3688. DUCK in RED WINE-CURRANT SAUCE with CRACKLINGS and BACON

yields four servings 


2 small boneless duck breasts, skin removed and reserved 
2 slices bacon, cut across into thin strips 
½ teaspoon salt 
Freshly ground pepper to taste 
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots 
1 cup red wine 
½ cup chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned 
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar 
3 tablespoons currants 
2 teaspoons unsalted butter

Julienne half of the duck skin and discard the rest. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the duck skin and bacon and cook, stirring constantly, pouring off and reserving rendered fat as it accumulates, until skin and bacon are well browned, about 6 to 7 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels and set aside. Save 2 teaspoons of fat and discard the rest.

Season the duck with salt and pepper to taste. Place 1 teaspoon of the fat in the skillet. Sear duck until browned on the outside and medium rare inside, about 2 minutes per side. Set aside and keep warm.

Add the remaining fat and the shallots to the skillet and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the wine, broth, vinegar and currants and simmer until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 10 minutes.

Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste. Cut the duck on the diagonal into thin strips and fan out onto 4 plates. Spoon the sauce over the duck, sprinkle with the reserved duck skin and bacon and serve immediately. 


bacon recipe source: Molly O'Neill, The New York Times/Cooking (@nytfood)

2726. PAN-SEARED DUCK BREAST with GNOCCHI, SALSIFY, BRUSSEL SPROUTS, HOUSE-CURED BACON and RED WINE REDUCTION

yields 2-4 servings


2 duck breasts
4-6 salsify (if unavailable, use parsnips)
1 lemon
8 Brussels sprouts
2 slices thick-cut bacon (house cured preferably)
1 cup duck or chicken stock (home-made if possible)
1/2 cup red wine (merlot works well)
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
5 ounces butter (divided into: 2 ounces, 2 ounces, 1 ounce)
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup semolina flour
1/2 cup water (plus 1 gallon for boiling)
2 eggs
Kosher salt
Black pepper
1 bunch fresh thyme
1 bunch flat-leaf Italian parsley

Bring 1 gallon of water to boil in a pot, preheat an oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Chop 1 tablespoon of parsley and 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme. Boil 1/2 cup of water in a sauce pot with fresh herbs, add a pinch of salt, 2 ounces of butter and wait for it to melt. Add flours and cook for 2 minutes, transfer to a kitchen aid mixer with paddle attachment. Mix for 1 minute, add eggs, mix 1 more minute until smooth. Transfer batter to a pastry bag and pipe long lines onto a sheet pan dusted with flour. Cut gnocchi into 1 inch pieces. Cook in boiling water for 2-3 minutes until doubled in size. Drain, cool under cold water and reserve.

Score diagonally across the breasts (hatch marks) making sure not to penetrate into the meat, only the skin and season breasts with salt and pepper and place skin side down in a oven safe skillet. Render fat and crisp skin over med-low heat, about 10-15 minutes. Remove fat from the pan twice during this process. Reserve. Throw in 5 sprigs of fresh thyme and place in the oven to finish cooking (about 4 minutes for medium temp, and 10 minutes for well done). Remove from the oven and flip breasts over to briefly cook the other side, about 1 minute. Remove and let duck rest for 10 minutes.

Cut bacon in to cubes and render in a skillet until browned. Remove and save for garnish.

Peel salsify and place in water with the squeezed lemon until ready to cut. Thinly slice the salsify on a mandolin and sauté pan with reserved duck fat until cooked, but still crisp, remove and reserve.

Blanch Brussels sprouts in boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove and shock in ice water. Peel outer leaves and reserve, discard the centers.

Reduce red wine and sherry vinegar in a sauce pot until glossy, add duck stock reduce again until slightly thickened, add butter last minute, season with salt, reserve.

