Bear Cuisine

The Christmas Duck

We had a delightful Christmas Day, watching Julie and Julia as I cooked a duck. As it happened, I used a method proposed by Julia in her The Way to Cook. It may sound complicated, but it is reallly quite easy and does yield a tender, juicy bird with crispy skin. If you have tried roasting a whole duck, you know the problems with tender breast meat, tough leg-thing joints and too much grease from all the fat under the skin. This method offers a solution to all these potential difficulties.

STEAM-ROASTED DUCK

(4 servings)

• a five-pound duckling
• 1 lemon
• Salt
• Sage or thye, pitional
• 1/2 cup each: chpped onion, carrot and celery
• 11/2 cups red wine, white wine or water

 

Equipment suggested: A covered roaster or casserole with rack, just large enough to hold the duck comfortably and a shallow roasting pan with a rack for the final cooking.

Preparing the duck for roasting. Pull all loose fat out of the cavity of the duck, remove the wishbone for easier carving of the breast, and, for even easier carving, cut through the ball joints of the wings and thighs. Chop off the wings at the elbows, save them, as well as the neck and giblets, for duck stock. Wipe the duck dry, and rub all over the outside and inside the cavity with cut lemon. Salt the inside of the cavity lightly and add, if you wish, a sprinkling of thyme or sage.

Preliminary steaming-30 minutes. Place the duck breast up on the rack in the casserole, add 1 inch of water and bring to the boil on top of the stove. Cover the caserole tightly, reduce heat, and let it steam for 30 minutes.

Braising--30 minutes at 325 degrees F. Remove the steamed duck from the casserole, pour out the liquid (which you can degrease and use for your duck stock), drain the duck. Place a double thickness of foil over the rack, and return the duck, breast down. Strew the vegeables around, and pour in the wine or water. Bring to the simmer top of the stove, cover the casserole and braise in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Final roasting--30 to 40 minutes at 375 degrees F. Remove the duck to the rack in the shallow roasting pan. roast uncovered to brown and crisp the skin--the duck is done when the legs feel reasonably tender.

Sauce. Meanwhile skim the fat off the cooking liquid in the covered casserole, and simmer the liquid, mashing in the vegetables. then boil it down until it is almost syrupy. Strain, pressing the juices out of the vegetables--you will have just enough liquid to moisten each serving.

Seared Duck Breast with Cherries

Way back in July, I shared a recipe from Eugenia Bone for preserving cherries in wine (click here for that recipe). Now here is a recipe for using those cherries. Pairing duck with fruit is a classic combination. This dish couldn't be more simple and you have the pleasure of using food that you have preserved from your pantry. Very satisfying indeed!

SEARED DUCK BREAST WITH CHERRIES

(serves 4)

1. 1 1/2 cups Cherries in Wine
   
2. 2 tablespoons olive oil
   
3. Salt and freshly ground pepper
   
4. 2 whole Pekin duck breasts, skin scored in a diamond pattern
   

Puree the cherries in a food processor until very fine, then push them through a fine sieve. 

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Salt and pepper the duck breasts. Sear the breasts skin side down in the oil until the skin is golden brown, thin, and crispy--7 to 8 minutes. Pour off the fat and flip the breasts over. Cook for another 4 minutes for medium-rare. Transfer the breasts to a plate, cover with tin foil and let them rest.

Pour off the fat in the skillet and add the pureed cherries and the accumulated juices from the duck into the pan. Heat for about 2 minutes, until hot and bubbling.

Slice the duck breast on the bias and serve on a platter dressed with the cherry sauce. Garnish with rosemary sprigs if you like.

Cassoulet

Years ago I made a cassoulet following Julia Child's detailed instructions. As I remember it was a great success; the only drawback was that my  partner and I were eating the leftovers for what seemed an eternity. Still, I love this dish and for many it represents rustic French cuisine as no other preparation can. It is, to use that over-used word,iconic.

When a member of our French class announced that she would be leaving to live in Switzerland, I thought it time to make cassoulet again. I wanted to give Sandra a going-away party and  could think of no better French food that could feed so many with such ease. This time I chose Paula Wolfert as my guide and she proved to be every bit as involved and reliable as Julia had been.

