Blackened Breakfast Quail over Cheesy Grits

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Prep Time: 5 miin - Cook Time: 6 min

I was trying to think of something quick I could cook myself for breakfast the other day, I know Shrimp and Grits are a southern classic, so I thought Id try to do a variation of that by cooking some Blackening Quail Breast and serving them over some Cheesy Grits. It's super quick to make, the grits only take five to six minutes to cook. If you time everything just right, you can have the quail and grits prepared, cooked and ready to eat in under ten minutes. One of my favorite meals to eat is Blackened Catfish fillets over Cheesy Grits. I like to cook it at home for lunch or dinner if I'm by myself, because they are so quick and easy to make, but super delicious and filling.



We recently moved into a smaller house with a smaller refrigerator, so I've been trying to use up some of my game bird meat to make room in the freezer. I have Quail we've killed training dogs, but I also have meat that I've purchased at the grocery store and online. Unfortunately, we don't really have that many wild birds around this part of Tennessee anymore, not like it was when I was a kid. These Quail Breast I had purchased online, it was only the breast meat, no bones, filleted so that both breasts were still connected as one piece. This allowed the breast to lay flat in the cast iron skillet ensuring that it made good contact with the cast iron pan. You might need to flatten your breast meat, depending on how it's cut. You can do so by covering it in plastic wrap and pounding it with a mallet a few times. Once it's flat, season it with salt, pepper, and blackening seasoning. Ensure that your skillet it hot and your buttered browned before adding Quail meat to skillet. These thin pieces of meat will cook super-fast!


 

Ingredients



Blackened Seasoning


  2 tbsp Smoked Paprika
  1/2 tbsp Garlic Powder
  1/2 tbsp Onion Powder
  1/2 tsp Ground White Pepper
  1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
  1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
  1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
  1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Chessy Grits


  1 cup(s) Water
  1/2 cup(s) Grits
   Salt
  1/2 tbsp Butter
  1 cup(s) Shredded Cloby Jack Cheese
  1 pinch Cayenne Pepper

Blackened Quail Breast


  6 Whole Quail Breast
  1 tbsp Butter
   Blackening Seasoning
   Ground Black Pepper
   Salt
   Fresh Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, as garnish


Instructions


Blackening Seasoning


Step #1 If not using store bought Blackening Seasoning, combine Paprika, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Ground Pepper, Oregano, Thyme and Cayenne Pepper in a bowl.





Cheesy Grits


Step #1 Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in small saucepan.



Step #2 When water reaches a boil, slowly add in grits, using a whisk to combine.



Step #3 Add in a dash of salt, reduce to a simmer and cover. Allow to cook for 5 to 6 minutes. When done, add in a dash of cayenne pepper and 1/2 tablespoon of butter.




Step #4 Stir in one cup of Cloy Jack Cheese.




Blacken Quail Breast


Step #1 Add one tablespoon of butter to a cast iron skillet, setting heat to medium high. Allow butter to melt and start to brown



Step #2 Dry quail breast with paper towels. Depending on the cut of your meat, you may need to use a mallet and flatten the breast meat a little, ensuring that it makes full contact with the skillet. You can do so by wrapping in plastic wrap or putting in a unsealed zip lock bag and pounding a few times with a mallet.




Step #3 Season quail breast generously with Salt, Pepper and the Blackening seasoning, on both sides.



Step #4 Add to hot skillet and allow to cook for a few minutes. These are small and won't take long to cook so make sure your skillet it hot.



Step #5 Once browned flip and cook the other sides.



Step #6 When done, remove to a plate to rest




Step #7 Add cheesy grits to plate, top with Blackened Quail Breast and garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.



Recipe Card

Blackened Breakfast Quail over Cheesy Grits

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Prep Time: 5 miin - Cook Time: 6 min



Ingredients



Blackened Seasoning


2 tbsp Smoked Paprika
1/2 tbsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tbsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Ground White Pepper
1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Chessy Grits


1 cup(s) Water
1/2 cup(s) Grits
Salt
1/2 tbsp Butter
1 cup(s) Shredded Cloby Jack Cheese
1 pinch Cayenne Pepper

Blackened Quail Breast


6 Whole Quail Breast
1 tbsp Butter
Blackening Seasoning
Ground Black Pepper
Salt
Fresh Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, as garnish


Instructions



Blackening Seasoning


Step #1 - If not using store bought Blackening Seasoning, combine Paprika, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Ground Pepper, Oregano, Thyme and Cayenne Pepper in a bowl.

Cheesy Grits


Step #1 - Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in small saucepan.
Step #2 - When water reaches a boil, slowly add in grits, using a whisk to combine.
Step #3 - Add in a dash of salt, reduce to a simmer and cover. Allow to cook for 5 to 6 minutes. When done, add in a dash of cayenne pepper and 1/2 tablespoon of butter.
Step #4 - Stir in one cup of Cloy Jack Cheese.

Blacken Quail Breast


Step #1 - Add one tablespoon of butter to a cast iron skillet, setting heat to medium high. Allow butter to melt and start to brown
Step #2 - Dry quail breast with paper towels. Depending on the cut of your meat, you may need to use a mallet and flatten the breast meat a little, ensuring that it makes full contact with the skillet. You can do so by wrapping in plastic wrap or putting in a unsealed zip lock bag and pounding a few times with a mallet.
Step #3 - Season quail breast generously with Salt, Pepper and the Blackening seasoning, on both sides.
Step #4 - Add to hot skillet and allow to cook for a few minutes. These are small and won't take long to cook so make sure your skillet it hot.
Step #5 - Once browned flip and cook the other sides.
Step #6 - When done, remove to a plate to rest
Step #7 - Add cheesy grits to plate, top with Blackened Quail Breast and garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.


About the Author

Jeff Davis
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You may think cooking and recipes don’t have much to do with a website dedicated to hunting dogs ... but really, why do we hunt? Sure, we enjoy watching our dogs work in the field and being outdoors, but ultimately, hunting is about survival and feeding our families. We might as well try to do it well. I'm not a chef and definitely no food authority ... but I do like to eat and enjoy cooking. After searching for people willing to share their recipes on Gundog Central, without much success, I decided to try to do a few on my own, with my wife Tami's help. The recipes I share here are things I like to eat and have made here at home. I've tried to include step-by-step instructions with each meal describing exactly how I did it, but my method may not be best, if you decide to try a recipe posted here, please use whatever technique you think works best, I'm simply sharing how I did it. You'll see a lot of recipes where I've tried to make things from starch, when I could have just used store bought ingredients, simply because I wanted to learn how something was done. My goal is to continually update these recipes as I learn new things and techniques. These are my attempts at creating good, home cooked food, that I would like to eat! If I'm sharing it here, my family and I enjoyed it and I believe you will too.