Clarissa, I'm stocked up on beer and popcorn for this one. Would be interested in how you prepare your chicken feet. I pickle mine along with making dim sum and of coarse stock.
Tom
Tom
My duck post (Final): duck prosciutto, duck confit, and seared duck breast with cherry port wine sau
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olmy
Newbie
Ummmm........ I don't quite know what to say! I am still wiping the tears from my eyes. Great post! I am definitely going to look more into this duck prosciutto, sounds like a fantastic way to use up some of the woody and mallard breasts I have in the freezer.
Wow!! I like the idea of duck prosciutto. Been wanting to try duck breast bacon, but now I'm torn. Thanks for the awesome post!!
- Nov 15, 2012
- 1,025
- 105
Hi Tom,
I don't usually do anything special with the chicken feet, I just simmer them when I am making stock. I leave some of them in my stock, but I remove the rest after about 1 1/2 hours and eat all of the soft and edible bits. I've also tried simmering them in a chinese-style marinade, which is very tasty too.
I'd love to see your recipe for pickled chicken feet! I just did a quick search on the forum, and unless I missed it, it doesn't look like you have a post out on this yet. I'd love it if you would post on this next time you make them!!!
Hope you have a great night!
Clarissa
- Nov 15, 2012
- 1,025
- 105
Hi Olmy,
Thank you!! Definitely look into duck prosciutto....if you do an internet search, you'll see many versions of this. I think you'll have a great time using up your freezer duck breasts!
Have a great night!
Clarissa
Hey Md,
Thank you so much! Duck breast bacon sounds like a lot of fun, too. If you go this route, please be sure to post on it! I'd really be interested in how it works out for you!
Have a great night!
Clarissa
- Nov 15, 2012
- 1,025
- 105
Day 2
OK, today I finished up the duck confit, and also used up the last 2 duck breasts for dinner.
The duck pieces for confit need to dry brine for at least 1 and up to 2 days. I went with 1 day just due to time constraints. Melt your duck fat over very low heat. Brush the garlic and herbs off your duck parts, then rinse in cool water, and pat dry thoroughly.
Lay the duck thigh/leg pieces in a single layer in a deep casserole or oven proof dish that is just big enough for the duck. Some recipes say skin down, some say skin up. I went with skin up, but I don't know if it really matters.
Add enough duck fat to cover the duck pieces. If you don't have enough duck fat, you can supplement with olive oil. I used the duck fat I rendered yesterday, and supplemented it with some duck fat I purchased a year ago for this purpose, and which has been sitting in my freezer since then.
Preheat the oven to 280 deg F. Cook uncovered at 280 deg F until you see some gentle bubbling of the fat, then lower the heat down to 225 deg F or even down to 200 deg F. You basically want to maintain a very gentle simmer for about 3 hours or so. When you can easily insert a toothpick into the duck, and it has pulled away from the bone, it is done.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the duck parts from the fat, and place in a container that will hold the duck snugly and that you can cover in the refrigerator. In this picture you can see why I frenched the duck legs when prepping them. Frenching allows for the leg meat to contract up to the thigh, which leaves a nice compact ball of meat.
Filter the liquid duck fat, leaving behind any sediment or any juices which would have collected at the bottom of the casserole dish. If you plan to use your confit within a week, you don't need to worry too much about the juices; you even could just pull the duck confit out of the oven, let it cool, then refrigerate as is. However, if you want to improve the storage life of your confit, you want to eliminate the juices and just cover your duck meat with clean fat.
Remember, juice (i.e. water) = bacterial growth medium = reduced storage life.
Cover your duck with the clean filtered fat by an inch or so, cool, then cover and refrigerate. It should keep for 2-3 weeks or even longer if you did a good job of eliminating all juice. The flavor will improve as it ages in the refrigerator. I will let mine age in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks, and then will use it to make a couple of different recipes. Stay tuned!
For dinner tonight I seared the last 2 remaining duck breasts and served them with a port wine cherry sauce. The recipe I followed is from epicurious.com (Seared Duck Breast with Cherries and Port Sauce).
Start off by scoring the fat side of your duck breast down to the breast, but not into the breast meat. This is easier than it sounds. Season with salt and pepper.
Prep the sauce ingredients: 1/2 cup minced shallot, 16 dark cherries (pitted and halved), 1 cup duck stock, 1/4 cup tawny port, 2 Tbsp honey, 2 Tbsp butter.
Melt 1 Tbsp butter in a cast iron pan over medium high heat. Add the duck breast with the skin side down. Sear for 5 minutes.
Flip over, lower heat to medium, then cook for additional 4 - 8 minutes depending on the size of the breast. You are going for a rare-medium-rare. I went with 6 minutes as our duck breasts were pretty large. Pull the breasts from the pan, tent with foil, and let rest while you make the sauce.
