - The grease and flour should form a paste in the bottom of the skillet. Allow it to brown and bubble for a minute.
Step #36 - Pour in warmed milk and stir continuously until mixture starts to thicken. When you can run a spatula through the gravy and it leave streaks, take it off the heat.
Step #37 - Chop your cooked sausage into small piece and add to gravy.
Step #38 - Add black pepper and salt to taste.
Fried quail
Step #40 - Cut the breast meat out of your quail. Add to zip lock bag and pour buttermilk over top of quail. You might consider adding hot sauce to buttermilk mixture.
Step #41 - Place in the refrigerator for a 2 to 4 hours.
Step #42 - Remove from refrigerator and rinse buttermilk from quail. Dry meat with a paper towel.
Step #43 - Fill skillet with about an inch of oil ( vegetable or canola ) and set heat to medium.
Step #44 - Get three bowls for dredging station. Fill one bowl with 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour. One with 1/2 cup of buttermilk. In the last bowl, add 1/2 cup cornmeal and seasoning. I used Kosher Salt, Black Pepper, Paprika and Cayenne Pepper.
Step #45 - Dredge the quail breast in flour, lightly coating. Then Buttermilk, then cornmeal mixture. Add to fryer.
Step #46 - This only need to cook briefly. 1-2 minutes, until brown on each side.
Step #47 - Remove to paper towel lined plate.
Fried Quail Eggs
Step #49 - Add skillet to stove with 1 tbsp of butter. Set heat to medium low. Using a knife or quail egg scissors, cut the top of the quail eggs.
Step #50 - Gently pour three eggs into measuring cup, so as not to break the yokes. Pouring all the eggs into the pan at one time will help them cook evenly.
Step #51 - Now gently pour measuring cup with three eggs into skillet.
Step #52 - Cook for a few minutes, until eggs whites turn white.
Step #53 - Using a spatula, gently nudge the egg loose of the pan.
Step #54 - Take the whole skillet to plate and gently slide eggs out onto plate.
Step #55 - Repeat process for remaining three eggs.
Step #56 - Sprinkle eggs with fresh cracked black pepper and hickory smoked sea salt.
Step #57 - Drizzle eggs with hot sauce.
Step #58 - Add biscuits to plate and split them in half. Place two Quail breast on each side of the biscuit. Pour Sausage gravy over top of Fried Quail Breast.
