Best for: A five-hundred-year-old table in miniature — smoky little birds with a brick-red marinade.
The record comes from the conquerors themselves: Spanish accounts of Moctezuma II’s court describe feasts of hundreds of dishes carried in procession — roasted fowl, turkey, and quail among them — in a palace kitchen built on fire and the comal, the flat griddle at the heart of Aztec cooking. The emperor reportedly never ate the same dish twice in a day, and everything passed through flame or smoke on its way to him.
Our grilled take marinates quail in achiote and sour orange — flavors older than the empire they fed — and grills the birds fast and hot, the way small game has always wanted cooking.
Grill: Direct high heat. Equipment: Grill, instant-read thermometer, kitchen shears. Course: Main dish.
Ingredients
Total: 27 minutes
The achiote marinade
- 2 tablespoons achiote (annatto) paste
- 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
The quail
- 8 semi-boneless quail (about 4 ounces each)
- Lime wedges and warm tortillas, for serving
Directions
Stir the red marinade. Crumble the achiote paste into the orange and lime juices and whisk with the oil, garlic, salt, cumin, and oregano until smooth and brick-red. (The marinating itself is hands-off: coat the birds and refrigerate them 2 to 4 hours, or as long as overnight — the time is flavor, not work.)
Spatchcock the quail. Cut along each side of the backbone with shears, remove it, and press each bird flat. Flat birds grill evenly and fast, and every inch of skin meets the fire.
Wipe and dry. Lift the quail from the marinade, let the excess drip off, and pat the skin mostly dry — wet marinade steams; dry marinade chars.
Grill skin side first. Lay the birds skin side down over direct high heat and grill 5 to 6 minutes, until the skin is deeply colored and crisp at the edges.
Flip and finish. Turn once and grill 4 to 6 minutes more, until the thickest part of the breast reaches 165°F and the juices run clear.
Rest and serve the court’s way. Rest the quail 5 minutes, then serve two to a plate with lime wedges and warm tortillas — small birds, eaten with the hands, exactly as they’d have been at that table.
Grilling tip: Quail are quick and unforgiving — set up everything before the birds hit the grate, because from first sizzle to done is barely ten minutes.
