This recipe and more can be found in "Entertaining at the College of Charleston (1998)" by Zoe Sanders.
Zoe and her husband, Alex Sanders (19th president of the College of Charleston from 1992-2001) demonstrate how to make her mother’s game chicken recipe. Sixteen quail or boneless chicken breasts are more than enough for 8 people. This recipe is also good for doves and boneless chicken breasts as well. The recipe can be increased to serve as many people as you would like to serve, but surprisingly, the one-hour cooking time remains the same. Serves 8
Ingredients
16 4 to 5-ounce quail
12 ounces of extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
¼ cup dried oregano
4 cups of all-purpose flour in a large doubled brown grocery bag
2 large onions chopped
2 large green bell peppers cored, seeded and chopped
1 ½ sticks of butter for browning quail
6 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 salt
¼ teaspoon of pepper
1/3 cup of quality dry sherry
2 cups of water
1 slice of white sandwich bread torn into breadcrumbs
12 inch frying pan
roasting pan or Dutch oven
preheat oven to 350°F
Directions
Into a large bowl, add the quail and pour in the olive oil, mixing well. Add generous amounts of salt and pepper to the inside and outside of the quail and add about ¼ cup oregano. Mix thoroughly. Alex loads the quail into a double bag brown bag containing flour to coat the quail before browning. If you wish, you can use Zoe’s approach and roll the quail in flour on a plate but Alex will ask where is the drama in that? Set aside the bowl containing the olive oil and seasonings that were used to season the quail as you will be using the oil and seasonings again. Heat 1 ½ sticks of butter in large frying pan on medium high until hot but not smoking. Sauté quail until brown all over. The quail will not be cooked through in the skillet. After browning the birds, place them close together, breast side up, in roasting pan or a large Dutch oven.
Into the butter and pan drippings from the browned quail, add the reserved olive oil and seasonings. Add the green peppers and onions and fry until they soften and brown. Whisk together tomato paste, sherry water, salt and pepper and pour over peppers and onions. Cover and simmer on low for 10 minutes, or until mixture begins to thicken. Add the torn breadcrumbs and mix well. The crumbs are important as they will cook into the mix and will thicken the sauce. Zoe pours sliced mushrooms into Dutch oven on top of quail. When the sauce has thickened a bit, pour it over the quail and mushrooms. Cover Dutch oven and bake quail at 350°F degrees for one hour. Set aside for at least one hour before serving. Spoon gravy over quail and reheat 15 minutes, or until hot. Serve quail on a platter and sauce in a gravy boat.
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