Drain the pan of all but a couple Tbsp of pan drippings. Saute the minced shallot in the drippings for about 30 seconds.
Add the stock, cherries, port, and honey. Bring to boil and reduce for about 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in the butter, season with salt and pepper.
And here is tonight's plated shot. The duck breast was a perfect medium rare. The sauce was a little more liquidy than I had pictured, but the flavor was great. I served the sliced duck breast and cherry sauce with mashed buttercup squash and steamed cauliflower.
Whew!! A good weekend of cooking. Next up tomorrow is hanging the duck breast prosciutto. Thank you for reading and sticking with me!!
Have a great night!
Clarissa
OK, today I finished up the duck confit, and also used up the last 2 duck breasts for dinner.
The duck pieces for confit need to dry brine for at least 1 and up to 2 days. I went with 1 day just due to time constraints. Melt your duck fat over very low heat. Brush the garlic and herbs off your duck parts, then rinse in cool water, and pat dry thoroughly.
Lay the duck thigh/leg pieces in a single layer in a deep casserole or oven proof dish that is just big enough for the duck. Some recipes say skin down, some say skin up. I went with skin up, but I don't know if it really matters.
Add enough duck fat to cover the duck pieces. If you don't have enough duck fat, you can supplement with olive oil. I used the duck fat I rendered yesterday, and supplemented it with some duck fat I purchased a year ago for this purpose, and which has been sitting in my freezer since then.
Preheat the oven to 280 deg F. Cook uncovered at 280 deg F until you see some gentle bubbling of the fat, then lower the heat down to 225 deg F or even down to 200 deg F. You basically want to maintain a very gentle simmer for about 3 hours or so. When you can easily insert a toothpick into the duck, and it has pulled away from the bone, it is done.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the duck parts from the fat, and place in a container that will hold the duck snugly and that you can cover in the refrigerator. In this picture you can see why I frenched the duck legs when prepping them. Frenching allows for the leg meat to contract up to the thigh, which leaves a nice compact ball of meat.
Filter the liquid duck fat, leaving behind any sediment or any juices which would have collected at the bottom of the casserole dish. If you plan to use your confit within a week, you don't need to worry too much about the juices; you even could just pull the duck confit out of the oven, let it cool, then refrigerate as is. However, if you want to improve the storage life of your confit, you want to eliminate the juices and just cover your duck meat with clean fat.
Remember, juice (i.e. water) = bacterial growth medium = reduced storage life.
Cover your duck with the clean filtered fat by an inch or so, cool, then cover and refrigerate. It should keep for 2-3 weeks or even longer if you did a good job of eliminating all juice. The flavor will improve as it ages in the refrigerator. I will let mine age in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks, and then will use it to make a couple of different recipes. Stay tuned!
For dinner tonight I seared the last 2 remaining duck breasts and served them with a port wine cherry sauce. The recipe I followed is from epicurious.com (Seared Duck Breast with Cherries and Port Sauce).
Start off by scoring the fat side of your duck breast down to the breast, but not into the breast meat. This is easier than it sounds. Season with salt and pepper.
Prep the sauce ingredients: 1/2 cup minced shallot, 16 dark cherries (pitted and halved), 1 cup duck stock, 1/4 cup tawny port, 2 Tbsp honey, 2 Tbsp butter.
Melt 1 Tbsp butter in a cast iron pan over medium high heat. Add the duck breast with the skin side down. Sear for 5 minutes.
Flip over, lower heat to medium, then cook for additional 4 - 8 minutes depending on the size of the breast. You are going for a rare-medium-rare. I went with 6 minutes as our duck breasts were pretty large. Pull the breasts from the pan, tent with foil, and let rest while you make the sauce.
Drain the pan of all but a couple Tbsp of pan drippings. Saute the minced shallot in the drippings for about 30 seconds.
Add the stock, cherries, port, and honey. Bring to boil and reduce for about 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in the butter, season with salt and pepper.
And here is tonight's plated shot. The duck breast was a perfect medium rare. The sauce was a little more liquidy than I had pictured, but the flavor was great. I served the sliced duck breast and cherry sauce with mashed buttercup squash and steamed cauliflower.
Whew!! A good weekend of cooking. Next up tomorrow is hanging the duck breast prosciutto. Thank you for reading and sticking with me!!
Have a great night!
Clarissa
Brilliant I love it !
I assume that confit leg is going to a cassoulet ingredient?
Real winter food.
I assume that confit leg is going to a cassoulet ingredient?
Real winter food.
leah elisheva
Master of the Pit
Oh Clarissa, it just keeps getting better and better! The duck looks as if cooked perfectly! It all looks delicious!! Cheers! (This was a fun thread to follow indeed). - Leah
Great Job!!!!