Heat a sauté pan over med-high heat and add 1 ounce of butter. Sauté gnocchi until browned on all sides. Add salsify and Brussels in the sauté pan with a splash of chicken stock, season and reduce until no liquid remains. Slice duck breast into 1/4 inch pieces and plate with vegetables and gnocchi. Pour sauce around.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Joel Gargano, Rocco's Dinner Party, Season 1, Episode 2 (Signature Dish, Winner), Bravo TV

1843. DUCK and BACON PATE

serves 12-14 as an appetizer


2 duck breasts (about 1 lb.), trimmed of skin and fat
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons orange liqueur,such as Grand Marnier
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
9 fresh or dried bay leaves
1 lb. boneless pork shoulder, chilled
3⁄4 lb. fatback, chilled
1⁄4 lb. chicken livers
2 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon chopped thyme leaves plus 8 sprigs
1⁄2 teaspoon ground cloves
1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger
1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1⁄4 teaspoon piment d'Espelette or paprika
4 1⁄2 teaspoons kosher salt
1⁄3 cup shelled pistachios
3 tablespoons dried green peppercorns
12–15 slices bacon

Cut the duck breasts into 1⁄2" cubes. Transfer duck, 1 finely chopped clove garlic, orange liqueur, 1 tbsp. of the olive oil, and 3 torn bay leaves to a small bowl; stir to coat the duck pieces. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 day and up to 3 days, to allow the flavors to come together. (The longer the duck marinates, the better the pâté will taste.) Cut the pork shoulder and the fatback into thin sheets. Cut sheets lengthwise into 1⁄8"-wide strips. Cut strips crosswise into 1⁄8" cubes. Mound the pork and fatback into separate piles on the cutting board and finely chop them by running a chef's knife over the piles several times; transfer pork and fat to bowls and set aside in the refrigerator to let chill.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a food processor, finely chop the remaining garlic. Scrape the sides of the bowl with rubber spatula. Add chicken livers and pulse until puréed. Add reserved pork and fat. In short bursts, pulse until the mixture resembles coarse hamburger meat, about 20 pulses. Transfer pork–liver mixture to a large bowl. Add eggs, chopped thyme, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, piment d'Espelette, and salt. Mix the ingredients together with your hands until well combined. Test the mixture for seasoning by heating remaining olive oil in an 8" skillet over medium-high heat. Transfer a pinch of the mixture to skillet and cook, flipping once, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Taste; adjust seasoning accordingly. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 day and up to 3 days, to allow the meats to cure and the flavors to come together.

When you're ready to assemble the pâté, remove bay leaves from duck mixture; discard. Using a spoon, fold duck mixture and any juices from marinade into the forcemeat along with the pistachios and peppercorns; set aside in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, line the bottom of a 1 1⁄2-qt. rectangular terrine mold with 4 evenly spaced thyme sprigs and 3 bay leaves. Place bacon crosswise along the bottom and up the sides of the mold, covering the herbs.

Spoon the meat–duck mixture into the terrine mold and gently smooth the top with the back of a spoon. Lay 4 strips bacon lengthwise across the top of the pâté. Cover bacon with remaining thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Cover the top of the pâté with 2 sheets of aluminum foil; crimp foil around edges of the mold to form a tight seal.

Heat oven to 325°. Transfer terrine mold to a 9" x 13" baking dish. Transfer dish to middle rack of the oven. Pour in enough boiling water that it reaches 1⁄2" up the sides of the terrine. Bake the pâté until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center reads 158°, about 2 hours. Transfer baking dish to a rack; remove foil. Cut out 2 rectangles of cardboard to fit inside rim of terrine mold. Wrap cardboard rectangles in foil and place them over pâté. Place three 15-oz. soup cans atop cardboard; let sit in water bath for 1 hour; remove. (Weighting makes the pâté easier to slice.) Refrigerate pâté (in its mold) for at least 1 day and up to 4 days. To serve, slide a knife along edges of pâté to loosen it. Invert the pâté onto a cutting board and slide a butter knife along one short edge to free the pâté from the mold. Cut into 3⁄4" slices and serve with baguette, dijon mustard, and cornichons.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Saveur, Issue #116

