CONTENTS
1
INTRODUCTION BASICS
6
From Market to Table: Table: Breeds, Buying, Breaking Down, and Storing Stor ing
12
From Marsh to Table: Wild Species, Speci es, Field Care, C are, Hanging, and Processing Processi ng
22
Cooking with Duck: Flavors and Wine and Beer Pairings
WHOLE BIRDS PIECES 58 106 10 6
Breasts Legs and Wings
EXTRAS 152 15 2
Giblets
172
Charcuterie
203
Duck Fat
211 21 1
Duck Eggs
STOCK, GLACE, AND CONSOMMÉ 230
SELECTED SELEC TED BIBLIOGRAPHY
231
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
232
INDEX
SMOKED DUCK WITH LENTILS This is an elegant way to serve slices of smoked duck. Chanterelles are a winter mushroom
DIFFICULTY:
✱✱✱
SMOKED DUCK WITH LENTILS This is an elegant way to serve slices of smoked duck. Chanterelles are a winter mushroom on the West West Coast, so it is a natural pairing pair ing here. In other parts of the country co untry,, I’d I’d suggest shiitake mushrooms, which are available year-round. Regular button mushrooms will do in a pinch. Beluga lentils, which are tiny and black, are my favorite: they are prettier, firmer, and nuttier than regular green lentils. You can substitute green lentils if you like, but yellow or red lentils will dissolve.
3 cups Basic Duck Stock (page 222) or chicken stock Kosher salt 1 cup beluga lentils 8 ounces chanterelle mushrooms, coarsely chopped 3 tablespoons duck fat or olive oil 1 Smoked Duck (page 41), carved 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 tablespoon cider vinegar ½ cup Duck Glace de Viande (page 226), or 1 cup Basic Duck Stock (page 222) reduced to ½ cup 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
✱✱✱
SERVES 4 PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES COOK TIME: 35 MINUTES
pan for 2 to 3 minutes, until they give off their water, then sprinkle with salt. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 to 5 minutes, until most of the water evaporates. evaporates. Add Add 2 tablespoons of the duck fat and toss to coat the mushrooms. Sear until they begin to brown, then remove with a slotted spoon. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon duck fat to the pan and lay the smoked duck pieces, skin side down, in the hot pan. Sear until the skin crisps, about 3 minutes. Transfer the duck, skin side up, to a cutting board.
Minced fresh chives, for garnish
Add the garlic to the pan and sauté for 1 minute. Mix in the vinegar, glac an d Worcester Worcestershire shire glacee de vian de , mustard, and sauce and boil down by half. Turn off the heat.
In a saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer and taste for salt. If you are using store-bought chicken stock, you won’t need to add salt. Add the lentils and adjust the temperature so the stock is just steaming, not simmering. Cover the pan and let the lentils cook for about 30 minminutes, until they are tender but still hold their shape.
Drain the lentils and put them in a bowl. Mix in the chanterelles to half of the sauce in the sauté pan. Spoon some lentils onto each plate, arrange some of the duck pieces on the lentils, then top with the chives. Drizzle the remaining sauce around everything and serve.
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Meanwhile, place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When it is hot, add the chanterelles, shaking the pan as they go in. Let the mushrooms sear in the dry
44
DIFFICULTY:
DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE
LAOTIAN DUCK SALAD , one of the most famous dishes of
LAOTIAN DUCK SALAD This is larb , one of the most famous dishes of Southeast Asia. It is a spectacular hot-weather salad, normally served with beef, chicken, or seafood. Duck larb does does exist, however, in Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. The list of ingredients is long, but the hardest part about making this recipe is chopping the herbs and vegetables. It’ It’s really that easy ea sy..
2 tablespoons short-grain white rice 1½ to 2 pounds skinless duck breasts Kosher salt 2 tablespoons duck fat or vegetable oil 1 cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro 1 cup loosely packed chopped fresh mint 1 lemongrass stalk, white bulblike part only, trimmed, outer leaves discarded, and minced 2 large shallots, thinly sliced 3 green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 to 4 small fresh hot chiles, thinly sliced
DIFFICULTY: ✱ SERVES 4 PREP TIME: 30 MINUTES COOK TIME: 8 MINUTES
In a small, dry sauté pan over medium-high heat, toast the rice, shaking the pan often, for 4 to 5 minutes, until it browns. Pour onto a plate to cool, then grind coarsely in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Ready the remaining ingredients. Pat the duck breasts dry with paper p aper towels. towels. In a large sauté pan, heat the duck du ck fat over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add the breasts skinned side down d own and sear for 3 minutes. Flip and finish cooking according to your liking, using the finger test t est for doneness (see page 61) 61) and salting to taste. Transfer the duck to a cutting board and let rest for 15 minutes.
