Quail Or Partridge Or Rock Cornish Hens With Raspberry Sauce

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 12 quail or 6 partridges or 3 rock cornish hens
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup vinegar, preferably raspberry vinegar
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen raspberries, thawed (reserve juice)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch, mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 small carrot, chopped
• 1 small onion, copped
• 1 small garlic clove, chopped
• 1 (10 ounce) can beef bouillon, undiluted
• 1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
• 1 sprig fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• salt and pepper

Recipe

• 1 prepare rich brown stock: in a heavy saucepan, melt butter and stir in carrot, onion and garlic; cook over medium low heat until soft.
• 2 add bouillon, celery and herbs and simmer, uncovered, until stock is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 1 to 2 hours. skim surface to remove foam as necessary. season with salt and pepper to taste and strain through a sieve. makes 1/2 cup.
• 3 truss birds with string to hold wings and legs close to the body.
• 4 in a heavy frypan, melt butter and sauté birds over medium high heat until browned on all sides. place birds in a large casserole dish.
• 5 pour off butter from frypan and add vinegar and brandy to pan; bring to a boil and stir to scrape up brown bits from bottom; add juice from raspberries and boil until reduce by half. add rich brown stock and simmer sauce for 2 minutes. (recipe may be prepared in advance to this point.).
• 6 pour 1/2 cup hot sauce over birds. cook, covered, in 375°f oven for 35 minutes (50 minutes for cornish hens).
• 7 stir cornstarch and water mixture into remaining hot raspberry sauce, bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. just before serving, stir in raspberries. use quail cooking juices to thin syrup if necessary.
• 8 remove string from birds (cut cornish hens in half) and arrange on a hot serving platter on top of a bed of saffron rice with currants. ladle sauce over birds until glazed and pass remaining sauce separately. makes 6 servings. for saffron rice with currants and snow peas go to search for the recipe.
• 9 canadian living the merry christmas cookbook special.