How to cook duck

Reflecting on my progress so far as a blogger leads me to the conclusion that whilst I'm happy with my words, pictures and recipes, I feel there is a need for a re-focus on what I am intending to achieve here. Yes the idea is to share my recipes and ideas about food, but what else?  Well as always the answer is very simple and comes from within and it is to share with you my self-taught journey from being a young guy wanting to impress to becoming an obsessive food geek. I'm not sure that becoming an obsessive food geek should be anyone's life goal (actually I am and it shouldn't), but the fact that my journey has been entirely self-taught probably makes me well qualified to teach others who want to become great home cooks.

My first advice is to read cookbooks by very good chefs. Listen to their advice and have the courage to dive in and try seemingly complex recipes. From these you will learn the importance of process and building flavour. I bought books by the likes of Marco Pierre White, Nico Ladenis, Richard Corrigan, Gordon Ramsey and Raymond Blanc and read them thoroughly, hanging on their every word. In particular I wanted to know about flavour combinations. More accessible books will not take you to the next level. Nico, being self taught was a particular hero of mine.

My second piece of advice is to eat out a lot at top restaurants. You might need to remortgage but you will have great fun! When I started out, nineties and naughties London was an exciting time for food. The food revolution was in full swing and London had become a real food destination. I can still remember each course of unbelievable meals courtesy of Philip Howard at the The Square, Michel Roux Jr. at Le Gavroche, Shane Osbourne at Pied a Terre, Pierre Koffmann at La Tante Claire, Nico Ladenis at Chez Nico, Richard Corrigan at Lindsey House.......need I go on? The inspiration you will gain from these establishments is amazing. Without doubt it remains my favourite part of the continual learning process of cooking.

My final piece of advice is to focus on flavour. Technical wizardry might impress but as a home self-taught cook you can not compete with the kitchen brigades, so why go there? Technical in the sense of cooking something well? Absolutely. And pretty presentation? Without doubt. But jellies, airs and clouds..? It is this focus on flavour that has led me to develop my own food style and in particular my love of a bit of spice!

And so on to Duck, the next ingredient under the microscope and, in particular, duck breast. Duck will always hold a special place in my heart as its easy to cook and impresses diners. It is what in my day job we would rather irritatingly refer to as a 'quick win'. Duck isn't particularly an English favourite. We do love a bit of crispy aromatic duck from the Chinese takeaway, but for most this is where our love begins and ends. That said we produce some magnificent birds to challenge the French. Gressingham can now be bought in major supermarkets and is of a decent quality. However my own personal favourite is Goosnargh from producers Johnson and Swarbrick in Lancashire. They supply to lots of Michelin starred establishments but will deliver to bods like myself as long as you order in bulk. It has appeared twice on my menu at Dinner at the Pavilion and the corn fed bird has a flavour and tenderness like no other.

How to cook a duck breast

This technique of cooking a duck breast never fails and is absolutely delicious.

1. Score the skin and season the breast with salt, pepper and Chinese five spice powder (for some reason this makes duck taste more ducky). Heat a dry oven proof frying pan on the stove to a medium heat. Place the breast skin side down in the pan and cook until the fat is rendered and the skin is beginning to crisp and turn brown (about 2-3 minutes). Flip the breast over to sear the flesh side for about 30 seconds and return to the skin side. 
2. Place the pan in the oven for about 7-8 minutes (180 degrees C). If your frying pan isn't oven proof (i.e. a metal handle) then transfer the duck to a roasting tin. Remove from the oven and leave to rest in a warm place for about 5-10 minutes on a piece of kitchen towel or a clean jay cloth to soak up the slightly bloody juices. Duck is best served medium to medium rare and blood can ruin the presentation of a duck dish! Slice the breast into four thick slices and serve. Below are some of my favourite duck dishes.