2 teaspoons peeled and grated fresh ginger Grated zest and juice of 1 lime 1 tablespoon fsh sauce or s oy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
While the duck rests, in a bowl, combine the ground rice, cilantro, mint, lemongrass, shallots, green onions, garlic, chiles to taste, ginger, ginger, lime zest and juice, fish sauce, sugar, sugar, and sesame oil and mix well. When the duck du ck is ready, ready, you can either slice or mince it; mincing is more traditional. tradit ional. Add the duck, du ck, plus any accumulated juices, to the bowl holding the rest of the salad and mix well. Serve with an ice-cold lager or pilsner.
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DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE
BASIC DUCK STOCK
BASIC DUCK STOCK This is my standard duck or goose stock. It is the stock that I call for in the recipes in this book. In other words, you need to make lots. Every time you get a carcass, save it for stock. If you don’t have a lot of ducks around at one time, save them up for future rounds of stock making making.. You can chop c hop up the carcasses before freezing, so they take up less space. Make this stock when you have a day off, as it takes all day. The good news is that you will be rewarded with 4 quarts or more of rich stock that is a perfect base for stews, soups, or wintertime risottos or polenta—or even eaten on its own as a clear soup.
c f 4 6 wld d, 2 3 wld g, 1 2 d d g, nldng wng p, n, nd nnd (n lv), f pl Vegetable oil, for coating Kosher salt 1 pig’s foot or 20 duck or chicken feet (optional) 1 lg yllw w nn, ppd 1 large carrot, sliced 2 celery stalks, chopped 4 lv gl, ppd ½ ounce (about 1 handful) dried m ushrooms (any kind) 1 tablespoon black peppercorns 1 tablespoon juniper berries (optional) 3 y lv 1 large sprig rosemary Tops from 1 fennel bulb (optional) s f 1 n -lf ply, ppd 10 f g lv, ppd 1 tablespoon dried or fresh thyme
222
DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE
DIFFICULTY: ✱✱ makes about 6 quarts PREP TIME: 20 MINUTES cook time: 6 hours
Coat the carcasses and various bird bits with oil. Salt them well and put in a large roasting pan. Put in the oven, turn on the oven to 400°F, and roast for about 1 hour, until well browned. Meanwhile, score the pig’s foot all over, or chop the duck feet with a cleaver or other heavy knife, to break the skin and expose the joints and bones. There is collagen in the feet that will seep into the water and give the finished stock more body bo dy.. When the carcasses are ready, remove them from the oven and chop them into large pieces with heavy kitchen shears or a cleaver. This will make it possible to fit them all into your stockpot. Transfer them to a large stockpot and add the feet. Pour in cold water to cover everything by about 1 inch. Turn the heat to medium, bring to a bare simmer, and cook very gently for 2 to 8 hours. Do not let this boil. Meanwhile, put the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic in the roasting pan and stir to coat with the fat that has rendered from the duck bits. If you are using domestic ducks or fatty wild ones, you may have too much fat: if you have a pool of fat at the bottom of the roasting pan, drain off all but about 3 tablespoons. You can strain the fat and reuse it (it’ (it’ss great for roasting potatoes). Put the vegetables in the oven and roast for about 45 minutes, until browned.
SMOKED DUCK Those who know their way around a smoker know that fat is a critical element in this process. Fat absorbs the flavor of the smoke better than the meat itself. This is why you see lots of recipes for smoked pork and salmon; both are fatty animals. So are waterfowl. You need to decide whether to br ine or not. Both methods work. Brining a duck, especially if you use curing salt (a mixture of salt and sodium nitrite), will help preserve the bird longer in the fridge and will let you smoke it longer and cooler without drying out the meat. If you are skipping the brine, simply salt the duck or goose well, let it rest at room temperature for a few hours before smoking, and pat it dry before you put it in the smoker. It’s vital that you start with a room-temperature duck. As for flavors, I am in love with the combination of smoke, duck, salt, and maple. I need no other flavors in my life, but honey would be good, as would a Cajun rub, something vaguely Indian, chiles, French quatre épices , and so on. Use your imagination. As for wood, I am a big fan of fruit or nut woods, like apple, pecan, hickory, or walnut. Oak and beech are fine, but mesquite is too strong for duck. If you have a smoker, just follow the directions that came with it to set it up and smoke your duck. If you have only a kettle grill, you can turn it into a smoker following a handful of relatively simple steps (page 43). Thinly sliced on the diagonal, smoked duck is fantastic as part of an appetizer plate or in a sandwich. You can also carve a whole breast, sear the skin side in a frying pan until it crisps again, and serve it with polenta or lentils (page 44). Beware: If you are buying a domest ic duck, read the package. Some are “plumped” with a salt solution of up to 12 percent, so they are esse ntially prebrined. Do not brine these birds a second t ime. Prebrined domestic birds also need longer drying t ime.