1763. TWICE-COOKED DUCK with PEAS and BACON

serves four


4 duck breasts, with skin (around 200 grams each)
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
600 grams fresh or frozen peas
4 red shallots or 1 small onion
2 tablespoons butter
100 grams thick-cut bacon, diced
1 teaspoon sugar
oil for frying

Wash and dry the duck breasts, and score the skin only with a sharp knife. Rub the salt and thyme leaves into the duck breasts, and place on a heatproof plate that will fit into your steamer. Steam over simmering water for 20 minutes. Remove and pat dry, reserving the juices. You can do this a few hours beforehand.

Cook the peas in simmering, salted water until tender, then drain, refresh with cold water, drain and set aside. Peel and slice the shallots. Heat half the butter in a pan and gently cook the sliced shallots and bacon for five minutes. Add the peas, sugar, a couple of spoonfuls of the duck juices and the remaining butter, and gently heat through.

Heat the oil in a nonstick frying pan, and sear the duck breasts, skin side down, until the skin is crisp and golden (this will happen quite quickly). Turn and cook gently until the duck is hot all the way through. To serve, slice each duck breast on the diagonal, and arrange on a bed of peas and bacon.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Jill Dupleix, Times Online, August 2, 2007

1572. DUCK with LENTILS and BACON-DATE PUREE

makes 6 servings


Bacon-date puree:
3 slices thick-cut applewood-smoked bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick pieces
2 tablespoons brandy
1 1/2 cups (packed) pitted dates (about 10 ounces)
1 1/4 cups (or more) water

Lentils:
8 cups water
1 cup black, green, or brown lentils
4 garlic cloves, peeled, smashed
2 bay leaves
7 tablespoons grapeseed oil or canola oil, divided
1 medium carrot, peeled, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1/3 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Duck:
3 1-pound Muscovy duck breast halves with skin
1 large shallot, chopped
1 tablespoon Sherry wine vinegar
1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth

For bacon-date puree: Sauté bacon in small saucepan over medium heat until crisp. Stir in brandy, scraping up browned bits. Add dates and 1 1/4 cups water; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until dates are very soft, about 12 minutes. Transfer to blender. Puree date mixture until smooth, adding more water by tablespoonfuls if too thick to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Date puree can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.

For lentils: Place 8 cups water, lentils, garlic, and bay leaves in medium saucepan. Sprinkle with salt. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer until lentils are just tender but still firm to bite, about 15 minutes or longer, depending on type of lentils. Drain; rinse under cold water to cool. Drain; discard garlic and bay leaves. Transfer to large bowl.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add carrot, celery, and 1/3 cup shallots. Sauté until carrots and celery are crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Stir carrot mixture into lentils. Mix remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons shallots and red wine vinegar in small bowl. Let mixture soak 5 minutes, then whisk in remaining 6 tablespoons oil. Add vinaigrette to lentil mixture; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Using sharp knife, score skin of duck breasts diagonally to create 3/4-inchwide diamond pattern. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat 1 large skillet and 1 medium skillet over medium-high heat. Place 2 duck breasts in large skillet and 1 duck breast in medium skillet, skin side down. Cook until skin is brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Turn duck, skin side up, and cook until brown and thermometer inserted horizontally into center registers 130°F, about 6 minutes.

Transfer duck to work surface. Drain all but 1 tablespoon fat from 1 skillet. Add shallot and sauté until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add Sherry vinegar and stir, scraping up browned bits. Add broth; bring to boil. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

Thinly slice duck breasts. Spoon 1/4 cup date puree in center of each of 6 plates and spread with back of spoon, forming well in center; spoon lentils into each well. Place duck breast slices atop lentils, dividing equally. Drizzle sauce over and serve.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Blue Velvet Restaurant, 750 Garland Avenue #102, Los Angeles, California 90017-4521, (213) 239-0061