Duck with blackberry sauce

Duck a l'orange 

Duck with orange and anise (a photo taken by one of the diners at the summer 2014 Dinner at the Pavilion)

Duck with honey and rosemary

and finally.....Duck with pomegranate mole and fig

As you can see from the photos, duck goes well with fruit. It is a rich meat and the acidity in the fruit cuts through the richness. I think the best vegetable accompaniments are kale, tarragon glazed carrots, celeriac puree, and braised celery or fennel depending on the sauce and season.

As for the sauce, they are all variations on a theme.  

Orange and anise sauce for duck (serves 4)

1. Roast some duck bones
2. Thinly slice an onion and sweat until sweet and soft in a large frying pan.  Add some good quality balsamic vinegar, a squeeze of ketchup, a  dessert spoon of Dijon mustard and cook for a minute until the onions are dark and sticky looking. The vinegar, ketchup and mustard are to give the sauce that all important balance 
3. Add 200ml of freshly squeezed orange juice, one tablespoon of thick cut orange marmalade and the peel (no pith as this is bitter) of one small orange. Continue cooking until the orange juice is reduced to a thickish syrup.
4. Add  a good glug of Pernod  or other aniseed based drink and light to burn off the alcohol. Add 1 litre of chicken stock, three star anise pieces and the roasted duck bones and cook rapidly until the sauce has reduced to a coating consistency (it will coat the back of a spoon and separate when you run your finger along it)
5. Strain through a sieve to a small saucepan and stir in a good knob of butter (this gives the sauce gloss and softens the flavours). Season to taste. 

Variations

This same basic technique can for the basis of other sauces for duck. For the honey and rosemary sauce omit the orange juice, marmalade, Pernod, orange peel and star anise and replace with honey and rosemary. For the blackberry sauce puree some blackberries with a bit of sugar and pass through a sieve. Again omit the orange juice, marmalade, Pernod, orange peel and star anise and replace with the slightly sweetened blackberry puree, a tablespoon of blackberry jam and some thyme. Add whole blackberries to the sauce just before serving which have macerated in a bit of sugar, a pinch of salt and some balsamic vinegar.   

Vegetable accompaniments

All these are great with duck. 

1. Celeriac puree; Cook the celeriac until soft. Blend to a puree with butter and some double cream. Push through a sieve to ensure ultra smoothness. Season and serve
2. Glazed tarragon carrots; Peel and cut the carrots into attractive even sized shapes. Melt a good knob of butter, a teaspoon of sugar and salt to taste in a frying pan. Add the carrots and coat to a glaze. Add water to cover the carrots. Boil on a rapid heat until the water has evaporated and the carrots are coated in a sweet buttery glaze. Add chopped tarragon just before serving.
3. Glazed celery/fennel; Use the same technique as for the carrots but before you add the water add some Pernod and set light to it. This is spectacular and will impress guests! 
4. Roasted apples; This is great with the honey and rosemary sauce. Simply peel and slice the apple into eights. Pan-fry in butter until soft and caramelised on both sides.  
5. Potato fondants; Peel large potatoes and cut into large cubes. Place in an oven proof dish with a lot of butter (100g or more depending on how many you are cooking) and chicken stock to come about half way up the potatoes. Season and add some garlic and thyme to the stock. Cook in the oven for about 45 minutes until the potato is soft and has absorbed a good amount of the buttery stock. Baste the top of the potato to stop it drying out. The potato should be firm enough to hold together, have browned on the top and be unctuous and buttery to eat. Perfect with duck!
6. Kale; Remove the thick centre stalks/veins. Place the leaves together and cut into 1 inch pieces. Add a good knob of butter to a large frying pan and bit of water. Heat the pan and add the kale, turning to make sure it is coated in the butter. Cook for about 2 minutes or until soft but with a little bit of bite. Thinly sliced onions and chilli also go well with the kale as a variation. Season with sea salt and black pepper and serve immediately.  

As they'd say 'up north',

Happy cooking duck!