How to Clean a Quail
Here is one way to begin preparing quail for the table.
Equipment needed: a sturdy pair of kitchen or game shears.
At all steps in the process take care to avoid cutting yourself on the sharp edges of broken bones.
Start by removing both wings. Game shears are handy for this and all other steps in this process.
Remove both legs at the knee. There is no need to prove the sex of the bird by leaving one foot intact as with pheasants.
Remove the head cutting as close to the body as possible.
Grasping the skin at the top of the breast, pull skin and feathers down.
Pull skin over the legs and off the back.
Locate the crop at the top of the breast.
The crop will contain whatever food the bird has recently eaten. That lets you know where look for them the next time you hunt that area.
Remove the tail by cutting as close to lower body as possible.
Make a small cut at the base of the breast bone.
Bend the breast bone upward toward the neck area, separating the skin that covers the intestines. Remove the intestines, heart and lungs.
After washing, the bird is ready for storage until cooking.