Bacon Wrapped Quail Bombs

These bacon wrapped quail bombs start off with the quail going into a chimichurri marinade overnight. The next day each quail breast is layered with jalapeño and cheese and wrapped with a slice of bacon. The quail bombs are then smoked until the quail is cooked through, the bacon is done and the cheese is melted. 

***Editor’s Note ~ This is not the first time we tackled quail on the site as this bacon wrapped quail is quite delicious but we were in need of an update of that one. It is also the perfect time to introduce the fourth Grillin’ Fool – Blake. As you know, this is a family affair with my Cousin (Tom) who did that quail recipe and of course my dad and now my cousin (Tom’s nephew) Blake makes four fools. And in his inaugural post, this animal assassin (code name for legendary hunter), starts with a game recipe: Bacon Wrapped Quail Bombs. I’ll hand it over to Blake from here***

Check out these grilled tater tot bombs!

No Italian Dressing

As a hunter, I’m sick of looking for new recipes and having to weed through all the Italian dressing marinades to remove the gaminess of the meat. In that spirit, I used a chimichurri marinade in lieu of the dressing and it really adds something special to this recipe. If you are looking for another way to remove the gaminess, check out this deer tenderloin. 

Bacon Wrapped Quail Bombs Ingredients

Chimichurri Marinade:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
• 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced
• 2 small red chilies, or 1 large red chili, deseeded and finely -chopped (about 1 tablespoon finely chopped red chili)
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 level teaspoon coarse salt
• pepper, to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon)

Quail Bombs:

• 5 Quail
• 5 Jalapeños
• 6 Limes, juiced
• 1/2 pound Smoked gouda
• 10 slices Applewood smoked bacon
• Your favorite BBQ rub
• Toothpicks

Step by Step Instructions

First up, combine all the ingredients for the chimichurri marinade in a large mixing bowl. Set aside and get to work on those quail.

Remove the breasts from the quail. If these birds were taken while hunting with birdshot be sure to check for the lead shot as it isn’t easy on teeth.

Each bird yields two breasts giving us 10 total. Once the breasts have been removed, place them in the bowl with the chimichurri and coat completely.

Now we were doing some glorified camping so we were relying on rental cabins for kitchen supplies thus a disposable aluminum pan became our mixing bowl:

Place the chimichurri marinating quail in the fridge for 4-24 hours. We generally do these overnight.

Next up, slice the jalapeños into halves and remove the white flesh and seeds.

Place in a container and add in the lime juice and refrigerate over night:

By adding lime juice to jalapeños it will tame the heat a touch and add a nice citrus flavor:

Assemble the Quail Bombs

The following day, slice the gouda into long, bite size chunks:

You will need 10 chunks of gouda:

Lay out a slice of bacon and place a quail breast on it an inch or so from the end:

Place a chunk of the gouda on top:

Then a chunk of jalapeño (feel free to trim the pepper and/or the cheese to fit the quail):

Now roll up that bacon:

I like to stick a toothpick through to help hold it together and it’s easier to handle when eating.

Now repeat that 9 more timesL

At this point you should dust the quail bombs with your BBQ rub, but we forgot to do it right here.

We did it a little later but this is the point we should’ve hit it with some seasoning.

Time for the Grill

Set the smoker to 250F, in this case our Green Mountain Grills travel smoker. We bring two of these on our family vacation in Northern Michigan every summer. We’ve done some magical stuff on these pellet cookers. Like these pork belly burnt ends with hot pepper jelly or crab and chorizo stuffed trout and let’s not forget that time we smoked some pig snoots! We are big fans of the Green Mountain line of grills. 

Place the bacon wrapped quail bombs into the smoker:

This is where we remembered to season the quail using this DB180 All Purpose Rub:

Close the lid and let the smoke and heat do their thing.

After about 20 minutes we are getting some color and the cheese is melting:

After another 10 minutes we’re coloring up nicely:

I like to crank up the heat towards the end to crisp the bacon for a touch for texture.

Pump the grill up to 400F. Internal temp of the quail should read 160-165:

Remove from the heat, allow to rest for a few minutes and enjoy.

With so many people on this trip, we like to chop these in half to double the amount of people who get a taste:

These have bones in them so they may need a little extra oomph:

Bacon Wrapped Quail Bombs Run Down

The biggest problem here is to make sure not to overcook the quail to make the bacon crispy. If you want the bacon really crispy then partially cook the bacon to render out some of the fat and let the bacon cool before wrapping up these bombs. When I get a chance to do that, I’ll update this game recipe.

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Bacon Wrapped Quail Bombs Recipe Card

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Bacon Wrapped Quail Bombs

Quail breast, marinated in chimichurri then topped with jalapeño and cheese, wrapped in bacon and smoked in a pellet grill to make bacon wrapped quail bombs

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Finger Food, Game

Cuisine: American, American Fare, Bacon, Cheese, Finger Food, Game, Grilling, Quail

Keyword: Appetizer, Bacon, Bacon Wrapped, Bacon Wrapped Quail Bombs, Bird, Game Recipe, Green Mountain Grills, Hunter, Hunting, Pellet Cooker, Pellet Grill, Pellet Smoker, Pig Shots, Quail, Quail Bombs

Servings: 10 People

Ingredients

Chimichurri Marinade

• ½ cup Olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Red wine vinegar
• ½ cup Finely chopped parsley
• 3-4 cloves Finely chopped garlic
• 2 Minced, small red chillies
• ¾ teaspoon Dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon Coarse salt
• Pepper to taste We used 1/2 teaspoon

Bacon Wrapped Quail Bombs

• 5 Quail
• 5 Jalapeños
• 6 Limes, juiced
• ½ pound Smoked gouda
• 10 slices Applewood smoked bacon
• Your favorite BBQ rub
• 10 Toothpicks

Instructions

Chimichurri Marinade

• Combine all the chimichurri marinade ingredients in a large mixing bowl (or disposable aluminum pan) and combine thoroughly
• Remove the breasts from the quail and place in the bowl with the chimi and coat completely
• Marinade in the fridge for 4-24 hours

Bacon Wrapped Quail Bombs

• Slice the jalapeño into halves and remove the seeds and white flesh
• Place the sliced jalapeño in a container with the juice of the limes and refrigerate overnight
• The following day, assemble the quail bombs by laying out a slice of the bacon
• Slice the cheese until there are 10 chunks of long, flat, bite sized gouda
• Place one of the quail breasts about an inch from the end of the bacon
• Add a chunk of gouda on top of the quail
• Add a slice of the lime marinated jalapeño
• Roll the quail/cheese/jalapeño in the bacon and skewer with a toothpick
• Repeat this process 9 times
• Season the bacon wrapped quail bombs with your favorite BBQ rub
• Set the pellet cooker to 250F and place the bombs inside
• After about 30 minutes, crank up the heat to 400F to help to crisp up the bacon
• Once the internal temperature reaches between 160F-165F remove from the heat, allow to rest and enjoy
• Slice in half to feed a larger crowd

Video

Blake Jones

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This article was initially published on: January 30, 2023