Crispy Fried Quail with Hot Honey, Pickle-Brined Waffle, and Infused Pimento Cheese Butter

Crispy Fried Quail with Hot Honey, Pickle-Brined Waffle, and Infused Pimento Cheese Butter

This is Nashville hot chicken’s fancy little cousin who went to culinary school and came back dangerous. Whole quail get brined in dill pickle juice overnight, dusted in seasoned flour spiked with cayenne and smoked paprika, then pressure-fried until the skin shatters like glass. They sit on a fat, square waffle made from batter laced with pickle brine and black pepper. The whole thing gets absolutely drenched in cayenne-garlic hot honey and finished with a melting pat of pimento-cheese compound butter that’s been quietly holding 20 mg of perfectly clean THC.

Serves 8 people (1 whole quail each)  

Active time: 2½ hours | Total time: 36 hours plus 10-day infusion  

Dosage: 20 mg THC per plate (160 mg total in the butter)

Infusion (start 10–12 days ahead)  

Decarboxylation  

4.55 g cannabis flower testing 22 % THC  

240 °F, 40 minutes, cool in the oven.

Infused pimento cheese butter (makes 1 lb, exactly 160 mg usable THC)  

1 lb (4 sticks) highest-quality unsalted butter, softened  

8 oz sharp aged cheddar, grated fine  

4 oz jarred diced pimentos, drained  

2 tsp Worcestershire  

1 tsp cayenne  

1 tsp garlic powder  

½ tsp onion powder  

4.55 g decarbed flower  

1 tsp sunflower lecithin granules

Beat everything except the weed in a stand mixer until smooth. Transfer to a big mason jar, add lecithin and decarbed weed, water-bath at 185 °F for exactly 2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes. Strain hot through cheesecloth + coffee filter. Whip until fluffy while still warm. Roll into a log, chill solid. Slice into 8 thick coins.

Pickle brine (for quail and waffle)  

1 gallon dill pickle juice (straight from the big jug)  

½ cup kosher salt  

¼ cup sugar  

2 tbsp black peppercorns  

8 cloves garlic, smashed  

Big handful fresh dill

Quail brine  

8 whole semi-boneless quail  

Submerge completely in the pickle brine, weight down, refrigerate 18–24 hours.

Waffle batter  

2 cups all-purpose flour  

2 tbsp sugar  

1 tbsp baking powder  

1 tsp baking soda  

1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper  

1 tsp kosher salt  

2 cups pickle brine (from above)  

¾ cup buttermilk  

2 large eggs  

½ stick melted butter

Whisk dry, whisk wet, combine. Rest 30 minutes.

Dredge for quail  

3 cups AP flour  

1 cup cornstarch  

3 tbsp kosher salt  

2 tbsp cayenne  

2 tbsp smoked paprika  

1 tbsp garlic powder  

1 tbsp onion powder  

2 tsp black pepper  

1 tsp baking powder

Fry oil: peanut or canola, 350 °F (use a countertop fryer or heavy Dutch oven)

Hot honey  

1½ cups clover honey  

½ cup Frank’s RedHot  

¼ cup unsalted butter  

3 cloves garlic, grated  

2 tsp cayenne (more if you’re brave)  

1 tsp apple-cider vinegar

Warm everything together until married.

Assembly  

Drain quail, pat bone-dry. Toss in the dredge, shake off excess. Pressure-fry at 320 °F for 8 minutes (or regular fry 6–7 minutes until 165 °F internal). Drain on racks.

While they fry, cook waffles in a hot, buttered Belgian waffle iron until golden and crisp on the outside.

Plate: big square waffle, one shatter-crisp quail on top, one thick coin of pimento cheese butter dead center, drown the entire thing in hot honey. Serve with an ice-cold beer or sweet tea.

20 mg THC per plate.  

It hurts so good.