Duck Strognoff with Celeriac Dumplings

Duck time! I slow-roasted a whole duck to start with, then this is one of the things I made with the leftovers. You could use sautéed sliced duck breast instead, but I looked at the price of 2 duck breasts versus the price of a whole duck, and basically I could have the legs and the rest of the duck thrown in for an additional cost of less than a quarter of the price of buying just the breasts. I just can't help being frugal even if it means I spend more money - after all, it also means I get more duck. Duck fat! Duck stock! Duck Stroganoff!

However you get your duck, this is a delicious way to serve it. I recommend adding the dill pickle, if you have it. I have to say I find I want a little sour note in my meat dishes more and more as I get older - it is so often exactly what they need. 

We had a bumper crop of celeriac this year, so I am looking for things to do with it, but this would admittedly be just as good with noodles, potatoes, or rice.

 

4 servings

30 minutes to prepare and cook the celeriac

45 minutes prep time to finish the dish

 

 

Make the Celeriac Dumplings:

1 1/2 cups mashed boiled celeriac

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups whole spelt flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste 

 

Peel the celeriac, putting the prepared pieces into a bowl of cold water with a bit of vinegar or lemon juice added to it. Once it is all peeled, cut it into evenly sized chunks. Cover with water and boil until tender; about 20 minutes but depending on the exact size of the chunks. 

 

Lift the cooked celeriac into a bowl with a slotted spoon, saving the cooking water in the pot. Add a bit more water if it is not enough to cook the dumplings.

 

Mash the celeriac thoroughly. This can be done up to a day ahead. 

 

Cream the butter and work the celeriac into it. Measure the flour and mix the baking powder, salt, and pepper into it. Work it into the celeriac to form a fairly stiff dough. If it is too stiff you may moisten it with a spoonful of the sour cream, but it should be about the texture of pie crust. Form the dough into 32 ping-pong ball sized dumplings. (Divide into quarters, then each piece in half, half again, aaand half one more time.)

 

Bring the pot of celeriac cooking water back up to a boil. Boil the dumplings for 10 to 12 minutes until firm and cooked. Drain and serve with the Stroganoff; either separately or added to their serving dish just before they are served.

Make the Stroganoff:

1/4 cup flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika

1 teaspoon rubbed savory OR thyme

2 cloves of garlic

225 grams mushrooms

1 large leek

2 duck breasts OR 3 cups diced cooked duck meat

2 to 3 tablespoons duck OR bacon fat

2 cups duck OR chicken stock

1/2 cup sour cream

1 medium dill pickle, diced OPTIONAL

 

Mix the flour and seasonings in a small bowl. Peel and mince the garlic and add it. 

 

Clean, trim, and chop the mushrooms. Wash, trim, and chop the leek. 

If using raw duck breast, cut them into 1/4" slices, and saute them in a tablespoon of fat until nicely browned on both sides. Transfer to a dish to wait. Otherwise, check your duck meat that it is free of bones and cut into neat bite-sized pieces. 

Heat the fat in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and toss them into the fat, then let them cook for several minutes until they begin to brown. Add the leek and reduce the heat slightly. Continue to cook, stirring regularly, until the leek softens and reduces slightly in volume, but don't let it brown. 

Add the little bowl of flour and seasonings, and mix in well until no white can be seen. Slowly mix in the stock, then add the duck pieces and let the mixture simmer until thickened. Mix in the sour cream (and the diced pickle, if desired), and let it heat through, but do not allow it to simmer again. Serve with the well-drained dumplings.

 

 

 

 

Last year at this time I made Lemon-Mustard Brussels Sprouts. 

Parchment Cooked (Mostly) Duck, Chicken, or Fish

You must have a panini (sandwich) press for this, or similar electric griddle which heats from both top and bottom. Possibly even a waffle maker will work, but I have not tried it. You must also have parchment paper. 

I should probably have posted about this earlier this summer, since one of the best things about this technique is that it keeps the heat down in the kitchen. The other best thing about it, though, is that it cooks duck, chicken, or fish pieces in 2/3 the time of pan or broiler cooking, with very little mess, and so I do cook this way all year. The result produced is somewhere between poaching and broiling; once you have the times down you can have perfectly cooked, tender and juicy poultry or fish. I haven't tried pork chops, because things really don't brown, although I guess like the duck they could be browned in a pan afterwards. But once you are using another pan, you lose a lot of the point of this technique.

If you are cooking duck breast it must still be finished in a pan in order to get that crispy skin which is what makes duck breast so special. Duck is the only poultry that has skin that will crisp even after it is otherwise cooked, so don't expect to be able to do that with chicken. Chicken cooked by this technique should be skinless. Fish could have skin, but it won't be nice - peel it off and discard it once cooked, or better, use skinless fish fillets to start with as well. 

 

It's duck in the photo; cooked the way we like it which is less rare than usually recommended. The panini press cooks at a reliable and relatively low temperature, but both sides at once, which is why it cooks things quickly (though not in half the time) yet keeps them tender and moist. 

It will depend on the size of your appliance, but for mine and for most of them, 2 servings will be the most you can cook at once. The times listed below assume 2 pieces; you may wish to check earlier for doneness if you are only cooking one piece.

 

per portion

5 to 10 minutes prep time

8 to 16 minutes cook time

5 minutes rest time

 

 

1 or 2 boneless portions of duck breast, chicken, or fish fillets

seasonings to taste

parchment paper

 

Lay out a piece of parchment paper of sufficient size to wrap around your portions of duck, chicken, or fish on the counter. Sprinkle the seasonings you wish to use lightly over it. Lay the portions on the seasoned paper so that they will fit properly in the appliance as they cook, but with a small amount of space between them if more than one piece. You can usually do 2 chicken or duck breasts, 4 chicken thighs, or up to a pound of fish pieces. Season the tops as well.  

 

Plug in the panini press or other griddle to preheat for a minute or so. 

Fold the top and bottom of the parchment paper up to meet each other, and fold them to interlock and lie flat over the pieces of meat. Neatly fold up the edges to make a flat, fairly rectangular package. Place it in the centre of the press, and close it firmly. 

Cook for:

 - 4 to 6 minutes for fish, depending on type and thickness

 - 6 minutes for chicken

 - 6 to 8 minutes for duck breast, depending on thickness and desired level of doneness

THEN rotate the package (not turning it over), press back down firmly, and cook for a further:

 

 - 4 to 6 minutes for fish

 - 5 to 6 minutes for chicken

 - 6 to 8 minutes for duck breast

 

Remove the package at once to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes before serving, for fish or chicken. 

 

For duck breast, it should be unwrapped and placed in a hot, lightly oiled pan skin-side down until the skin is crispy, about 5 minutes. Transfer, skin side up, to a serving plate, cover loosely, and now let it rest 5 minutes before serving. Tongs are the best tool for all of this. 

 

If the cooked meat is to be used cold in salads, transfer it to the fridge as soon as it is cool, well wrapped or in a container.