Looking forward to the future uses of your ducks......risotto, ravioli and gumbo all sound great for a start......
I think when you walk through the freezer section and even the fresh meats.... the ducks will fear you!!!!
Looking forward to the future uses of your ducks......risotto, ravioli and gumbo all sound great for a start......
I think when you walk through the freezer section and even the fresh meats.... the ducks will fear you!!!!
Absolutely a great tutorial and the pictures are making me hungry...... You are ACES Clarissa......
- Nov 15, 2012
- 1,025
- 105
Hi Mick,
Thank you!!
Cassoulet is a great idea...I should have enough time to make some sausage to go with it while the confit is aging in the refrigerator. I definitely want to use a little of the confit to make duck confit risotto.
Have a great night!
Clarissa
Hi Leah,
Thank you so much! I love seared duck breast...I always order it when I see it on a restaurant menu. This was my first time making it at home, and I definitely wasn't disappointed! Thanks so much for the compliments, and have a great night!
Clarissa
Hi Chef,
I really appreciate you checking out my post, and the compliments! I love having a refrigerator full of cured and preserved meat, so many options on how to use them. I'm glad I am finally able to command respect from the ducks, it definitely took me long enough! :biggrin:
Have a great night!
Clarissa
Hi Dave,
I really appreciate your kind words and compliments. Thank you so much!!!
Have a great evening!
Clarissa
- Nov 15, 2012
- 1,025
- 105
Day 3
I got the duck breast prosciutto hanging this morning before I left for work. I ended up curing them for about 40 hours...when I checked on the feel of them this morning, they seemed plenty firm to the touch, so I decided to wash off the cure and hang them this morning instead of waiting until the afternoon.
Here are what they looked like after I washed off all the cure and patted them dry. You can see that the meat is darker in color and it was firm to the touch. It takes 1 to 2 days for this using the salt box method.
Here is a closeup of one of the breasts. Notice how the meat is almost translucent on the edges.
Just for ease of comparison, I'm reposting a picture showing the uncured duck breast so that you can easily see the difference in color and texture.
Weigh each breast so that you will be able to see how much weight they lose while drying.
Every recipe I've ever seen on duck prosciutto recommends that you wrap the breasts in cheesecloth and then truss them. I'm not entirely sure of the reasoning behind this, whether it is prevention of case hardening, protecting the fat layer from exposure to light, or some other reason. In any case, I follow suit and wrap them in cheesecloth and then truss. I also weigh them after I have finished trussing so that I know how much weight the cheesecloth and twine add to each breast, as I will not want to bother unwrapping them every time I weigh them.
And then I hung the trussed breasts in my project refrigerator. This is just a mini refrigerator, but it does a decent job of maintaining a temperature of around 50 - 55 deg F when I put it at it's lowest setting. With a couple of pans of salt water inside, I get a humidity that runs between 65% - 80% (depending on how recently the refrigerator compressor has run). For drying meat, a typical recommendation is that you dry at 55 deg F and 75% humidity, so I am in the right range. The breasts will need 2-3 weeks or so to dry adequately, with 30% weight loss being the number that everyone throws around.
And that's it for now! I'll pick this thread up in a couple of weeks after the prosciutto is dried and the confit has aged.
Thank you for reading, and sticking with me for the last 3 days!!
Clarissa
I got the duck breast prosciutto hanging this morning before I left for work. I ended up curing them for about 40 hours...when I checked on the feel of them this morning, they seemed plenty firm to the touch, so I decided to wash off the cure and hang them this morning instead of waiting until the afternoon.
Here are what they looked like after I washed off all the cure and patted them dry. You can see that the meat is darker in color and it was firm to the touch. It takes 1 to 2 days for this using the salt box method.
Here is a closeup of one of the breasts. Notice how the meat is almost translucent on the edges.
Just for ease of comparison, I'm reposting a picture showing the uncured duck breast so that you can easily see the difference in color and texture.
Weigh each breast so that you will be able to see how much weight they lose while drying.
Every recipe I've ever seen on duck prosciutto recommends that you wrap the breasts in cheesecloth and then truss them. I'm not entirely sure of the reasoning behind this, whether it is prevention of case hardening, protecting the fat layer from exposure to light, or some other reason. In any case, I follow suit and wrap them in cheesecloth and then truss. I also weigh them after I have finished trussing so that I know how much weight the cheesecloth and twine add to each breast, as I will not want to bother unwrapping them every time I weigh them.