 CASSOULET

1. 1 pound boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 12 chunks
2. 1 1/2 pounds fresh ham hock
3. 3/4 pound fresh pork skin with 1/4-inch layer of hard fat attached
4. Salt and freshly ground pepper
5. 2 pounds white beans, such as Tarbais, Lingots, cocos or cannelini
6. 1/3 cup rendered duck fat
7. 2 medium onions, chopped
8. 3 small carrots, peeled and cut into thin rounds
9. 1/2 pound pancetta or ventreche, or blanched lean salt pork, about 1- 1/4-inches thick
10. 1 whole head of garlic, unpeeled and 4 small cloves garlic, peeled
11. 1 large plum tomato, peeled or 1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato paste
12. 2 quarts unsalted chicken stock*
13. Herb bouquet: 4 sprigs parsley, 2 sprigs thyme, 1 bay leaf and 3 small ribs celery, tied together
14. 6 confit or duck legs 
15. 1/4 pound blanched fat salt pork with rink removed
16. 1 pound Toulouse sausages
17. 4 tablespoons fresh bread crumbs
18. 2 tablespoons walnut oil

Two Days in Advance

Season the pork shoulder, fresh ham hock and pork skin moderately with salt and pepper. Place in a glass dish, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Wash the beans in cold water. Put them in a large bowl with three times their volume of cold water and let soak overnight, or for at least 12 hours.

One Day Before

Simmer the pork skin in water to cover until the skin is soft, 10 to 20 minutes. Drain, roll up the skin into bundles and tie with with string. Cover and set aside in a cool place until needed.

Dry the chunks of pork shoulder with paper towels. In an 8 or 9-quart flameproof casserole, heat the duck fat over moderately high heat. Add the pork shoulder and lightly brown on all sides. Add the onions and carrots and saute, stirring, until the onions are soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the ham hock and the whole piece of ventreche or pancetta. Cook these meats until they are brown around the edges, turning occasionally. Add the whole head of garlic and the tomato, stirring for 1 minute. Add the stock, bundles of pork skin, and herb bouquet. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer the ragout for 1  hour.

When the ragout has cooked for 1 hour, drain the beans and put them into a large saucepan. Cover them with fresh water and slowly bring to a boil. Skim and simmer for a few minutes, then drain and immediately add the beans to the simmering ragout. Continue simmering for up to 2 hours or until the beans are tender. Let cool, then skim off all the fat that has risen to the top;reserve 2 tablespoons of this fat for finishing the cassoulet. Cover the ragout and beans; refrigerate overnight.

On the Day

Steam the duck confit for 10 minutes to soften. As soon as the meat is cool enough to handle, pull it off the bones in large chunks.

Remove the ragout and beans from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Pick out the ham hock,ventreche, garlic head and herb bouquet.  Cut the meat from the ham hock, discarding bones and fatty parts. Cut the ventreche into bite-size pieces, discarding the fat. Set all the meats aside, Press on the garlic to extract the pulp and set aside. Discard the garlic skins and herb bouquet.

In a food processor electric blender, puree the salt pork with the cooked and raw garlic and one cup of water. Add this garlic puree to the ragout and beans; simmer for minutes. Remove from the heat. Fold reserved meats into the ragout and beans.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

To assemble the cassoulet, remove the roll of pork skin from the ragout. Untie, cut the skin into 2-inch pieces, and use to line your Cassole fat side down. Using a large slotted spoon, add one half of the beans and pork shoulder. Scatter the duck confit on top of the pork and beans. Cover with the remaining beans pork ragout. Taste the ragout cooking liquid and adjust the seasoning. Pour just enough of the ragout liquid over the beans to cover them. Be sure there is at least on inch of space between the beans and the rim of the dish. Drizzle with the 2 tablespoons of reserved fat. Place the cassole in the oven and let cook from 1 1/2 hours. 

Prick the sausages and brown them in a skillet. Drain; cut large sausages into 3 or 4-inch pieces.