 

 

 

 

 

Last year at this time I made Cauliflower Finnish Style. 

Duck Pasties

If you thought cabbage rolls stretched a little bit of duck pretty far, how about these pasties? Again, if you are shy on the amount of duck meat needed, you can fry up a few slices of bacon with the onion. However, you should also be sure not to make too much filling - don't go over the quantities listed - as this amount will make 6 very stuffed pasties. Each one is a meal with just a bit of salad to keep it company. We ate some of the leftovers cold and re-heated some in a hot oven; they were delicious both ways. Just don't microwave them, as the pastry will go soggy, as it always does.

This is a real left-over busting meal. Or to put it another way, you need to cook your potatoes and rutabaga in advance. It's all in the perspective, I suppose. If you have a little good thick gravy left over a spoonful will help keep them moist, but it's not traditional to add it, as far as I know, and if you have any holes in the finished pasties, it will leak out. 

I actually used the buttermilk instead of cream to thin my egg yolk, since it was already out. It seemed to work just fine. We thought these were delightful, and I will likely make them again with leftover turkey, because I can see that working really well too. Or the traditional roast or braised beef, for that matter.

In the end, that one 6 pound duck fed the 3 of us as a roast dinner, followed by 2 meals of cabbage rolls for 2 of us, the 3 of for lunch, and it looks like Mr. Ferdzy and I will have one more round of pasties. I did throw in about a quarter pound of bacon to make it stretch, but still, FIVE* meals (12 servings), plus there is still a fair bit of duck stock in the fridge. I'd say we squeezed our money's worth out of that bird.

6 pasties

1 hour 15 minutes - 40 minutes prep time 

NOT including time to cool

 

 

 

Make the Pastry:

2 1/4 cups whole spelt flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cold unsalted butter

1/4 cup mild vegetable oil

1/4 cup buttermilk

the white of 1 large egg

 

Measure the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and mix. Grate in the butter, turning it to coat it in the flour. Add the oil, buttermilk, and egg white, and mix everything well, cutting it together with a pastry cutter or the side of a spoon. Once it is well blended but still with lumps of butter, pull it together to form a ball (by hand). Let rest for 20 minutes while you make the filling. 

Make the Filling & Finish:

1 small onion

1 teaspoon duck fat or other oil

1 1/2 cups diced cooked duck meat

3/4 cup diced cooked potato

3/4 cup diced cooked rutabaga

salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

extra whole spelt flour for rolling

up to 6 tablespoons leftover duck gravy OPTIONAL

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons light cream

Peel and dice the onion, and cook it in the fat or oil over medium heat until softened and translucent. Put it into a mixing bowl with the diced cooked duck, potato, and rutabaga. Season carefully with salt and generously with pepper. 

Preheat the oven to 400°F. 

Divide the dough evenly into 6 pieces. Dust a sheet of parchment paper with a little flour, and roll the first piece of dough out into a circle. Be sure that it is large enough to hold the filling. Put 1/6th of the filling on it, along with up to a tablespoon of leftover gravy, if you have it, and fold it over to close. Press sealed along the edges, then roll the edge up and press again to be sure to have a good seal. Lift the pasty onto a baking tray lined with another piece of parchment paper, leaving space for the rest.

Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough and filling. 

Bake the pasties for 15 minutes. Whisk the egg yolk and cream together. Brush the pasties with this mixture, then return them to the oven for a further 15 minutes of baking. Serve warm or at room temperature. If kept in the refrigerator, bring them out 20 minutes before serving to take the chill off them. They will also reheat well in the oven. 

*The mathematically astute will conclude, correctly, that Mr. Ferdzy and I were piggies with the pasties.

Last year at this time I made the tasty but perplexing Turkish Lentil & Potato Salad.

Duck Red Cabbage Rolls

 Cabbage rolls are excellent for stretching a little meat a long way. I had a large cabbage, and so made 4 large cabbage rolls, but red cabbages are often fairly small and you may need to make more but smaller rolls. 

 

It's a bit tricky removing the leaves from a raw cabbage, but I prefer to do that if it's possible, as it leaves (ha ha) the remaining cabbage in the best condition for using in other dishes. If you are desperate, though, you can put the head of cabbage into a pot of boiling water for a few minutes, then lift it out, rinse it in cold water, remove a leaf or two, and repeat as necessary. This will also take the place of the par-boiling; you just need to shave down the stem and you are ready to go. 

Everything should be quite finely chopped in order to make a cohesive mixture. I think next time I might actually do the chopping and mixing in a food processor, to make it a little smoother. They were delicious in any case, and the creamy mustard sauce added just the right finishing touch. Wild rice cooked 3 cups of salted water to 1 cup of  wild rice - in the rice cooker, of course - made the ideal accompaniment. It really needs a little bit of greenery by way of a parsley garnish to look really finished. 

If you are just a shade short of the required amount of duck, it could be stretched with a few slices of bacon, chopped and fried with the vegetables.

 

4 servings

1 hour 20 minutes - 40 minutes prep time

 

 

Make the Cabbage Rolls:

4 to 8 outer red cabbage leaves

2 shallots

1 small stalk of celery

1 small carrot

1 tablespoon duck fat

2 cups diced cooked duck meat

2-3 slices (90g or 3 oz) dark rye bread

1 large egg

2 tablespoons rye flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 teaspoon Polish seasoning

1/4 cup duck stock

1/2 cup duck stock 

Put a large pot of water on to boil. Carefully remove the leaves from the cabbage, being sure not to tear them (much). It may help to slice each one at the base to remove it from the cabbage as you work. Shave the thick stems down to a similar thickness to the rest of the leaf. Drop the cabbage leaves into the boiling water and boil for 4 minutes until softened. Rinse in cold water and drain well. 

 

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly oil a shallow baking pan that will hold the finished cabbage rolls snugly - probably 1.5 to 2 quarts. 

 

Peel the shallots and chop them very finely. Wash, trim and chop the celery finely.  Peel and grate the carrot. Heat the duck fat in a small skillet over medium heat and cook the vegetables until softened and reduced in volume; about 5 minutes. 

Meanwhile, chop the duck meat very finely. You can use some of the skin; up to about 10%. Put it in a mixing bowl with the rye bread, also chopped or crumbled finely. Break in the egg. Add the flour and seasoning, and mix in. Mix in 1/4 cup duck stock.

When the vegetables are ready, let them cool for a few minutes then mix them into the filling. It should be thoroughly combined, malleable and cohesive. 

Lay out each cabbage leaf and put an even portion of the filling in the lower centre. Fold up the bottom of the leaf to cover, then fold in the sides and roll up. Put each finished cabbage roll into the prepared pan. When they are all in, pour the remaining 1/2 cup stock over them. Cover the pan with foil (if it doesn't have its own lid) and bake for 40 minutes.