1 domesticated duck or wild goose, or 2 fat wild ducks BRINE ¼ cup kosher salt 1 teaspoon Insta Cure No. 1 (see page 196), optional 4 cups water 1 cup maple syrup
If you are using a domesticated duck or goose, remove as much of the fat from inside the body cavity and around the neck as possible. Set the fat aside to use later. Whether using a domesticated duck or fatty wild ducks, pierce the skin all over with a clean needle or the tip of a sharp knife, positioning the tool at an angle so that you are piercing just the skin and not the meat. This helps the
DIFFICULTY: ✱✱✱ SERVES 4 PREP TIME: 6 TO 14 HOURS, PRIMARILY BRINING AND DRYING TIME COOK TIME: 4 TO 7 HOURS
rendered fat to escape. Cut off the neck skin about 1 inch from the breast meat. To make the brine, in a container just large enough to hold the duck, stir together the kosher salt, curing salt, and water until the salts dissolve. Place Place the duck in the brine, cover the container, and brine in the refrigerator for 4 to 12 hours. You may need to top it with a weight to keep it submerged. Remove the duck from the brine, pat it dry with paper towels, tow els, and set it on a cooling rack under a fan or in a cool, breezy place. Let the duck air-dry for 2 to 3 hours. Don’t skip this step, or the smoke will not adhere to the duck well. cntinud
WHoLe BIrDS
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41
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While the bird is air-drying, pour the maple syrup into a small, heavy saucepan, place over medium-high heat, bring to a boil, and boil until reduced by half. This should take about 8 to 12 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. When the duck is dry, paint the exterior of the bird with some of the maple syrup. Set the remainder of the syrup aside to use later later.. Set up your smoker with a drip pan, then set the bird in the smoker with the drip pan beneath it. Put the excess fat from the body cavity into the drip pan. This will render as you smoke the duck, duc k, yielding smoked duck fat mixed with maple drippings, which may just be the greatest substance known to man. Smoke the duck between 200°F and 275°F for 4 to 7 hours, depending on how smoky you want your bird. Baste the duck with the maple syrup every 45 minutes to an hour. If you smoke at the low end of the spectrum, the skin will not be crispy cr ispy but the meat will be more tender; you can crisp the skin in a sauté pan before serving. You will know the duck is done when a thermometer stuck in the thigh reads 170°F to 175°F, 175°F, or when the leg meat begins to come away from the bone. Allow the duck to cool before carving (see page 32).
42
DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE
TIPS FOR SMOKING WILD BIRDS Any dmstic duck can b smkd with succss. If yu a using wild bids, h a sm guidlins: Dn’t smk sa ducks, divs, shvls yu think might b shy. Smking will nt hlp yu. Skin ths bids and d smthing ls with thm. Avid smking snw gs any th wild bid that is üb-lan. Yu nd sm fat t mak smking wk. evn a littl is kay. Nv smk a skinnd duck. rmmb, th smky av lings in skin and fat fa m than it ds in mat. If yu smk a skinnd duck, it will b m lik jky and lss l ik a pp smkd duck. Smking whl bids givs yu btt sults than pics, s I gnally smk nly whl bids; gs lgs a an xcptin. Yu Yu can cav whl bids aftwad. Big ducks smk btt than small ducks, althugh th is n asn yu can’t smk a tal.
FOR HOLL HO LLY Y — my my duck hunting buddy, photographer,
guinea guin ea pig, and most of all, my best friend.
Some of the recipes in this book include raw eggs. When When eggs are consumed raw,, there is always the risk that bacteria, which is killed by proper cooking, raw may be present. For this reason, always buy certified salmonella-free eggs from a reliable grocer, grocer, storing them in the refrigerator until t hey are served. Because of the health risks associated with the consumption of bacteria that can be present in raw eggs, they should not be consumed by infants, small children, pregnant women, the elderly, or any persons who may be immunocompromised. The author and publisher expressly disclaim responsibility for any adverse effects that may result from the use or application of the recipes and information contained in this book. Copyright © 2013 by Hank Shaw Photographs copyright © 2013 by Holly A. Heyser All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Ten Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. York. www.crownpublishing.com www.tenspeed.com Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Shaw, Hank, 1970Duck, duck, goose : recipes recipes and techniques for cooking ducks and geese, both wild and domesticated / Hank Shaw. Shaw. pages cm 1. Cooking (Duck) 2. 2. Cooking (Goose) 3. Cooking (Game) I. Title. TX750.5.D82S53 2013 641.6’91—dc23
2012046940
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-60774-529-7 eBook ISBN: 978-1-60774-530-3 Printed in China Design by Sarah Adelman Food and prop styling by Hank Shaw and Holly A. Heyser 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First Edition
