Bird Hunting photo
SHARE

For the past few days I’ve been in Logan, Utah, hanging out with my friends from Camp Chef and Scott Leysath, filming a few segments for Leysath’s Sportsman’s Channel Show The Sporting Chef. Leysath has been schooling me on some new cooking techniques, including using cedar planks inside the Camp Chef Al Italia Pizza Oven. This recipe is simple and quick. Even the marinade time can be cut down to 30 minutes or so if you need to throw together a fast, yet fancy, dinner. And it’s not just for quail, either. We did three quail on one plank and a couple of plucked pheasant breasts on the other.

Cedar Plank Quail

Ingredients:
6 quail
2 lemons, juice and zest
1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 cup fresh mint, chopped
5 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry roasted cashews, chopped
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 fresh cracked pepper (to taste)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Special equipment needed: Cedar planks, soaked in water for 30 minutes prior to cooking.

Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and zest, basil, mint, garlic, cashews, and salt and pepper. While whisking, add the olive oil in a thin stream. Add the quail and toss to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat the pizza oven to 700 degrees. Place the quail on soaked planks and brown evenly on each side, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.

Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the quail and return to pizza oven to lightly brown.