This recipe for cooking quail kebab without oven with Iranian saffron uses a gentle poach followed immediately by grilling, giving the small birds time to cook through while repeated saffron, lemon and butter basting builds colour.
Quail is lean and can dry out over fierce heat. Keep the grill moderate, turn the skewers often and use a thermometer rather than judging doneness from colour alone.
Quail kebab without oven ingredients
- Whole quail: enough to weigh about 1,200 grams
- Fresh lemon juice: the original recipe lists 2 1/2 cups; begin with 1/2 cup and add more only as needed
- Raw onions: 3, sliced
- Brewed saffron: as needed
- Olive oil: 1/2 cup
- Celery: a few chopped leaves and stalks
- Fresh parsley: a few stalks
- Melted butter: as needed for basting
- Salt and black pepper: as needed
- Water: 2 to 3 glasses
Prepare the quail safely
Remove any remaining feathers and trim away damaged pieces. Pat the quail dry with paper towel. Do not rinse raw poultry in the sink, where splashed water can spread contamination to nearby surfaces.
Keep the birds refrigerated until the cooking water and aromatics are ready. Wash the knife, board and your hands after handling them, and use a clean plate for the cooked quail.
Gently poach the quail with onion and celery
Put the quail in a wide pot with 1 or 2 of the sliced onions, a few celery leaves and stalks, the parsley stalks and 2 glasses of water. Add the third glass only if the pot is too dry for a gentle simmer.
Cover and simmer over low to medium heat until the birds are partly cooked and their joints have begun to loosen. They should remain firm enough to hold on skewers. Do not cool or store them at this stage; move directly to seasoning and grilling so the cooking process remains continuous.
Mix the saffron, lemon and butter baste
Combine the 1/2 cup olive oil with 1/2 cup lemon juice, brewed saffron, salt, black pepper and enough melted butter to make a fluid baste. For a strong infusion without unnecessary water, follow the best way to brew saffron.
The earlier ingredient list specifies 2 1/2 cups of lemon juice, which is much more than most cooks will need for 1,200 grams of quail. Keep the remaining juice aside and add it only if the number or size of the birds requires more baste. Discard any mixture that has touched raw or partly cooked poultry unless it is boiled before reuse.
Season and skewer the quail
Lift the warm quail from the pot and let excess liquid drain. Coat each bird with some of the saffron-lemon mixture, working it around the legs and wings.
Thread the quail securely onto flat metal skewers as you would small grilled chickens. Arrange the remaining sliced onion around them only if your grill basket or pan can hold it safely; loose onion pieces can fall into the flame.
Grill the quail without an oven
Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for moderate, indirect heat. If cooking indoors, use a heavy ridged grill pan over medium-low heat with good ventilation. Do not use wooden skewers over an open indoor flame.
Place the skewers over the gentler part of the grill. Turn every few minutes and brush lightly with clean saffron-lemon butter as the surface dries. Quail needs a little more patience than its size suggests: strong heat can brown the skin while the meat beside the bone remains undercooked.
Continue until the thickest part of the breast and the innermost thigh both reach 165°F (74°C), keeping the thermometer tip away from bone. The USDA safe-temperature chart gives 165°F for all poultry.
Rest and serve
Move the cooked quail to a clean platter and rest for 5 minutes. Brush with a final spoonful of saffron butter that has never touched undercooked poultry, then serve while hot.
Rice, grilled tomatoes, fresh herbs and lemon wedges work well alongside the kebab. Let diners add extra lemon at the table instead of making the basting sauce sharply acidic from the beginning.
Keep the quail tender
- Poach gently; a hard boil tightens the lean meat.
- Move from poaching to grilling without an interruption or cooling period.
- Use moderate heat and turn the skewers regularly.
- Baste in thin layers rather than soaking the skin.
- Confirm 165°F (74°C) in the breast and inner thigh with a thermometer.
The finished quail kebab should be evenly browned, fragrant with saffron and still moist at the joints. The lemon brings freshness, but the bird and saffron should remain the main flavours.