Make the Sauce:

1 tablespoon duck fat

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup duck stock

1/4 cup light cream

parsley to garnish

 

When the cabbage rolls have about 10 minutes left to bake, start the sauce. Heat the duck fat and flour in a small skillet over medium heat. When they are sizzling, mix in the mustard and add salt and pepper to taste. Be mindful that there is a certain amount of salt in mustard, and the stock and duck fat may also be somewhat salty. Mix in the duck stock a little at a time to make a smooth sauce, then stir in the cream. When the mixture is thickened, and steaming hot, it can be served over the baked cabbage rolls. Don't forget the parsley!

Last year at this time I made Leeks Stuffed with Ham, Cheese, & Mushrooms.

Slow Roasted Duck with Gravy

It seems that once a year or so, it's duck week. Here we are! As usual, I am going to try to make a 6 pound duck last for three meals, with my Mom joining us for some of them. I definitely want to get every bit of goodness out of a duck. On that note, I'm putting a reminder at the end of the recipe to be sure to use the carcass to make stock, because that's definitely part of the deal. I'm going to use some of the stock for the next recipe, but at some point we'll also just have duck soup with noodles - not even counted as one of our three duck meals. 

I'm being vague about the seasonings, but I've been using the Polish seasoning found at the beginning of this recipe a lot, and that's what I used here. You can season it however you like, though. I kept it pretty simple because I mostly wanted to see how duck did cooked low and slow like pulled pork. I have to say, it stayed firmer than I expected, but it worked well enough. Also, people always seem to want to put all kinds of sticky sauces on duck, when it is perfectly lovely served quite plain.

 

6 servings

8 hours, yes I said 8 hours - 20 minutes prep time

NOT including time to thaw out duck 

 

a 2.75 kg (6 pound) duck

salt, pepper, other seasonings

2 cups chicken stock 

2 tablespoons soft unbleached flour

1 cup chicken stock

If your duck is frozen, you must allow 2 full days in the refrigerator to thaw it out. 

Remove the duck from the packaging and pat it dry. Remove anything in the cavity (likely just the neck) and save it for making broth later. Sprinkle the duck with salt and rub it in, then let it sit for about 1 hour. 

Preheat the oven to 225°F. Put the duck on a rack in a roasting pan. Season it with pepper and any other seasonings you like - I used a Polish seasoning. Pour in the chicken stock, without getting the duck wet. 

Put the duck in the oven and roast for about 6 hours, until it is well done and the leg wiggles a bit. If the skin is not as dark and crispy as you would like, turn the heat up to 400°F and roast for a further 15 to 20 minutes until it is coloured and crisped to your liking. Remove it from the oven, transfer to a platter, and cover it loosely for 10 minutes. Carve and serve. 

 

Meanwhile, make the gravy. Scrape the contents of the pan into a gravy separator, and drain the juices back into a saucepan over medium heat. Keep the fat! It is a culinary treasure. Whisk the flour into 1 cup of cold chicken stock until smooth, and slowly whisk it into the saucepan, to get as smooth a gravy as possible. When it thickens and bubbles around the edges, transfer it to a gravy boat.  

Once the meal is done, pull all the remaining meat from the bones. Keep the meat for other dishes and make broth with the bones. Break them up and put them in a pot - I prefer making broth in the Instant Pot these days, but a good heavy-bottomed soup pot is still as good as ever. Add some onion, celery and carrot scraps if you have them, and a bay leaf or two. Go light with the bay leaf if using an Instant Pot; I find it a little too efficient at extracting all the flavour from it, including bitterness. I threw in a few juniper berries and a dozen black peppercorns. Add 2 quarts of water and 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Don't forget to add the neck, if you have it. I gave it 2 hours in the Instant Pot, then leave it for natural release/ If you decide to simmer it on the stove-top it will take about the same amount of time (which is to say about three hours) ; you will just need to check it from time to time, and maybe add a little more liquid.

 

Strain the stock and chill it overnight. Remove any fat from the top and add it to your stash. 

 

 

 

 

Last year at this time I made Brussels Sprouts with Buttered Mushrooms. 

Perfect Fluffy Scrambled Eggs

I spotted this recipe in an old 19th century cookbook, although the title was "Poached Eggs". Not like any poached eggs I've ever had, but it looked simple enough so I had to give it a try. Still not like any poached eggs I've ever had - it's scrambled eggs, and the best scrambled eggs ever, to boot.

My usual old technique involved whisking in a spoonful of water then just cooking them in some butter, and stirring a bit; the result was fluffy but perhaps a little dry. I have preferred this to other scrambled egg recipes I've seen, which involved cooking them with cream and butter, but in a double boiler, and stirring a lot. I found the results of that to be too heavy and greasy. This is the perfect middle way - rich and moist but also light and fluffy. I was a little nervous about the timing, but I used a timer, and it was just about perfect. Wow! Apparently you can still teach this old dog a few new tricks. Scrambled eggs more often, coming up!

UPDATE: If you wanted a smaller batch, use an 8" pan, 4 chicken eggs, and 1/3 cup of cream. In any case you will need a pan with a lid. If you are having them on buttered toast, have the bread in the toaster with the butter standing by ready to spread, and put the bread down at the same time as you turn on the stove for the cream.

2 to 4 servings
10 minutes prep time

4 medium-large duck eggs OR 6 large chicken eggs
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon finely minced parsley
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh OR dried chives
1/2 cup 10% cream
bread & butter for toast

Whisk the eggs in a bowl and season to taste; then whisk in the washed, dried, and minced herbs. Other herbs can be used, of course, according to taste and availability.

Put the cream in a 10" skillet (medium sized) and bring it up to a simmer. It will bubble all around the edges before the middle, that fine; that's the stage you are looking for. Reduce the heat to medium-high (the usual ideal temperature for cooking eggs). Gently pour in the eggs ("in strips", said my original source but ha, good work if you can). Cook for 2 minutes without stirring, although it's a good idea to run your spatula around the edges and as far underneath as is feasible, and lifting the mass of eggs slightly.

After 2 minutes, remove the pan from the stove, turn the eggs over gently, and cover the pan with the lid. Let it sit for 1 minute more, then serve, on hot buttered toast, which you started just as you turned on the stove for the cream.




Last year at this time I made Mashed Butternut Squash & Sweet Potatoes.

Broiled Muscovy Duck Breast

I actually made this before I made the Braised Muscovy Duck that I posted a while back. Once I had the duck broken down and the stock cooking, I decided we should make a start on eating the duck that night. It was a big duck - just shy of 9 pounds - and I figured we might as well get going. I won't get into the details of cutting up the duck here; you can refer to the Braised Duck recipe.

My Mom came over to help us eat it, and there was still enough left over for a good serving. Muscovies are big ducks. They are not even the same species as other ducks, and their meat is very beef-like. However, the breast meat is still best served quite rare.

This is basically the technique from this recipe at Epicurious, although my duck breasts must have been almost twice the size of the ones they called for. They did need more time to cook, but not twice as long, because not all the increase (or perhaps even that much of it) was in the thickness.

