In December John and I were super fortunate to be invited on a weekend of quail hunting at a place called Oakland Club here in South Carolina. Thanks to the Evans (close family friends), we were in for two days of over-under toting, blaze-orange clad, horseback riding quail adventure.
Holy smokes it was fun.
Can you believe we are almost halfway through January? And that there are just a few short weeks left of duck season? I know! I feel like it just started. That’s probably also why I am just now posting about our post-New Year’s hunting (at least that’s my excuse). I kept thinking it was “just last weekend” but that’s clearly not the case!
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Oh, and quail.
But! I completely forgot to tell you about seeing a deer in my last post. Crazy! In the middle of the duck hunt, I looked across to the bank of the pond and thought, ‘Wow, did someone bring a Great Dane as their bird dog?” No kidding – a nice sized doe was trotting past the pond. Odd, and the first time I’ve ever seen a deer while duck hunting.
The fun doesn’t stop there, either.
Hello, friends! Did this weekend fly by for anyone else? Whew. How is it Monday? Well, we are undoubtedly in for at least one more cold snap in the weather, despite the summertime feel we have had the past several days, and I have the perfect recipe for you to enjoy. This quail pilau is easy, and feeds a crowd if you need it to do so. I made it before we went to California about 2 weeks ago, and it was a delightful comfort food before we left home. PS – When can we go back?
What a happy Friday, indeed, friends! Perusing the calendar earlier this week, I realized that today marks the one-year “birthday” of the bright side of the road! My mind is torn – I can’t decide if I feel like it has been much longer than one year, or just a few short months. But, with 87 posts, nearly 15,000 {just looked again we – are at nearly 17,000!!!} views, and a whole bunch of happy, happy news in between, I guess a year really makes sense! Didn’t we just reach 10,000? Gahh I feel like that was just last week, and that was the end of September! Well, let me just throw in another big THANK YOU to all of you readers! This has really been such a fun experience for me, and I look forward to delivering more stories and more recipes in the upcoming months. {Duck season is oh-so-close…!!!!}
As promised! The quail hunt from Saturday provided quite a bounty, and, as I mentioned, we had a big group over that evening for a little grilling fun. Everyone really enjoyed it, and I only wish we had another hunt on the books so we could do it again. {Side note- pardon the cheesy paper plates in the last two photos- when you have a bunch of people over for a casual grill-out, they make for a much easier clean-up!}
INGREDIENTS:
Quail- whole, skinned {we had 14 total, but were feeding 8-10. Adjust as needed!}
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp generic steak seasoning
2 tbsp lemon pepper seasoning
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 strip of bacon per quail
{*If you are grilling fewer quail, adjust your measurements accordingly!}
STEPS:
2. Once your birds are cleaned, place them in a large bowl with all of the olive oil and spices. Make sure each one is thoroughly coated, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let them do their thing in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
3. Take each quail and wrap it individually around the middle with one strip of bacon. Secure with a toothpick or two. Continue until each one is in its own little bacon blanket. And no, I did not suddenly get large hands and hairy arms. That’s the main squeeze being Mr. Chef!
4. Grill time! Quail are tender, delicious little birds, but can easily be over-cooked. Be careful!
Make sure the surface of your grill has relatively the same heat all the way across so the quail can cook evenly. Place them on the grill and cook for 15-18 minutes, flipping them at about half way point the cook time. You will know the quail is cooked through when it is slightly firm to the touch (think similar to a cooked chicken) and the juices run clear.
Check out those delicious char marks from the grill!
I baked some cubed sweet potato for a side, along with some spinach sauteed with garlic, onions, and tomato. Not your style? These beauties are so delicious, you could pair them with just about anything! Enjoy!
Hi all! Sorry for the lack of posts in the last week or so- it’s been quite slow on the hunting front over here! BUT! As I mentioned in the last #tbt post, I had been anticipating our exciting quail hunt in Denmark, SC for quite a while. This past Saturday was the day, and we really had a lot of fun. Arriving around 9 am, we gathered our gear and loaded up in the Willys jeep (also seen in the previous quail post). Unfortunately, we were unable to use the two mules again, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Inclement weather approaching, we wanted to get as many stops in as possible before getting rained out, and the jeep proved to be a much faster form of transportation. The first stop was quite a success- 7 quail down out of the first covey rise! Those little things can scoot, so reaction time is key. I had forgotten how much your adrenaline gets pumping when you see the dogs take off from their pens, sprinting into the brush, and then stop still in their tracks when they have found the quail. Their typically hyper-active bodies go rigid- almost perfectly still- in anticipation of the covey rise. We recently got a GoPro (Thanks Mom and Dad!) for my dad and me to take to Argentina in a couple of weeks, so this was the perfect adventure in which to try it out. Along with some incredible shots, we got about 35 minutes of video, so I am working on sorting through it putting it together in another video diary for you!
It started off cloudy and around 45 degrees out, which was actually very comfortable. However, it quickly dropped into the mid-thirties by 11 am, also giving us a nice amount of rain and sleet in which to hunt. Brrr rabbit. After only 4 more stops, it was time to head in for lunch. Unfortunately, the rain picked up even more, and we had to call the hunt. I won’t lie, it was pretty cold, and the thought of walking through the freezing rain was a bit too daunting. Nonetheless, we came home with 15 quail, and had everyone over that night for a grilling extravaganza. Bacon-wrapped quail recipe coming soon!
Can’t wait to share the recipe!
In anticipation of an upcoming hunt that I am super pumped about, today’s throwback thursday is from a quail hunt in 2011 in Denmark, SC. Which happens to be near Norway, SC. I kid you not. But both are close to Bamberg, in case you needed a point of reference. SO! Back to the quail hunt. We are fortunate enough to be going to the same place in a few short weeks, and I have found myself looking back through the photos and videos of the first hunt, getting more and more excited as the weekend nears.
We started the morning out bright and early in a buggy drawn by two huge mules named Adam and Steve.. (I think. Maybe giant donkeys? Or thick-coated horses?) Then it was off to the various locations of the quail throughout the property, where we would hop of out the buggy, grab/load our guns, and let the bird dogs get to pointing. Once the covey was flushed, we took our shots. And man, can those things scoot. Sporty shooting is always a lot of fun.
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| The cutest outhouse ever. |
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| Our fine steeds Adam and Steve |
After lunch, and once the bird dogs were loaded up, we went back out for round 2- this time in an awesome old jeep with bench seats built up on it. {Side note- pretty sure I need one of those jeeps… hint hint…} Canvasing the second half of the property, we went to chasing down the quail again and taking our shots.
Quite a successful hunt, I must say! It was such a beautiful day, and I really was sad when it was over. Can’t wait for round 2 in a few weeks!
