Roasted Quail with Blueberry Thyme Beurre Rouge and Blueberry Gastrique

Delicious! 
     This quail recipe is exceptionally nice!  Blueberry is a natural for quail.  Reed grain native wild rice, quail and blueberries does all add up to a very tasty Native American style entree.
     The gastrique should be made ahead of time.  The blueberry beurre rouge shoul be made while the quail are roasting.
     Blueberry Gastrique Recipe:  Heat 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water over high heat in a sauce pot.
     When the sugar cooks to a light amber brown color, add a handful of blueberries and stir.
     The blueberries will stop the sugar from cooking any further.
     Stir the candied sugar and blueberries together.
     Add about 1/4 cup of blueberry pomegranate vinegar.
     Add 1/4 cup of water.
     Bring the liquid to a boil.
     Reduce the temperature to medium/medium high heat.
     Stir the seized sugar as it melts back into the liquid.
     Add a pinch of sea salt.
     Simmer and reduce the blueberry gastrique, till it can glaze the back of a spoon.  The gastrique should look like a thin syrup.
     Pour the gastrique through a fine mesh strainer into a small bowl.
     Set the gastrique aside and keep it warm on a stove top.
     Roasted Quail Recipe:  Tuck the wings against the quail breasts.
     Use a bamboo skewer to pin the legs of each quail to the lower breast cage. 
     Place the 2 quail on a roasting rack in a roasting pan.
     Brush the quail with melted unsalted butter. 
     Season the quail lightly with a pinch each of ground sage, sea salt, black pepper and thyme leaves.
     Slow roast the quail in a 325 degree oven till they are fully cooked and light golden brown. 
     Remove the bamboo skewers.
     Keep the roasted quail warm. 
     Blueberry Thyme Beurre Rouge Recipe:  Heat a sauce pot over medium high heat.
     Add a splash of water.
     Add a handful of  blueberries.
     Add 2 pinches of thyme leaves.
     Add a generous splash of burgundy wine.
     Add a chopped shallot.
     Add sea salt and white pepper.
     Reduce the liquid, till it nearly becomes a syrup.
     Reduce the temperature to medium heat. 
     Add tiny splash of cream.
     Reduce the sauce, till it is becomes a medium thick sauce consistency. 
     Turn the temperature low heat. 
     Whisk about 8 pats of unsalted butter into the sauce. 
     When the butter emulsifies, thickens and combines with the red wine cream beurre blanc base, remove the sauce pot from the heat.
     Pour the blueberry beurre rouge through a fine mesh strainer into a small bowl.      
     Assembly:  Place a small mound of buttered cooked wild rice that is seasoned with sea salt and black pepper on the middle of a plate. 
     Set the roasted quail on each side of the wild rice. 
     Pour a very generous amount of the blueberry beurre rouge around the quail and rice onto the plate.
     Spoon a little bit of the blueberry gastrique over the roasted quail.
     Beurre rouge sauce is exceptionally rich, especially when blueberries and thyme are added.  The quail flavor is like a beautiful morning hunt's reward!  The rich red wine, thyme and blueberry reduction of the butter sauce is magnificent with quail.  The sharp blueberry flavor of the blueberry gastrique over the quail is a taste sensation!  The two sauce are nice together, because they have two diffent levels of blueberry flavor.  The wild river reed native rice is perfect with this entree.  This is a wonderful quail recipe!  ...   Shawna