Since I was serving it with the Rye Caraway Spaetzle and Braised Belgian Endive with Ginger-Clementine Sauce I felt there were already plenty of flavours going on, and it did not need a sauce. Duck generally goes with robust fruity flavours and acidity to help balance out the richness of the meat, or the drippings under the pan could be used to make gravy, although I just added them to the duck stock.

3 to 4 servings
30 minutes 10 minutes prep

1 breast from 1/2 of a 4 to 5 kilo (8 to 10 pound) Muscovy duck
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Take the duck breast from the refrigerator 20 minutes to half an hour before you cook it. About 5 minutes before you cook it, put enough water into the bottom of a broiler pan to cover it, and put it in the oven about 4" or 5" from the broiler (not that you will have much choice; hopefully this is the distance when using the top rack.) Preheat the broiler and pan.

Meanwhile, pat the duck breast dry with a paper towel and cut a diamond grid into the skin. You don't need to cut it completely through in every place, and you should avoid cutting into the meat as much as possible. The cuts should be about 1/2" apart.

When the broiler pan is hot remove it from the oven - I suggest you have some trivets set up to receive it as the odds are good your stove-top is fully occupied at this time - and place the prepared duck breast on it skin side down.

Cook the duck for 8 to 10 minutes under the broiler... make sure your fan is running on high. Move the pan to the trivets again and turn the duck breast over with a large spatula, checking that it is loosened completely before turning it. Season it generously with salt and pepper and return it to the oven for a further 8 to 10 minutes. Exact times will vary depending on how thick the duck breast is and how rare you like it. If you wanted it only just pink though, I would give it another 2 or 3 minutes on each side.

When the duck comes out of the oven after being cooked on both sides, cover it loosely with some foil and let it rest for 5 to 6 minutes before carving. Serve at once.




Last year at this time I made Brussels Sprouts Zeytinyagli.

Braised Muscovy Duck

I've cooked Muscovy duck a few times, and I always find it a bit of a challenge. The meat is much more like beef than poultry in colour and texture, although with that lovely ducky flavour. They are sturdy birds and the meat does not tend to be naturally tender, and while the skin is thick with some fat they are not overall fatty like other ducks but really quite lean. Like most poultry, there is a fair bit of difference in the meat from the legs versus the meat from the breasts. I decided to try cooking this one using the technique I like to use on free-range turkeys. The verdict - it works very well.

I hardly seasoned this at all, other than aromatic vegetables, bay leaves, and salt and pepper. No complaints. The meat is rich and flavourful and doesn't need anything else. Next time I might throw in a few juniper berries, and I can see adding sautéed mushrooms to the gravy. Of course, you don't have to make the gravy at all; various sweet-tart fruit sauces are classic with duck and you could do one here. I'm not likely to bother. I like the gravy very well and as I say, the flavour stands on its own with no trouble. There is plenty of leftover stock in addition to the leftover vegetable and flour thickened gravy, and between the two of them you have the basis for quite a lot of excellent soup.

I'm doing the final roast for the breasts at a higher temperature than I did the turkey; I think the duck breast calls for a faster, shorter cooking.

It's interesting (to me, if no-one else) to see how my recipe writing technique has changed since I started this blog. I find myself wanting to go back and re-write the original turkey recipe to use the system of mini sub-recipes I've been using for more complicated dishes for a while now. I'm curious if anyone has any preferences about how I'm doing this. 

allow about 1 pound per person
up to 1 hour to break down the duck
3 hours plus to make the stock - 15 minutes prep time
2 to 2 1/2 hours cooking time plus a further 15 minutes before you are eating

Break Down the Duck:
1  4 to 5 kilogram (8 to 10 pounds) Muscovy duck

I find that Muscovy duck often comes with a fair number of feather tips still embedded in the skin. Use a good large pair of tweezers to extract as many as you can. 

Cut the wings from the bird. Cut the tips from wings and put them in a large soup pot. Cut the legs off from the bird next. Some really good kitchen shears are very helpful here. Put the leg and wing pieces aside. If there are any other portions of meat still attached to the back side of the carcass, remove them carefully and set them with the legs and wings.

Cut the breast meat carefully from carcass, in one piece from each side, along with any remaining pieces of meat that are large enough to cut off and use. Start by cutting along each side of the breast bone then almost scraping the meat from the rib cage. Break off the back half of the carcass (now with all the meat removed) and put it in the soup pot with the wing tips. Break up the remaining bones and put them in the soup pot. Add the neck, if you have it. 

Make the Duck Stock:
1 stalk of celery
1 medium carrot
1 medium onion
2 1/2 litres (10 cups) water
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 or 3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

Wash, trim, and peel (if necessary) the vegetables, and chop them coarsely. Add them to the pot of bones. Cover the bones with the water, add the vinegar, bay leaves and pepper, and simmer for several hours; cover and return the duck pieces to fridge while this happens. You may wish to make the duck  stock the day before the duck is to be cooked. Cool the stock promptly and keep it in the fridge as well until needed, in that case.

I made my duck stock in the Instant Pot. I don't know that it was much quicker, what with the heating up and cooling down periods, but it required no attention as it cooked. I gave it 45 minutes and the results were satisfactory, although I wonder about giving it slightly longer next time - up to an hour for really strong stock.

At some point the stock must be strained, and the solids discarded - but keep any fat if you can.

Braise the Duck:
1 or 2 stalks of celery
1 medium carrot
1 medium onion
2 to 3 tablespoons duck fat OR mild vegetable oil
2 or 3 bay leaves
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Yes, this is a repeat of all the veggies put into the stock. Wash, trim, and finely chop the celery. Peel and grate the carrot. Peel and chop the onion. Put them aside for the moment.

Preheat the oven to 275°F. 

Heat 2 tablespoon of the duck fat (from the top of the stock) or vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the wings and legs and any other pieces with skin well, and put them, skin side up, in a large roasting pan with a lid when done. Add the vegetables to the skillet, with a little more fat or oil if there is not enough (unlikely; you may need to drain some off in fact), and cook them until softened and slightly reduced in volume. Spoon the vegetables in around the duck pieces, but not covering them. Add any duck pieces without skin (if you did a good job there won't be any). If you can keep the skin above the level of the stock it should stay fairly crisp and nice. 

Ladle over 4 cups of the strained duck stock. Cover the pan and put it into the oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The meat should be cooked, and moderately tender, although keep in mind that Muscovy duck will always be quite firm and almost beef-like. Raise the temperature to 400°F.

Place the duck breast pieces on top of the meat in the pan, trying to avoid putting them over the legs (to keep the skin on them crisp) and return to the oven. Roast until the breasts are crisped, brown, and medium rare; about 20 to 30 minutes.

Cover the meat loosely and let rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving.

