Category Poultry

Duck Confit With Beetroot, Potato And Bitter Greens Salad


DUCK CONFIT WITH BEETROOT, POTATO AND BITTER GREENS SALAD

My local Market (Swansea Market) have decided to start stocking duck. I don’t use it much (which has to change by the way) so when I saw this I was quite ecstatic. With three large duck breasts bought I decided I wanted to give duck confit a go. For the first part of this recipe I used the ingredients  for curing from “Heston at Home by Heston Blumenthal”. After that I cooked and combined the remaining ingredients on my own as Heston’s recipe is very involved so I shortened it. This will go on the frequent list in our house, I hope it becomes a frequent one for you too.

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INGREDIENTS

FOR THE DUCK

– Duck Legs (breasts attached)

– 4 Star Anise

– 3 Juniper Berries

– 1 Cinnamon Stick

– 3 Black Peppercorns

– 2 Bay Leaves

– Sprig of Thyme

– Zest of ½ an Lemon

– Zest of ½ an Orange

– 60g Salt

– 500g Duck or Goose Fat

– Bitter Leaf Lettuce

– 2 Whole Beetroot, Thickly Sliced

– 2 Potatoes, Thickly Sliced

– Sunflower Shoots (optional)

FOR THE SHERRY VINAIGRETTE

– 2 Tbsp Sherry Vinegar

– 1 Tbsp Good Quality Olive Oil

– Salt & Pepper

METHOD

 To make this you will need to prepare the duck in advance. Place all the star anise, juniper berries, cinnamon, peppercorns and bay leaves onto a tray lined with baking paper and place into a preheated oven at 180ºC for about 5 minutes or until aromatic. Next you will need a mini food processor or mortar and pestle to grind these ingredients down. Place the ground ingredients into a large bowl along with the thyme, lemon zest, orange zest and salt. Mix to combine. Place the duck in the bowl to coat well and then place in a tight container into the fridge to rest over night.

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To start the following day, first preheat the oven to 150ºC. Remove ducks from container lightly was the salt off, pat dry and place into a very snug baking dish. Place duck fat either in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stove and heat unit the fat has warmed through. Pour the fat into the dish until the duck is fully submerged then place into the oven for 1 to 1½ hours.IMG_8735IMG_8734

Once cooked you can either let it sit until it has come to room temperature and place in the fridge overnight or if you impatient like me carve the meat off the bone and slice into bit size pieces. If you decide the latter place the beetroot and potatoes into the oven until cooked through about 30 minutes. Lastly combine vinaigrette ingredients into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Place the greens, potatoes and beetroot in next and toss the salad to combine all ingredients. to plate place some salad in the center then the duck meat on top. Place the sunflower shoots on top to garnish and enjoy.

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MANE Liquor recommend either The BrewDog Magic Stone Dog or the Cavalier Brown Ale

BrewDog / Stone / Magic Rock Magic Stone DogCavalier Brown

Adapted from “Heston at Home by Heston Blumenthal”

50/50 Eclipse Stout Tasting


MANE LIQUOR’S 50/50 ECLIPSE STOUT TASTING NIGHT

I was approached by the guys down at MANE Liquor about an up coming tasting event and they asked if I could supply some food. 50/50 Eclipse Stout to be exact and boy these are not cheap stouts! I hava never catered for 20 people before but was more than up for the challenge. MANE and I discussed and came up with the idea to have a four course meal with included the following: dish one some sticky Asian style wings, dish two I had to make Chicago style hotdogs as requested by the boss, dish three I SousVided some hanger steak, which had sides of a curry potato salad and some gourmet slaw and last but not least dish four was to be some Eagle Bay Cacao Stout brownies with vanilla ice cream.

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STICKY ASIAN STYLE WINGS

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– Chicken wings (I had to order 9kgs worth!)

– Hoi Sin Sauce

– Soy Sauce

– Honey

– Roasted Sesame Seeds

– Spring Onion (Green Part Only)

METHOD

This one was pretty easy. Combine all wet ingredients together in a large bowl with the wings and leave to marinate. Roast the sesame seeds on a high temperature for five minutes or until golden. Thinly slice the spring onion and set aside. Once needed, heat a large frying pan or in my case a extra large paella pan to medium-high and cook though until sticky and charred. To finish, serve on a plate and top with the sesame and spring onion.

 CHICAGO STYLE HOTDOGS

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INGREDIENTS

– Top Quality Beef Sausages

– Hotdog Buns

– Tomato, Sliced

– Peppers, Sliced

– Dill Cucumbers, Quartered Lengthways

– Onion, Finely Diced

– Yellow Mustard

METHOD

First cook the sausages, whilst that’s happening slice and dice all the other ingredients you need and put in separate bowls. Cut the bun down the middle not going all the way through, split and place in the oven or microwave just enough to heat through and butter. Once the sausages are cooked, place one in a bun then top with tomato, peppers, dill cucumbers, onion and yellow american mustard. Enjoy!

SOUSVIDE HANGER STEAK WITH CURRY POTATO SALAD AND GOURMET SLAW

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INGREDIENTS

– Hanger Steak

– 1 Carrot, Coarsely Chopped

– 1 Onion, Coarsely Chopped

– 1 Celery Stick, Coarsely Chopped

– 1 Clove Garlic, Crushed

– Red Wine (in my case MANE Liquor Shiraz Clean Skin)

Link to Curry Potato Salad

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1385/potato-salad-with-curried-mayo

Link to Gourmet Slaw

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/24541/classic+coleslaw

METHOD

First fill the SousVide to the fill line and set the temperature to your liking, mine was at 57ºC hovering around medium-rare. Place the steak into a vacpack bag along with all the vegetables. Pour in the Shiraz and seal the bag. place into the SousVide and leave until ready to serve. Heat a large frypan and sear off the sides of the steak. Calve the steak and serve with a side of the slaw and potato salad.

 EAGLE BAY CACAO STOUT BROWNIES

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INGREDIENTS

– 1 Bottle Eagle Bay Cacao Stout

– 450g Semi Sweet Cooking Chocolate of Your Choice

– 1 Cup and 2 Tbsp of Butter

– 1 ½ Cups of Sugar

– 3 Large Eggs

– ¾ Cup All-Purpose Flour

– 1 ½ Tsp Salt Flakes

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a 20×20 metal baking tray and line with baking paper. Next bring the stout to a boil in a medium sauce pan and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup. Let cool. Reserve 1/4 cup stout. Stir 340g of chocolate and 1 cup butter in a medium metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth.

Whisk sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend then Gradually whisk in chocolate mixture. Then the 1/4 cup of stout from pan. Sift in and then fold the flour and 1 1/4 tsp of salt. Pour batter into your prepared pan.

Bake brownies until surface begins to crack and a tester inserted into center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 35–40 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool for at least 20 minutes. Stir remaining 110g of chocolate in a medium metal bowl set over a sauce-pan of simmering water until melted and smooth then add the reserved 1/4 cup reduced stout, the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter and 1/4 tsp of salt. Whisk until well blended. Pour the warm glaze over brownies and let stand at room temperature until the glaze has set.

This night was a lot of fun and some epic beers to match. Thanks to the MANE Liquor boys for having me!

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