I think I will start with the finished dish and the recipe first then show how to do the spatchcock afterwards.. 
I know that this picture does not do this justice but I promise you this got a five out five from DH and it was lick your fingers good!
Spatchcock the quail (see below, its super easy) and then make the marinade..
Marinade Recipe
- 3 tbsp or so of olive oil,
- 2 crush garlic cloves
- 1 tsp of red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup of good quality soy sauce of any kind you like.
- 1 tsp of raw honey
- Salt, fresh cracked black pepper or just use Montreal steak spice if you like it.
Mix it together, cover the quail and allow to sit together for at least 40 min but I did mine an hour..
Then as its cold, damp and windy, I didn’t make the fire, I did it in the oven in cast iron but it still turned out fab but the recipe calls for it on the BBQ. So I pre-heated my oven to 400 and put a little good bone marrow fat in the cast iron to get hot, then I put the quail in it, I basted once and added the last of the sauce in the pan and deglazed the pan with it and it was so good, we drizzled it on everything on the plate. Grill or bake for about 10 to 15 min.
Now all spatchcocking the quail mean is that you are going to take poultry shears or a very sharp knife in my case and cut along either side of the backbone and then remove it. Place your quail breast up on the cutting boards and open up the ribcage pushing down firmly to flatten the bird for even cooking..
Just another Day on the Farm 
Oh, that looks good! I have done that to a couple of chickens before roasting (spatchcocking), and I think it makes for a better result. And, of course, the spine goes in the stock pot.
Are these your quail?
It does make a difference that is for sure, I didn’t hatch them so they are not 100% from the farm but otherwise, yes.. got two more and one more recipe to use and then will have a few more ready in the next week or two after that..
I didn’t know you had quail. We used to have a few in the bottom of the aviary at one place I worked. I was trying to persuade lovely husband that we should get some coturnix for eggs. Unfortunately, when I bought some store eggs for him to try, he found them impossible to crack without getting shell in his eggs, so that put a bit of a dampener on the idea 😦 It now looks like the illegal chickens will happen, so maybe I can persuade him we should build a quail pen next to them 😉 they’re so funny and make such brilliant noises!
Hi Queen, What are coturnix?
About the eggshell “fragging” problem? Wondering if that might’ve been a symptom of inadequate calcium in the shells? (At least I think that’s what caused it in our chooks ‘way long time ago.) Wadda ya think FarmGal… Is my memory correct? And I remember Dad gave them oyster shell to fix the problem.
While its true that fragile eggs that crackle to easy and then chip shells are a sign that the hens need a pan or a refill of their oyster shell to use, when it comes to quail eggs, I have found IMO that they have very thick shells, making it very hard to get a clean crack on them, and they have a thick memberane and so they can indeed be quite hard to get apart without them chipping. I tend to crack them with a top tip back side of a table knife to get the best results.
That name is a type of the breed.. I have to admit that I am thought I would really enjoy quail and I do to a point, they are sweet funny birds, so friendly, (which in a way is a problem), but while great little egg layers and they would work perfect as a apartment or house layer set up, as you can have them in very cute set ups that would make them more like a pet bird then a “chicken” can etc..
However they are not good at broody and hatching, and they don’t live long, they are very short lived, which I find hard for those that I want to keep.
https://livingmydreamlifeonthefarm.wordpress.com/2011/03/12/local-bird-sales/