Make Gravy:
2 to 4 tablespoons barley or other flour

If you wish to make gravy, lift the meat from the roasting pan to a large serving platter and cover it to rest there for the 10 minutes. Scrape half the broth and vegetables into a food processor, removing and discarding the bay leaves, and process with 2 tablespoons flour. This will be more than enough gravy, but I do this with the remaining half as well - it makes an excellent soup when thinned with a little more the plain stock.

Heat whatever quantity of the puréed broth you think will make sufficient gravy for your needs in a medium skillet over medium heat. Simmer, stirring regularly, until thickened; 3 or 4 minutes should be sufficient. Transfer to a gravy boat and serve.

The remainder of the puréed broth should be cooked in the same way, but after dinner is soon enough to do it; it then becomes the basis for soup along with any leftover gravy from the meal.




Last year at this time I made Barley, Wild Rice & Mushroom Pilaf. It would go extremely well with duck, just sayin'!

Chicken or Duck Salad with Wild Rice & Cranberries

The only plate I have that is big enough to hold this salad is my turkey platter, passed down through the family from my great-aunt Alethea to my mom, to me. It's a festive and special salad so that seems perfectly appropriate.

The wild rice is a little expensive, and it and the chicken need to be cooked in advance, but otherwise it's no harder to make this than any other salad. The festive occasion I made this for was our weekly dinner with my mom, but I'm thinking I might make it again around Christmas. If I could find some skin-on but boneless duck breasts I think they might be even better than the chicken. I used to be able to get them around here, but no more. Too bad. Still, chicken is perfectly fine and it was eaten with gusto.

Since the cranberries were raw ones, and I didn't use any sweet element in this salad, I thought they would do better chopped up. Next time, though, I would save a few whole ones to garnish the top. You could use dried cranberries if you think the raw ones would be too tart, but once chopped we thought they were fine. 

4 to 6 servings
45 minutes prep time, plus time to cook the rice and cool it - at least 2 hours

Cook the Wild Rice & Chicken:
1 cup wild rice
3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast OR 4 boneless chicken thighs
   (approximately 600 grams or 1 1/3 pounds)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 to 3 teaspoons 5-spice powder

Put the wild rice, water, and salt into a rice cooker. Turn on, and cook. Remove the pot from the cooker and let the rice cool. Keep refrigerated once cool until needed. This can be done up to a day ahead, and should be started at least 3 hours in advance.

Make sure the chicken pieces are flat and thin. Arrange them on a heat-proof pan. Sprinkle one side with half of the soy sauce and half of the 5-spice powder. Broil for 5 to 6 minutes until the chicken is half done. Turn it over, and season the other sides with the remaining soy sauce and 5-spice powder. Broil for a further 3 to 5 minutes, until the chicken is done. The exact time will depend on just how thick the chicken is, and how close it gets to your broiler, so you will need to use your judgement.  Let it rest and cool for at least 10 minutes. Once it is cool, it can be sliced into bite-sized pieces and refrigerated until needed; again this can be done up to a day in advance.

Make the Salad Dressing:
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoons mild vegetable oil
1/4 cup apple cider OR rice vinegar

Finely grate the ginger into a small bowl or jam jar. Add the remaining ingredients and mix or shake together.

Make the Salad:
2 to 3 cups finely chopped lettuce
2 cups finely shredded cabbage
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, grated
1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped chives

Wash, trim, and chop the lettuce. Drain well. Put it in a large mixing bowl. Wash, trim, and shred the cabbage finely. Wash, trim, and chop the celery. Peel and grate the carrot. Wash and chop the cranberries. Wash, trim, and chop the chives. Mix all these in the bowl, with the wild rice.

Toss the salad with the dressing.  Arrange it on a large platter or individual serving plates. Top the salad or salads with the  prepared chicken.




Last year at this time I made Apple or Pear & Ginger Mincemeat.

Bachelor's Omelette

This recipe caught my eye while I was leafing through Mrs. Norton's Cook-Book. A little searching showed me that Mrs Norton had pinched it from Mrs. Beeton, almost verbatim. Tsk tsk.

To be fair, Mrs. Norton did improve on Mrs. Beeton to the extent of suggesting that the onion Mrs. Beeton called for should be sautéed beforehand, and I agree. She also omitted the Cayenne, which is entirely a matter of opinion. I would have put it in if I remembered, but I didn't. I would also consider putting in chopped parsley, green onions or chives, or sautéed mushrooms or peppers, depending on what's around - not all of them at once, but in judicious pairs.

Of course I have made some other changes. First of all, 2 ounces of butter is a quarter of a cup; that's 4 tablespoons! Which seems excessive for 3 little eggs. I used a single tablespoon and found it entirely sufficient - generous, even. I also put in pea sprouts instead of onion, and cheese instead of, hmm, nothing. We both agreed that the pea sprouts were a delightful addition, and cheese is cheese, duh.

There's also the little fact that I am one of the world's most inept omelette makers, and the fact that I was able to get this thing more-or-less folded and onto a plate in one piece is quite amazing. I'm not sure if that was a result of adding that bit of flour which is after all what makes this recipe different from others, obscene quantities of butter not withstanding, or if I am finally - after 40 years of cooking - getting the knack. Then I have to admit I made this in a stainless steel pan and not the usual cast iron. I also used duck eggs, which I think have a bit more body than chicken eggs. After I made and photographed this, I made it again, this time replacing the soft wheat flour with potato starch, remembering how well my Cocoa Crepes turned out. It folded even better! Best folded omelette I've ever made! I changed the recipe to reflect that too. 

2 servings
15 minutes prep time

1/4 cup milk or light cream
1 teaspoon potato starch OR if you must, soft unbleached flour
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 small duck OR large chicken eggs
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup chopped pea sprouts OR other prepared vegetable
1/2 cup grated Cheddar OR other cheese of your choice

If you are going to use onion, shallot, mushrooms, or peppers, clean and slice them now, and cook them in a bit of butter. Remove from the pan and set aside. Wash and chop your pea sprouts, or any herbs you may wish to add. Grate your cheese, and have everything standing by ready to go. 

Put the cream in a small mixing bowl and sprinkle the potato starch or flour over it; whisk until free of lumps. Season with salt and pepper.

Break in the eggs, and whisk them in until the mixture is smooth but not frothy.

Heat the butter over medium heat in a medium-sized skillet. When it is completely melted and bubbling but not browned, swirl it around to cover the bottom and sides of the pan completely. Pour in the eggs. Sprinkle the pea sprouts or herbs over the omelette at once. Cook gently until set about 1" in from the sides of the pan. At this point, sprinkle the cheese and/or cooked vegetables over the omelet.

Continue cooking until the omelette is mostly set. Using a thin, broad lifter, work your way with it under half the omelet, and fold it over on itself. Continue to cook for a minute or so more, until the omelette is sufficiently set. Remove it to a serving plate, or divide it between 2 individual plates.

I find it most effective to centre a plate over my skillet, then flip it quickly to drop the omelette onto the plate. A pair of good oven mitts is not optional here; they are absolutely required.




