I would rub the birds with olive oil. Then add your favorite seasoning. As they start to take on smoke they will start to look dry. I spray mine down with apple juice about every 40 minutes. Also I brush then with apple cider vinegar and water. 1/3 cup of each when you mix. I usually brush them down a couple of times with this. Between the brushes with the mix I spray with apple juice. Pheasant I'm thinking 3.5 hours. Quail is smaller of course so less time
I would rub the birds with olive oil. Then add your favorite seasoning. As they start to take on smoke they will start to look dry. I spray mine down with apple juice about every 40 minutes. Also I brush then with apple cider vinegar and water. 1/3 cup of each when you mix. I usually brush them down a couple of times with this. Between the brushes with the mix I spray with apple juice. Pheasant I'm thinking 3.5 hours. Quail is smaller of course so less time
Lean birds like those will dry out and get tough! I would suggest the injector method of marinating and check with a meat thermometer to determine length of time.
You must inject something into them. Quail and Pheasant are both lean tight gain meat. HOT FAST cooking is what I prefer, looonnnng slow indirect cooking tends to always dry them out. I prefer grilled, fried over smoking.
The only time smoking quail worked well for me was with farm raised, store bought birds that had been plucked. If they are skinned it is hard to baste them enough to keep them moist when cooking low and slow.
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