Nutmeg spiced pan-roasted quail with pan reduction sauce

My aunt came up from Maryland to visit among other things this past week. She brought me a little surprise too, which I was quite happy about, it was 6 small quails as fresh as could be. Quail are a small gamey bird, which if cooked the right way are delicious. But since they are so small, its easy to overcook them and then they become dry which no one likes. Since it's such a gamey bird, I wanted to add some bold flavors to it that complement it well. I was thinking out of the box a little bit and went with a nutmeg/cinnamon/cayenne combo for a dry rub of sorts. It was spicy, gamey, juicy and a little salty all in one.

Pan-Roasted Quail

3 quails, spatchcocked

1 1/2 Tbsp grated nutmeg

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

1 Tbsp ground cayenne pepper

1 half lemon

1-2 sprigs rosemary

1/2 Tbsp clarified butter

salt and pepper for tasting

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 clove garlic, crushed

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. To spatchcock the quail, using scissors cut out the backbone. Then cut out the rib cage and the bone in-between it so it can lay flat.
3. combine all the spices and rub onto the skin of the quail, season with salt and pepper.
4. Heat the butter in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Sear the quail, skin side down for 2-3 minutes on until the skin is golden brown. Flip and cook for 2 minutes, then transfer into the oven for 5-8 minutes, add rosemary and lemon.
6. Transfer quails to a plate and add broth, and garlic to hot pan, scrapping up the brown bits. Reduce the sauce until slightly thicken, pour over quail, enjoy!