Braised Quail with Apples

Ingredients

• 6 sour apples
• 2 sprigs sage
• 2 shallots
• Salt
• Pepper (freshly ground)
• 2 quails (about 800 g each)
• 250 ml dry white wine
• 250 ml poultry stock

Instructions

1. 1.

   Peel the apples, quarter them, remove the cores and dice the quarters. Roughly chop the sage. Peel the shallot and finely dice it. Mix the apples with the sage and season with salt and pepper.

2. 2.

   Preheat the oven to 160 °C (320 °F) with both fan and top heating.

3. 3.

   Rinse the quails and pat them dry. Season the cavity with salt and pepper, then fill with some of the apple mixture, leaving a little space. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine and season the outside with salt and pepper. Brown the quails in a roasting pan in hot oil all around. Remove from the pan and sauté the remaining filling briefly. Deglaze with wine and return the quails breast‑down to the pot. Add some stock, cover, and braise in the oven for about 30 minutes. If needed, add more stock. Flip the quails and braise another 30 minutes until cooked through.

4. 4.

   Taste the sauce, remove the twine, and serve.