Now THAT was good

My wife is visiting our daughter this weekend so I cooked up a dinner just for me. I tried a few new things and it all came out quite well.

Start with 2 Oregon chukar and 2 San Diego quail, plucked, with backbones removed. Soak for 2 hours in brine, 1 quart water with 1/2 cup salt, 2 tbs sage and 2 tbs white pepper.

Then, the side dish. Coarsely dice 1 onion and 1 red bell pepper. Cook in olive oil until onions are somewhat brown. Cut the kernels from 2 ears of corn, microwave the kernels for 3 minutes, then add to the onions and peppers. Add 1/2 cup canned drained black beans. Add 1/2 cup Goya "Sofrito" tomato cooking base. Add a bit of water and let it all cook for 5 minutes.

Finally, rinse the birds, tie the legs, season with a lot of ground black pepper, and grill until still pink in the middle. Baste the skin side with butter as the birds finish cooking.

I've never brined whole game birds before and this was simply outstanding. Definitely will do this with most grilled birds in the future. Even the legs were tender and very tasty.