To dress quails a la Braise
Farce the bellies of your Quails with a good farce, made of the breast of a Capon, Beef-Marrow and the Yolks of raw Eggs, season’d with Salt, Pepper, and a little Nutmeg. Stew them in a stewpan having first garnished the bottom of it with slices of Bacon and Beef, both beaten; place your Quails upon them, and put in a piece of raw Ham, minc’d and season’d with Salt, pepper and a bunch of Savoury Herbs; lay over them in like manner some beaten slices of Beef and Bacon; cover your stewpan very close, and put fire over and under. While this is thus stewing, make a Ragoo of Veal or Lamb Sweetbreads toss’d up in Butter and Mushrooms, Truffles and Cockscombs; put in the Quails a little before you serve, and bind your Ragoo with a good white Cullis, or with the Yolks of Eggs beaten up in Cream; when you would serve them with a brown, moisten the Ragoo with Gravy, and thicken it with a good Cullis of Ham and Veal, if you have not any Cullis of Partridges. Take the Quails out of the Ragoo, lay them in a dish, pour your Ragoo upon them, and serve them for the first course.
Top make a Fricassee of Quails
Toss them up in a saucepan with a little meted Bacon, some Mushrooms, Morils and Truffles, with a slice of Ham well beaten; let your Seasoning be Salt, pepper, Cloves and a bunch of Savoury Herbs. If you have no Cullis, you may put in a little flour, give it two or three turns over the stove, moisten it with good Gravy and add a glass of Champaign Wine, and set it to simmer over a slack fire; when they are almost done, thicken the Ragoo with a good Cullis; but if you have none, then let your thickening be two or three Eggs beaten up in a little Gravy or Verjuice; so serve them.
Another Way to dress Quails
Slit your Quails along the back; make a farce with scraped Bacon, a little of the lean of a Ham one Truffle, some Fowls Livers, and the Yolk of a raw Egg; the whole minced and pounded together, and season’d with Salt, pepper, Nutmeg and Savoury herbs; farce your Quails with it, then garnish the bottom of a stewpan with slices of Bacon and some of Veal over them; then lay in your Quails, the Breasts downwards; cover them with slices of Veal and Ham, both season’d as well those under them as those upon them, with Salt, pepper, Savoury Herbs and Spices. Lay a plate over the meat, so as that it may touch it, and a Napkin all round the plate; then cover the stewpan with its own cover; set it over a gentle fire, and stew it very softly two hours; the moment before you serve, open the stewpan; take out the slices of Veal and Bacon, and set your quails over a stove to brown them; when they are fine and brown, and the Liquor sticks to the stewpan, take them up, lay them in the dish in which you intend to serve them; take out all the fat that remains in the stewpan; moisten that which sticks to it with half Broth, half gravy, to loosen it, strew in a little pounded Pepper, squeeze in the juice of a lemon, strain the whole through a /Sieve upon the Quails, so serve them.
Note: That Pigeons, Chickens and Partridges, are dressed in the same manner.
To make a Pupton of Quails
Take according to the quantity you would make, some Veal, Beef Suet and Bacon with a little Parsley and Chives, a little of the lean of a Ham and few Mushrooms; season this with Salt, Pepper, Cloves, Nutmeg, Savoury herbs, and a dozen Coriander-seeds pounded; add to this the crum of a French Roll soak’d in Cream, and the Yolks of four or five raw Eggs, has the whole together and pound it in a mortar. Garnish the bottom and sides of a large saucepan with slices of Bacon, and then with some of the Farce; rubbing your hand with beaten Egg to make the Farce lie the more smooth and even; then having made a Ragoo of Quails as directed above, lay them into the saucepan, cover them with the same farce, for fear the sauce of the Ragoo should get out, and rub the farce over with beaten Egg; lay over all some Bards of Bacon; then set it to bake with fire over and under it. When it is enough done, turn it upside down into the dish in which you intend to serve it; make a hole in the top of it of the size of a crown piece, pour in some Cullis or other; so serve it for the first course, either with garnishing or without.
To roast Quails
Having truss’d the Quails, stuff their Bellies with beef Suet and Sweet Herbs chopp’d well together. Spit them on a small spit, and when they grow warm, baste them with water and Salt, but afterwards with Butter and drudge them with flour. For sauce, dissolve an Anchovie in Gravy, into which put two or three shallots sliced and boil’d, the juice of two or three Shallots sliced and boil’d and add the juice of two or three Sevil Oranges, and of one Lemon; dish them in this sauce, and garnish with Lemon Peel and grated Manchet; Be sure to serve them up hot.
