2004 Rising Stars
Yield: 8 servings.
8 Texas Bobwhite Quail, semiboneless
5 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes
1 cup clarified butter or melted duck fat
1/2 lb. yellow chanterelle mushrooms
3 Tbsp. olive oil
6 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 Tbsp. cold butter
1 jumbo yellow onion
6 ears of sweet yellow corn
4 cups of chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
6 sprigs of thyme
to taste, sherry vinegar
to taste, salt and pepper
1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped
For Potatoes Anna: Wash and scrub potatoes vigorously to clean outside skin. Dry potatoes. Slice potatoes very thin (approximately 1/16" thick). Grease baking casserole pan with butter. Place potatoes layered in bottom of pan, overlapping each slice slightly. Brush each layer with clarified butter, salt and pepper. (Recommend skipping layers of salt and pepper to prevent over-seasoning). Continue layering until potatoes are 2" thick. Season top layer. Brush again with clarified butter. Cover pan with foil and bake at 375°F until potatoes are tender. To serve, carefully flip potatoes out of pan and slice into 2" squares.
For Sweet Corn-Thyme Sauce: Dice onion and saute with thyme over medium heat until translucent. While onions are sautÈeing, remove kernels from cob. Add corn kernels and chicken stock. Simmer for 15 minutes, reducing chicken stock by 25%, then add heavy cream and simmer for 10 minutes. Carefully put sauce in blender and blend until smooth. Strain sauce through a fine sieve. Add sherry vinegar to adjust acid level. Season with salt and pepper; keep warm for service.
For Chanterelle Mushrooms: Clean and wipe any natural dirt or grit from mushrooms. Quarter mushrooms. Heat sautÈ pan until it starts to smoke. Add olive oil; let oil get hot as well. Add mushrooms, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir mushrooms to prevent burning. SautÈ for 2 minutes, turn off heat and add 2 Tbsp. of cold butter.
For Quail: Cut quail skins on backbone side to open up quail. Do not cut both sides. Brush quail gently on skin side with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill quail on medium-high heat on skin side. Keep moving the quail to prevent burning skin and to crisp skin. Grill on skin side until it turns pink and juice starts to bubble on top. Once juice rises to top, flip over and grill for 1 minute. Let quail rest for 1 minute to redistribute the juices throughout the breast.
To plate: Place square of Potatoes Anna in center of plate. Pour sauce around potatoes. Place mushrooms on top of the potatoes. Place quail on top of mushrooms. Sprinkle dish with finely minced parsley.