[Sca-cooks] Need help with a recipe- quail

[Stefan li Rous]

Johnnae llyn Lewis commented:
> Quail can be found. The question remains
> will the feastgoers eat them. The last
> feast that I was at that served Quail saw
> large numbers of them returned whole to the
> kitchen untouched. The kitchen crew loved it
> because they got to eat the leftovers, but
> it seems a big waste to go to the trouble to get
> them and prepare them only to have them not eaten.

How big are quail? These are not small enough that you eat them
bones and all are they? The problem may well be that folks weren't
sure just how to eat these. I'm not sure how *I* would do this. Try
to pick teeny, tiny shreads of meat off of tiny bones? Pick up the
entire carcase and gnaw on it? Try to break apart the carcass with
the fork and knife and then try to pick off enough meat to eat?

Perhaps the populace just needs some instruction/direction. Do the
period courtesy books say anything about eating the small birds?
(Other than perhaps not to eat the bird whole and then spit out the
bones. :-) )

Stefan
Back from Gulf Wars. I am really, really hating the overhead and
hassle that is required to camp at a week long SCA event... At least
for just two people.

--
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
   Mark S. Harris            Austin, Texas          stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****