Roasted Breast Of Duck With Foie Gras And Leek Stuffing Recipes

TRIO OF DUCK ROASTED BREAST, LEG CONFIT AND SEARED FOIE GRAS WITH HORSERADISH PARSNIP PUREE AND HUCKLEBERRY BRANDY SAUCE

Steps:

• On 4 warm dinner plates pipe the horseradish parsnip puree through a piping bag slightly off center on each plate. Spoon or ladle the huckleberry brandy sauce around the parsnip puree. Place a quarter of the hot duck confit around 1/2 of the parsnip puree towards the center of the plate. Place the sliced duck breast on top of the confit in a fanned circular fashion. Place 1 piece of foie gras on top of each breast and garnish with a sprig of parsley and fried parsnip strips.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• French each breast by scrapping the meat, skin and tissue off of the wing bone while keeping it attached to the breast. With the heel of a chef's knife make a clean break on the bone without creating any fragments. (You can also purchase boneless duck breasts if you desire.)
• Score the skin on each breast by lightly cutting through the skin but not into the meat. Make a criss cross pattern to allow for easy rendering. Preheat a large saute pan and add the canola oil. Season the duck with salt and pepper on all sides. Place the breasts into the skillet, skin side down. Turn the heat down to low and allow the breasts to render for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the skin is very crispy.
• Turn the breasts over and place in the oven and cook for 2 to 4 minutes or until desired doneness. Remove the duck and allow it to rest for 1 to 2 minutes. Slice the breast into 4 to 6 equal pieces and serve immediately. The duck should be served medium rare.
• Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F.
• Place a heavy gauge skillet on the stove over medium heat. Add 1 ounce of canola oil to the pan and add the duck legs, skin side down. Turn up the heat to make sure that the legs are rendering but not burning. Render the legs for 15 to 20 minutes or until the skin is completely crispy. Remove the legs from the pan, saving the duck fat, and place the duck legs into a deep oven proof dish. Place the onions, garlic, celery and thyme over the duck legs. Poor the rendered duck fat over the legs and add as much canola oil as you need to completely cover the duck. Cover the dish with tin foil and place in the oven for 3 to 4 hours. Remove the dish and allow it to cool. Remove the duck legs from the fat and remove the skin. With a fork or small knife begin to shred and remove all the meat from the legs. The meat should be very tender and shredded into thin even pieces. This can be done days in advance and reheated when needed.
• Heat a saute pan over very high heat and allow it to get extremely hot. Place the foie gras into the pan with no oil and saute for 30 to 40 seconds on each side or until crisp and golden brown. Serve immediately.
• In a large sauce pot add the potatoes and the parsnips and season with salt. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Allow it to simmer until the potatoes are tender. Drain the potatoes and parsnips and place into a blender or food processor. Add the heavy cream to form a mashed consistency. Add the horseradish and puree until very smooth and season with salt, to taste. Do not over mix. Place the mixture into a pastry (piping) bag and reserve hot for the assembly.
• In a small saucepan add all ingredients together and bring to a boil. Reduce by 2/3 and season with lemon juice and salt.

ROASTED BREAST OF DUCK WITH FOIE GRAS AND LEEK STUFFING

Steps:

• To bone, place duck breast up and remove the flap of skin covering the wishbone. Scrape along the wishbone with the back of a paring knife to expose the bone. Reach in with index finger and thumb to remove the wishbone by pulling it out, being careful not to tear the meat.
• Make incision along the breastbone and from breastbone down to rib cage. Follow rib cage to thigh and wing joints and carefully cut through thigh and wing joints leaving wing attached to breast. Separate the breast from the thigh and leg.
• Remove the wing at the middle joint and cut the end of the attached wing bone square. Push the meat on the wing down toward the breast, cleaning the bone with a paring knife. Push the meat on the bones of the thigh and leg, leaving the leg bone attached to the meat at the drum end. Square off the end of the drumstick with a French knife. Remove the thigh and the thighbone. Repeat for other half of duck. (Note: you may use boneless duck breasts if limited on time.)
• Lay breasts skin side down, clean the excess skin, and shape into teardrops with a boning knife. From the thick end, pierce the breast directly beneath the skin, straight in to the tip of the breast, making a pocket. Be careful not to poke through the flesh while making pocket. Pocket should extend the length of the breast.
• In a saucepan, saute the leeks in the butter until tender. Add the herbs and carefully deglaze the pan with apple brandy. Add 1 ounce of cream, reduce until thickened, and cool.
• In a meat grinder, grind the thigh meat and liver through the fine die. Using a food processor, process until smooth. Add remaining cream, and mix well. Add leek mixture, and season, to taste.
• Using a pastry bag, pipe approximately 2 tablespoons of forcemeat into each duck breast pocket. Plug the end of the pocket with the tender.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Brown duck breast in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, skin-side down, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Turn duck breast over, place in the oven, and cook until desired temperature is reached.

DUCK, DUCK, DUCK: SMOKED BREAST, GRILLED FOIE GRAS AND BARBEQUED THIGHS

Steps:

• On 1 side of the grill only, prepare the coals and cover them with lots of pre-soaked hickory wood chips. Mix all the spices together and rub the duck breast vigorously. Place the breasts on the grill on the opposite side of the coals in a low heat grill. Smoke the breasts slowly at 275 degrees for about 1 hour.
• Mix together the cider, vinegar, garlic and pepper to make a marinade. Combine the marinade and duck thighs and store overnight in the refrigerator. Place in the grill with the breast of duck on the opposite side of the fire for about 1 hour. After the breasts and thighs have smoked for about 1 hour, remove them from the grill. Bring the coals up to medium high heat.
• Combine cherries and pears in a medium size saucepan and bring to a boil on the grill. Remove from heat and add vinegar. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Grilled Foie Gras: 6 ounces foie gras, cut into 4 pieces 3/4-inch thick, very, very cold, almost frozen Salt and pepper to taste Place fois gras over medium hot coals for 3 minutes. Carefully turn over and cook for 2 more minutes. Also place the smoked breast, skin side down, over the medium hot coals to crisp the skin. Remove the duck breast from the grill and slice on bias, 3/4-inch thick. Slice the thighs on bias 3/4-inch thick. Serve the breast, thighs and foie gras with the cherry sauce.