Last year at this time I made Grilled Cheese à la French Onion Soup.

Seasonal Ontario Food's Top Ten - Meat, Poultry & Fish Main Dishes

More main dishes, the meaty ones this time. In spite of how much I like vegetables I have to confess I could never be a vegetarian. I'm a little surprised to review things and see how much pork we eat, and I'm definitely shy on the fish recipes. I think that's because I am perfectly happy to eat it pretty plain. Judging by this list I also have a taste for the classic dishes, and braising is a favourite cooking technique. Sounds about right, I have to say.

And apparently meat dishes get put on my oval Chinese platters. Huh, okay.

Hungarian Mushroom Duck Soup

Here is a nice mushroom soup made a little unusual by just a few tweaks. The duck is the most obvious one; and you could revert to chicken if you really can't do the duck, but the duck is delicious and really goes with the mushrooms. Try to use at least a mix of the regular white ones with some shiitakes (don't forget to remove the stems), but if you can get a few other varieties to throw in there so much the better. Paprika, caraway, and dill (like duck) are popular Hungarian ingredients and continue the theme. 

This can be made somewhat in advance (you will need to make the duck stock a day ahead at any rate) and can be reheated and served as needed.

4 to 6 servings
45 minutes prep time

300 grams (10 ounces) mixed mushrooms
1 large leek
OR 2 medium onions
2 or 3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons duck fat
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
1/2 teaspoon caraway seed
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 to 6 cups unsalted duck stock
1/2 to 1 cup chopped cooked duck meat, if possible
sour cream to top the finished soup (optional)

Clean, trim, and slice the mushrooms. Peel and chop the leek or onions. Peel and mince the garlic.

Heat the duck fat in a large soup pot. Cook the mushrooms and leek or onions over medium heat, stirring regularly, until softened and reduced in volume.

Mix the flour, paprika, crushed caraway seed, dill weed, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle this and the garlic over the mushrooms and leeks or onions, and mix in well, cooking for several minutes more. Slowly add the duck stock, mixing well to avoid lumps. If you have any bits of meat that you pulled from the carcass after making the duck stock, chop them finely and add them to the soup now.

Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream if you like.




Last year at this time I made Rutabaga with Parmesan & Rosemary. 

Duck Terrine Roasted in the Duck Skin

This is, admittedly, a rather time-consuming and elaborate dish, and there is much wrestling to be done with the duck. The advantage is that it allows a single fairly average sized duck to serve 4 to 6 people, with leftovers for Hungarian Mushroom Duck Soup and Duck & Wild Rice Salad. That's some extreme duck frugality.

I put the liver into mine, with the result that this had a certain resemblance to haggis. You may or may not wish to do that. Note that the duck stock is not used in this recipe; it's just that you might as well make it when you are doing your preliminary duck preparation.

4 to 6 servings
allow 1 hour to prep the chicken stock
 - plus 3 to 4 hours to cook it
2 1/2 hours to finish and cook the terrine - 45 minutes prep

Prepare the Duck & Make Duck Stock:
a 2.25 to 2.5 kilo (5 pound) duck
2 to 3 bay leaves
1 star anise pod
3 to 5 juniper berries
6 to 8 black peppercorns

Carefully cut the wings and legs off the duck, leaving the remainder of the skin as whole and undamaged as possible. Put the legs aside in a small roasting pan and cover and return them to the fridge for now. Put the wings into a stock pot with the seasonings.  If your duck came with a neck, add it to the pot as well.

Cut the skin down the backbone of the duck, and carefully peel it off, keeping it in one piece. Wrap it up and return it to the fridge. Cut the breast meat off the duck, and indeed any other bits of meat that you can find. Wrap them and return them to the fridge. Break up the carcass of the duck and put it in the stock pot along with 2 litres of water. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for 3 or 4 hours, until you have good stock. Strain the stock, discarding the solids, and cool the stock.

This can and should be done a day in advance. The duck stock is not used here; it goes to the Hungarian Mushroom Duck Soup.

Make the Seasoning Mixture:
1/2 teaspoon dry rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon fennel
1/4 teaspoon ground Aleppo or other mildly hot pepper
3 allspice berries
6 to 8 black peppercorns
3/4 teaspoon salt

Grind the spices together and set aside for the moment.

Make the Duck Terrine:
3 cloves of garlic
1 medium carrot
1/2 cup finely diced peeled celeriac
OR 1 stalk of celery
2 small onions
1 tablespoon duck fat
2 large eggs
1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
2 medium potatoes

Peel and mince the garlic. Peel and finely grate the carrot. Peel and finely dice or grate the celeriac, or trim and mince the celery. Peel and mince the onions.

Heat the duck fat in a medium skillet, and gently cook the vegetables until softened and reduced in volume; add the garlic last and just for the last few minutes of cooking. Add the seasoning mixture at the same time. Transfer the cooked vegetables into a mixing bowl to cool.

Meanwhile, finely chop the breast and any other bits of meat. You can add the heart and liver or not, as you like, although duck liver is fairly strong so keep that in mind. Mix the chopped meat in with the vegetables once they are cool.

Mix in the eggs and the bread crumbs. Wash and trim the potatoes, and grate them finely. There should be about 1 packed cup once grated; add them to the mixture.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Cut 3 pieces of kitchen twine to tie up the terrine. Lay the duck skin, outside down, over them. Form the filling mixture into a long sausage shape over the skin, then wrap it around the filling to cover, as much as possible. Tie it closed with the twine.

Put the terrine onto a metal rack over a pan to catch the drips with the seam side up, and roast it for 45 minutes. Carefully turn the terrine over so the whole skin side is up, and roast for a further 30 minutes to 45 minutes, until the skin is brown and crispy. Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting into slices and serving.

You should roast the legs at the same time; they will be ready a bit quicker. See the recipe for Duck & Wild Rice Salad for more details. 

Save the drippings and fat; put them into a small but deep container and refrigerate. This will allow you to remove the fat and keep it for cooking - the other drippings can be added to soup. 




Last year at this time I made Cheese & Carrot Barley Casserole.

Dirty Kasha

You need to be cooking some poultry in order to make this a thing to do; turkeys, chickens, and ducks generally all come with the giblets. Don't throw 'em away! Make dirty kasha.

This is, of course, the traditional Cajun recipe for dirty rice, minus the rice and with buckwheat instead. The robust nutty kasha really stands up to the flavour of the poultry giblets and makes an excellent substitute.

This doesn't make huge quantities. It would make a lunch dish for 2 along with a salad or cooked vegetable, or a side dish for 4 or more, especially if some of them turn up their noses at giblets... well, more for the rest of us.

2 to 4 servings
30 minutes prep time

Cook the Kasha:
1/2 cup toasted buckwheat (kasha)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Put 4 cups of water into a pot and bring it to a brisk boil. Add the toasted buckwheat kasha and the salt. Boil steadily for 15 minutes, then drain. 

