Explore Boneless Quail Breast Recipes

Taking Boneless Quail Breasts to the Kitchen

Though quail meat may still feel foreign to American home cooks, it’s a staple in European kitchens and is a Marx Foods bestseller!

Our Test Kitchen dynamic duo Liv and Jade set out to get acquainted with this newly popular protein and discover how easy and accessible boneless quail breasts truly are. “I thought of recipes that might work with subbing the quail breasts for chicken thighs,” says Jade.

Starting with beloved recipes from her childhood, Jade set out to create adult upgrades to kid-friendly chicken classics. “Things like BBQ chicken and norimaki chicken. That was my favorite recipe to eat when I was growing up. It’s like chicken nuggets, but better!”

Using quail made elegant recipes like Konbumaki even easier for Jade. “Konbumaki is a New Year’s dish in Japan. It’s visually stunning, but not too much work — especially if you have family members helping out!” It can take several hours to braise when using traditional ingredients like chicken thighs or pork, but “quail breasts are much more delicate, so they’re going to braise for less time.” This is a great dish to bring friends and family together in the kitchen, but using quail helps to cut down on cooking time — leaving more time for eating and enjoying! Get the Quail Konbumaki Recipe.

“These are actually really easy to work with,” says Liv. She tapped into her classic culinary skills and time spent in restaurant kitchens, drawing inspiration from a radicchio salad she used to make full of autumnal flavors and ingredients. “Those flavors — the sweet and bitter, not too heavy, just go really well with quail.”

She paired radicchio with seasonal delicata squash, another easy-to-work-with ingredient that’s big on flavor and visual appeal. “You can eat the skins, so you don’t have to peel them. The flavor and the texture are really good.” Fennel adds a sweetly earthy anise flavor while hazelnuts add crunch. Get Liv’s Quail Breast Salad Recipe.