And then I hung the trussed breasts in my project refrigerator. This is just a mini refrigerator, but it does a decent job of maintaining a temperature of around 50 - 55 deg F when I put it at it's lowest setting. With a couple of pans of salt water inside, I get a humidity that runs between 65% - 80% (depending on how recently the refrigerator compressor has run). For drying meat, a typical recommendation is that you dry at 55 deg F and 75% humidity, so I am in the right range. The breasts will need 2-3 weeks or so to dry adequately, with 30% weight loss being the number that everyone throws around.
And that's it for now! I'll pick this thread up in a couple of weeks after the prosciutto is dried and the confit has aged.
Thank you for reading, and sticking with me for the last 3 days!!
Clarissa
Last edited:
Clarissa
I want to start with a trip to
Now that we have finished with that
Happy smoken.
David
Damn Clarissa, you have seriously surprised me. I came here to learn how to cowboy up a brisket in the new electric and never expected such expertise. You are a impressive lady. And before you play the card, it is only flattery if its not true.
Wow color me impressed. I added a duck to this weeks order just cause of you. I should have gotten two.
Going to have to start calling you chef.
Wow color me impressed. I added a duck to this weeks order just cause of you. I should have gotten two.
Going to have to start calling you chef.
OK, here's the deal. Come to the Canadian Rockies. You can bring anyone you want. I will supply the ducks, the beverages and the services of my missus and I as hosts if you will make this wonderful food for us.
Will it help if I beg.
Disco
Will it help if I beg.
Disco
Perfect Truss OMG these ducks are out of control.Day 3
I got the duck breast prosciutto hanging this morning before I left for work. I ended up curing them for about 40 hours...when I checked on the feel of them this morning, they seemed plenty firm to the touch, so I decided to wash off the cure and hang them this morning instead of waiting until the afternoon.
Here are what they looked like after I washed off all the cure and patted them dry. You can see that the meat is darker in color and it was firm to the touch. It takes 1 to 2 days for this using the salt box method.
Here is a closeup of one of the breasts. Notice how the meat is almost translucent on the edges.
Just for ease of comparison, I'm reposting a picture showing the uncured duck breast so that you can easily see the difference in color and texture.
Weigh each breast so that you will be able to see how much weight they lose while drying.
Every recipe I've ever seen on duck prosciutto recommends that you wrap the breasts in cheesecloth and then truss them. I'm not entirely sure of the reasoning behind this, whether it is prevention of case hardening, protecting the fat layer from exposure to light, or some other reason. In any case, I follow suit and wrap them in cheesecloth and then truss. I also weigh them after I have finished trussing so that I know how much weight the cheesecloth and twine add to each breast, as I will not want to bother unwrapping them every time I weigh them.
And then I hung the trussed breasts in my project refrigerator. This is just a mini refrigerator, but it does a decent job of maintaining a temperature of around 50 - 55 deg F when I put it at it's lowest setting. With a couple of pans of salt water inside, I get a humidity that runs between 65% - 80% (depending on how recently the refrigerator compressor has run). For drying meat, a typical recommendation is that you dry at 55 deg F and 75% humidity, so I am in the right range. The breasts will need 2-3 weeks or so to dry adequately, with 30% weight loss being the number that everyone throws around.
And that's it for now! I'll pick this thread up in a couple of weeks after the prosciutto is dried and the confit has aged.
Thank you for reading, and sticking with me for the last 3 days!!
Clarissa
- Nov 15, 2012
- 1,025
- 105
Clarissa
I want to start with a trip to
. I know that is not a nice way to start a reply. The reason you get a trip to the wood shed. Is now I have to have a second project fridge. I already knew I wanted one for aging cheese. But not it is going to happen.
Now that we have finished with that
. I have to:77: You have done so much with that poor duck that had you frightened. I can't wait for day 4.
Happy smoken.
David
Hi David,
Your comments gave me a good laugh! But yeah, project refrigerators are great. I'd like a second one too....one running at regular refrigerator temps, and one running warmer at curing chamber temp & humidity.
And thank you so much for the compliments! Have a great day!
Clarissa
Hey Foam,
That is all so nice of you to say!! Thank you, you completely made my day!!
We will see in a couple of weeks if I have really earned this praise, or if I have to slink into the corner with my moldy prosciutto and inedible confit! :biggrin:
I'm glad you got a duck ordered. I can't wait to see what you do with it!
Thank you again! Have a great day!
Clarissa
Hey Disco,
Wowzers, you guys are definitely making me blush this morning! Thank you so much for the compliments!!!
And thank you for the offer!....I, my husband, and my 10 closest friends will be arriving shortly. And staying for 2 weeks, as is required by the prosciutto and confit. We appreciate you hosting us during our
See you soon!
Clarissa
:canada-flag-68:
Hey Brian,
I practiced trussing on some socks before doing the duck breasts.....I've got a lot of pairs of trussed socks lying around right now! :biggrin:
Thanks so much! Hope you have a great day!
Clarissa
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