Reduce the oven to 275 degrees. Gently, stir up the skin that has formed on the beans. Place the sausages on top. Dust the bread crumbs on top of the beans and sausages. Bake the cassoulet for 1 more hour. The top should be golden brown. Transfer the cassoulet from the oven to a cloth-lined counter. Let it rest for 20 minutes. Drizzle with walnut oil just before serving.

* I used duck stock which I like to think gave an even deeper flavor to the finished dish.

Definitions

Cassole: the clay pot used to cook the cassoulet and the source of it's name

Confit:This speciality of Gascony, France, is derived from an ancient method of preserving meat (usually goose, duck or pork) whereby it is salted and slowly cooked in its own fat. The cooked meat is then packed into a crock or pot and covered with its cooking fat, which acs as a seal and preservative. Confit can be refrigerated up to 6 months.

Ventreche: French bacon; similar to Pancetta.

If you want a cassole similar to the ones found in Toulouse, you may order one from The Clay Coyote Pottery. 

If you want to make this dish, but don't want to work so hard, order a Cassoulet Kit from D'targnan.

Roast Duck with Tomato-Caper Sauce

Roast Duck with Tomato-Caper Sauce 

For this dinner I used a Muscovy duck which is leaner than a Pekin duck. While there isn't as much fat on these birds, there is still enough to make for a tasty meal and cook the oven-roasted potatoes to a delicious golden-brown. I adapted a recipe which David Rosengarten printed in one of his 2005 newsletters.

Roasted Muscovy Duck

• one 4-5 pound Muscovy hen
  
• Duck Fat
  
• salt and pepper
  

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Smear the duck with duck fat and generously salt and pepper, inside and out. Place on a rack in a roasting pan, breast side up. Place in the oven.

After one hour increase the heat to 325 degrees, turn the duck breast side down and roast for another  hour. Remove the duck from the oven. Raise the oven temperature to 500 degrees.

When the temperature is reached, place the duck, breast side up, in the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Let the duck rest 15 to 20 minutes. Carve and serve.

TOMATO-CAPER SAUCE

• 3 to 4 shallots, minced
• 1 tablespoon duck fat or oil
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 small jar caper (approximately 4 fluid ounces)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• chicken broth

1. Place the shallots in a saucepan with the duck fat. Cook over medium heat until the shallots start to soften and become transparent. Sprinkle with flour and stir.

2. Add the jar of capers and their liquid to the pan.

3. Stir in the tomato paste with a little water and enough broth (about 2 cups) to make it the consistency you like. You should have ample sauce to pass around two or three times as seconds are served. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes at a simmer and serve with the chicken.

Duck Tales

The other evening we had duck for dinner and, I must say, it was delicious. I've used various methods for cooking duck, but this time I tried a very simple recipe from Poultry in The Good Cook Series. This series was published by Time-Life in 1979 and it is my go-to source when I want to learn or review the basics of any particular food.These volumes are long out of print,but you can still find them in used book shops specializing in cookbooks. They are well worth having in your collection.

BASIC ROAST DUCKLING AND SAUCE

(serves 4)

• 4 to 5 pound duckling with the gizzard, heart and liver reserved and chopped
  
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 1/4 tsp pepper
  
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
  

BASIC DUCK SAUCE

• 1 rib celery, coarsely chopped
  
• 1 carrot, coarsely chopped
  
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
  
• 1 tomato, coarsely chopped
  
• 1 cup beef stock
  

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Trim the duck of excess fat at the base of the tail and inside. Rub it inside and out with salt, pepper and rosemary. Prick the skin on the thighs and breast to allow the fat to drain. Place the duck and giblets in a pan and roast for 1 1/2 hours . Remove the duck from the pan and keep it warm

Pour off all but two tablespoons of fat from the roasting pan. Add the chopped vegetables and saute for 10 minutes stirring constantly. Add the beef stock. Stir, scraping up the brown bit in the pan, then strain the contents into a saucepan.

Cut the duck into quarters using poultry shears, pour the sauce over it and serve.

(from Splendid Fare, The Albert Stockli Cookbook by Albert Stockli)