How to eat a spruce tree

OK - for my bona fides, I'm a microbiologist and have made a career of quality control in food processing including meat processing so I know what I am talking about.

There are two kinds of smoked pork chops, cold smoked and hot smoked. Cold smoked pork chops aren't heat processed, so they aren't cooked. They have the redder color and the more resilient, moister feel of raw meat. You are only apt to run into them in specialty meat markets or at small local butchers. These need to be cooked to 145F to be safe and palatable to eat. What you find in the grocery store and most meat markets is almost always hot smoked. It is heated during the smoking process and is fully cooked, just like a smoked ham. It looks and feels to the touch liked cooked meat. That sounds like what you have. If you aren't sure ask the butcher or meat department manager. They should know. If they don't, buy your meat elsewhere.

Having said all that, it is common to find the smoked pork chops in the meat case right alongside the raw pork. Being exposed to raw meat undoes the kill step the heat of cooking does to foodbourne microorganisms. Salmonella, e.coli and other organisms are easily transferred from utensils, trays and workers hands back onto the cooked meat. This could be done in the meat case, or in wrapped product it could happen in the back room where the chops are cut up and wrapped. Organisms that find their way onto the meat quickly grow and spread over the meat's surface and may find their way into the interior of the cut through any break in its surface. Unless you are certain it has been factory wrapped, sealed and labelled rather than in the store you should treat it as raw meat and heat it to 145F before serving. At the least be sure the surface of the meat has been seared before serving. I just don't trust the expertise and commitment to providing safe foods you are apt to find in a grocery store or butcher shop. On the other hand, if it looks like it came from a factory already sealed in plastic wrap I would feel certain it was processed on a line that only processes cooked meat and is promptly sealed. I would have no qualms about eating it cold right out of the package.

Three potential methods or changes you can try:

1. soak the quail in brine for 2-3 hours before searing. You can do this in a large zip-lock sack or in a covered bowl. Make sure to store the quail/brine combo in your refrigerator during the soaking.

2. Let quail reach room temperature before cooking.

3. Pan-searing the quail might dry out the smaller pieces, i.e. the bony wings or legs. Try your 20-minutes cooking in a very hot oven, making sure not to burn or sear the quail too much. Similar to cooking a turkey, cover the thinner pieces with foil so they dry out more slowly.

Ultimate method: use a "Sous Vide" method - you basically seal the quail and your flavorful broth in a vacuum seal bag, making sure to get as much air out as possible before sealing. Then you slow-cook the bag+contents in a Sous Vide hot-water bath. Instead of buying an expensive/French Sous Vide cooker, just follow these steps for very similar results: http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/04/cook-your-meat-in-a-beer-cooler-the-worlds-best-sous-vide-hack.html

Note: to get a good finish, after cooking the quail to tender in a Sous Vide bath, you can sear the quail a little bit with a cook's blow-torch (for good presentation) or just pan sear it quickly in a hot pan.