Make the Dirty Kasha:
2 shallots
1 stalk of celery
1/4 of a red pepper
1 clove of garlic
2 tablespoons chicken, duck, turkey or bacon fat
1/2 teaspoon rubbed savory
1/2 teaspoon good paprika; with a little heat or smoked if liked
1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
the giblets from 1 large turkey
OR 2 chickens OR 2 ducks

Meanwhile, peel and chop the shallots. Wash, trim and chop the celery. Core and chop the piece of red pepper. Peel and mince the garlic.

Heat the fat in a large skillet, and add the shallots, celery, and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, until everything is softened and very slightly browned. Add the seasonings.

While the vegetables cook, chop the giblets finely. Use the heart and liver for sure, but decide how you feel about the crop - at the least it will have a tough, white side that must be cut off and discarded. If it seems soft it can be  used, but if it is at all hard to cut it will be unpleasantly tough - better to throw it in with bones when soup is made, and like a bone, discard it at the end.

Add the chopped meat to the pan when it is ready, and mix it in well. Let everything cook together, stirring frequently, until the meat is cooked through. Serve at once.

Pink Fir Apple Potatoes Fried in Duck Fat

Well this is hardly a recipe, and it is definitely not breaking any new culinary ground. Potatoes fried in some sort of fat are almost certainly the most consumed vegetable in North America, and an awful lot of other places too. This is more of a comment on how much carefully sourced, good quality ingredients matter. They matter so much.

Duck fat is famous for producing fabulous fried potatoes, and Pink Fir Apple is a potato made for fried perfection. This is the time to break out your fancy pink or Malden or Guerande salt too, I suppose, although plain old table salt is in fact just fine.

I get to like Pink Fir Apple more and more. It stores so well, its flavour is great, and it turns out, according to Rebsie Fairholm in her book The Lost Art of Potato Breeding, that it is one of the few modern potato varieties around that does not have T-type cytoplasm, meaning it won't pass on male sterility to its offspring. Many people find Pink Fir Apple pretty shy of producing seed, but it has generally produced a few berries each year in my garden so I am looking forward to trying some breeding projects using it as the maternal parent.

4 servings
50 minutes prep time

800 grams (1 1/2 pounds) Pink Fir Apple potatoes
3 tablespoons duck fat
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Wash and trim the potatoes, and cut them into 1/2 cm (1/4") slices. Put them in a pot with water to cover, and  turn the heat to high. Time for 10 minutes, during which time they should come to a boil and boil for several minutes, then drain them until very dry.

Heat the duck fat in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat; the temperature at which you would cook pancakes or eggs. Add the well-drained potatoes and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so, until touched with brown and the fat is mostly absorbed. Sprinkle with a little salt at the beginning of the cooking time, and season with a bit more and some pepper before turning them out onto a plate to serve.




Last year at this time I made Tartar Sauce. 

Duck Broth with Cellophane Noodles

After you have roasted your duck, and eaten the breasts, and set aside the legs for Pulled Duck Sandwiches, you have a carcass left, as well as a couple of wings, and the bits of meat still clinging to it. These will make a meal, as long as you have not been too efficient in the removal of the breasts and legs. Pro-tip: efficiency is was inefficient, if you want to make this meal. Now though; now is the time to get efficient.

Tear every bit of meat that you can from the carcass and wings, and set it aside in little chunks and shreds. There should be a cup to a cup and half, with luck, and skin definitely counts. Wrap these meat scraps up and keep them in the fridge until wanted, and proceed with making the broth. 

2 to 6 servings

1 to 1/2 cups duck meat shreds
the denuded carcass that supplied the above
all the fat and drippings accrued in the roasting of the duck
1 1/2 litres (6 cups) water
2 or 3 slices peeled fresh ginger
1 piece star anise
8 to 12 dry shiitake mushroom stems (optional)
2 to 4 tablespoons soy sauce
300 grams cellophane noodles
2 to 3 cups prepared green vegetable of your choice
 - blanched or frozen snow peas, broccoli, bok choi, choi sum, etc. 

Put away the duck meat shreds removed from the carcass; they will not reappear until quite near to serving time.

Break up the carcass and put it in a pot where the water will cover them. Add the fat and drippings from the roasting pan, and the water. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 2 or 3 hours. Add the seasoning elements, up to and including the shiitake stems if using, to simmer with the duck for the last hour. Top up with a little more water if it seems to be getting down below 4 cups worth. Strain the broth, discarding the solids, and set it in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, or whenever you are ready to proceed, remove the cold solid fat carefully from the surface, removing any bits of stock that cling to it. I put it into a strainer and let it drain off back into the stock for about 10 minutes. Then, melt it and put it in a very clean (straight out of the dishwasher, ideally) glass storage jar. The easiest way to do this is put the drained bits of fat into the jar cold, and heat them gently in the microwave until melted. Cap the melted fat and keep it in the fridge for cooking with (once the jar is cool enough to go back in).

To serve, put the broth on to boil. As soon as it does so, add the cellophane noodles and your green vegetable. If raw, the veggie should be blanched (put the cut up pieces in a strainer and pour boiling water over them) first. If frozen, the veggie should be thawed. Cover and let the temperature come back up slowly. After about 5 minutes, the noodles should be cooked and the vegetable too.

Meanwhile, once the broth is on to heat, put the duck bits into a pan to heat. Add the bits of skin first; they will crisp up and render a little more fat. Add the rest of the duck bits and heat through.

Ladle the noodles and vegetables into serving bowls with the broth, and top with the hot duck bits.





Last year at this time I made Beet & Potato Salad.

Pulled Duck Leg Sandwiches

Here is our second meal from our little roast duck of Monday. This one is more lunch oriented, rather than dinner, but one does eat lunch, after all.  Serve with salad or cole slaw, and pickles if you are so inclined, but the sauce is pretty distinct and we didn't think they would quite go. In retrospect, I think a couple of slices of fried onions would have been the ideal finishing touch.

2 servings
20 minutes prep time,
   always assuming you have already roasted your duck

the meat from 2 roasted duck legs

1 medium shallot
1 large clove of garlic
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon duck fat
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon hot paprika
2 good sandwich buns

Pull the meat from your roasted duck legs and shred it. Recipes always say with forks, but I'm here to tell you that a cold roasted duck leg is a ... firm roasted duck leg. Start with your hands, and have a good little sharp knife standing by.

Peel and mince the garlic and the shallot. Peel and grate or mince the ginger.

Heat the duck fat in a heavy-bottomed but not too large pot, and cook the shallot and garlic in it until softened and slightly browned. Add the ginger, then add the shredded duck and all the rest of the ingredients, (except the buns, strangely enough).

Heat the duck in its sauce over medium heat, stirring regularly and keeping the lid on between times, until the duck is hot through and the sauce at least partially absorbed by the duck. Meanwhile, slice and toast your buns and put them on plates. Top them with the duck, lifting it out of the pan with a slotted spoon and discarding excess sauce. I mean, you can put the sauce on the sandwich if you want, but it will definitely make the bun quite soggy.

