Ingredients

The following ingredients have 5 Servings
  • 2 pheasants or 4 chukars or 8 quail
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • lemon peel from 1 lemon, (white pith removed)
  • 1 large onion, (sliced into half-moons)
  • 2 large carrots, (peeled and sliced into disks)
  • 5 garlic cloves, (chopped)
  • 1/2 cup sherry or white wine vinegar
  • 3 cups white wine
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon saffron
  • Salt

Instruction

  • Cut your birds into serving pieces (leave quail whole) and salt them well. Set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or pot with a lid over medium heat and cook the lemon peel in the oil until it browns. Remove and either discard or eat (it's tasty!). This adds another layer of flavor to the escabeche.
  • Cook the birds. You have two choices here. Either brown them in the olive oil you just flavored with lemon, or paint them with that olive oil and grill them over an open fire. I do the former in winter, the latter in summer.
  • Saute the onion and carrots in the lemon-flavored olive oil until just beginning to brown. Add the garlic and saute for a another minute, stirring often.
  • Pour in the vinegar, white wine, all the herbs and spices and bring to a simmer. Return the birds to the pot and add a little water if you need more liquid: You want the birds to be almost submerged, but not completely so. Cover and simmer slowly for 90 minutes. Let the birds cool in the sauce for an hour or so.
  • Serve cold, warmed up or at room temperature with white wine or beer, and either boiled potatoes or lots of crusty bread.