A recent evening at dusk, my cat Quilty brought a freshly killed quail. I call her Quilty because of her patchwork coloring. She is small and dainty, and a good hunter. There is a steady population of about 30 quail at our place, so their reproduction keeps up with the predators.
I picked it up and yanked a few feathers...they came out readily. In a few seconds, the entire bird was plucked, so I decided to eat it myself.. Sorry Quilty, eat your dry food!
Then I cut off the head and hung it in the sink to drain the blood
… plucked the pin feathers and cut off the wing tips
Next I gutted the little birdy and rinsed it well. The crop contents are in the upper left: green rye grass grains. Note the little birdy's head and new feather crest! It was a youngster.
I rinsed the body well, patted it dry and sprinkled it with salt, pepper and olive oil. I put a little sprig of rosemary, a bit of garlic and a piece of bay leaf in the cavity. When I went back outside, Quilty was meowing over the pile of pulled feathers. Maybe she'd wanted it all for herself. The next day, I wrapped it in bacon secured with toothpicks and roasted it. It was a bit tough and very tasty.
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