In the spring of 2013, chef Sean Brock will open a Husk restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee. He has spent large portions of time in that city researching his latest dish, a version of Nashville Hot Chicken made with South Carolina quail. Serve it with beer or milk at the ready.
The Food Issue
Browse selections from our March 2013 print magazine.Southern Radicle
An interview with Husk’s Sean Brock.Johnny Cakes
Brock shares an appetizer recipe that highlights some of his favorite southern ingredients.1 quail from Manchester Farms
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup corn meal, finely ground, from Anson Mills
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
kosher salt and black peppers
real buttermilke
cayenne pepper and smoked paprika
picked green tomato
Sally Lunn bread
The below instructions are meant as a simple guide to go with the video above.
Preheat a fryer to 350 degrees. Mix two parts cayenne pepper and one part smoked paprika in a dish to make your spice mix. Prepare the breading by mixing the flour, corn meal, onion powder, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt and black pepper. Pour enough buttermilk into a bowl so that the quail can take a bath in it. Add a pinch of salt to the buttermilk and move the bowl around. Season the quail with kosher salt on both sides. Season both sides of the quail with the spice mix. Bread the quail lightly. Knock the excess breading off. Give it a bath in the buttermilk. Bread the quail again, letting it sit in the dry mixture for a couple of minutes at a time so that any pockets fill in with the breading. Put the quail into the fryer for three minutes at 350 degrees. Mix three tablespoons of spice mix with two ounces of hot oil from the fryer to make a spice glaze. Remove the quail from the fryer and place on a pan. Coat one entire side of the quail with the spice glaze. Add a tablespoon of fryer oil on top. Place the bread on a plate. Place the quail on the bread. Add a pickle.