Chopped Duck Liver on Toast

Oh how I hate to throw out the giblets that come with poultry. Mr Ferdzy won't eat them though, so this was my own little treat. Really too much for one person, if you are also about to each chunks of the roasted duck, so I kept it and reheated it for breakfast. Very tasty, but I think it would have been better fresh out of the pan.

The third giblet found inside the duck was the gizzard. I find it too tough for this sort of treatment so it went into the duck stock to give its flavour there when the time came.

2 servings
20 minutes prep time

1 tablespoon dried tomato bits
2 or 3 fresh shiitake mushrooms
2 teaspoons finely minced peeled shallot
1 duck liver
1 duck heart 1 tablespoon duck fat
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 to 8 green peppercorns, lightly crushed
1/8 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika
 4 slices baguette

Chop the tomato bits finely, and put them in a small bowl with just enough boiling water to cover. Set them aside to soak for about 10 minutes.

Remove and discard the stems of the shiitake, and chop them fairly finely. Peel and mince the shallot. Chop the duck liver and heart; the liver fairly coarsely and the heart as fine as you can manage.

Retrieve the duck fat from the pan of the cooking duck, and place it in a very small skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, shallots, and tomato bits, drained if they are still sitting in any significant quantity of water. Add the seasoning. Cook, stirring well, for just a minute or two. When the mushrooms and shallot are soft, add the duck heart and continue cooking and stirring for a minute or so longer. Add the liver, and cook for just a minute, again stirring all the time. Remove the mixture to a dish to cool slightly. The liver should still be fairly pink, although seared all over. It will continue to cook a little as it cools.

Re-chop the mixture a bit to make it finer and more inclined to stick together, but it should have a fair bit of texture (for my taste, anyway). Serve on 4 little slices of baguette, toasted. And buttered, if you wish to be really decadent. Garnished with a little pickle if you like. It doesn't need to be super hot, but should still be warm when served. 

Beer-Can Roast Duck

It's duck week here at Seasonal Ontario Foods!

Just before the holidays I was able to purchase a mix of poultry from nearby Cirrus Hill Farm. I got a duck, 2 roasting chickens, 2 Guinea fowl, and a turkey. The turkey is gone, eaten at Christmas, but the rest should make an appearance as the winter progresses. Here's the duck. Not sure what kind exactly, but unless you have a muscovy duck, they should all cook similarly.

This one was fairly small, at about 3 1/2 pounds, but I expect to get three meals and an appetizer out of it for the two of us. Admittedly, one of those meals will be soup, but there will also be a generous amount of duck fat, very suitable for delectable frying; of potatoes in particular.  

The first meal is plain roasted duck; the breasts then carved off and served, and the rest set aside for later in the week. Since the skin is such an important component of a duck, I roasted on an upright roasting frame. The customary frame to use is, of course, an actual beer can, but I am dubious about the safety of the plastic films and dyes used in the labels. You can buy a roasting frame quite reasonably, and it will be well worth the money if you roast any amount or kind of fowl regularly. 

Here the bird has been dried, rubbed with salt, mounted on the frame, wing tips clipped off, and the wings tied to the bird with a bit of kitchen twine. The broth and reserved juices from the duck are about to be poured  into the pan, then it will be covered loosely in foil and into the oven it will go.

2 servings of roast breast meat
PLUS materials for other dishes
2 1/2 hours prep and cook time, plus overnight to dry off

a 1.5 to 2 kilo (3 1/2 to 4 1/2 pound) duck,

   including neck and giblets

1 cup unsalted chicken stock or water

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

If your duck is frozen, then it will need to go into the fridge, set on something to catch any leaks, and thaw slowly for 2 days.

The night before you wish to cook your duck, remove it from its packaging, draining it well as you lift it out. Carefully reserve any juices that were with it, though; mixing them with the chicken stock or water and the vinegar. Keep that covered in the fridge. Keep the neck and giblets wrapped and cold as well. Pat the duck dry with a paper towel, then leave it to air-dry on a plate overnight in the fridge.

Check that your duck and its pan will fit into the oven. You will likely need to remove at least one rack, and keep the remainder very low in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Rub the duck with the salt, then sit it on the roasting frame, making sure it is stable and will not tip. Clip off the tips of the wings at the first joint. Reserve them with the neck piece. Tie the wings to the duck with a piece of kitchen twine. Place the frame with the duck into a deep little roasting pan; it should hold at least a quart to a quart and a half (or litres, ditto); pour the broth and duck juices half into the dish of the roasting frame and half into the larger casserole.

Cover the duck loosely with aluminum foil. You will need to seam together 2 pieces in order to get it to cover the whole bird. This is not for the benefit of the bird, but to keep your oven from being covered with a fine mist of baked-on duck fat once this is all over. If the foil is loose the duck will crisp up nicely, so do be sure to keep it loose. A little hole in the top to vent steam is a good idea.

Roast the duck for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, according to the size of the duck. Remove the foil (but keep it), and increase the heat to 425°F. (If you wish to make and serve the Chopped Duck Liver before this meal, start it now.) Leave the duck to roast for 20 to 30 minutes more, until browned nicely to your liking.

Remove the duck from the oven, and cover it loosely with the foil again. Let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before you carve it. I found the easiest way was to tip the contents of the dish of the roasting frame into the larger roasting pan while holding it with good sharp forks at stem and stern, then transporting it thus sideways to a carving plate. Be prepared that you will need to pull out the roasting rack by hand, padded with a clean (soon to be not-clean) rag. Carve off the breasts and serve them with whatever else you have planned; after dinner will be soon enough to start the prep for the next set of dishes.

Fresh Raw Cranberry Orange Relish

Here is a variation on a well-known Christmas classic. The honey adds a local ingredient and also another subtle but rich layer of flavour. A little candied ginger may be something you would like, or not; it desirability may also depend on what else is being served. This is standard with turkey, but try it with chicken or roast duck as well.

This is best with fresh cranberries, but frozen ones will actually work quite well. The relish may be a little more inclined to separate, and the honey will probably not completely blend until the cranberries are well thawed - give it a good stir again before serving - but these are minor quibbles. And apart from the fact that you now need to wash the food processor, this is about as simple a recipe as you will ever find for the resulting pleasure.

about 3 cups
15 minutes prep time

1 large navel orange
1/3 cup wildflower honey
a slice of candied ginger (optional)
340 grams (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries

Wash the orange, and remove any hard stem bits that may be present. Dry it, and grate the zest into a food processor. Peel the orange and discard the skin. Cut or break the orange into chunks and add it to the food processor, with the honey, and ginger if using. Pulse until blended. Add the cranberries, and process until fairly finely chopped, but with some texture remaining.

Can be made anywhere from 1 hour to 3 days in advance; a little time in the fridge to let the flavours develop is beneficial.



Last year at this time I made Brussels Sprouts & Celeriac Slaw.