John Cesters Poultry & Game Meat

Venison & Game Meat Melbourne

Duck Schnitzels

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Ingredients

4 fresh duck breasts, skinned

100g plain flour

sea salt and pepper

2 eggs, beatenDuck Schnitzel Recipe

100g panko or dried breadcrumbs

grated zest of 1 orange

1 tbsp dijon mustard

3 tbsp olive oil

1 orange, cut into wedges

Method

1. Place each duck breast between two lengths of plastic wrap, and gently pound with a rolling pin or meat mallet until thin.

2. Set out three shallow bowls. Place the flour, sea salt and pepper in one, the eggs in the second, and the breadcrumbs and orange zest in the third.

3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan.

4. Spread the mustard over one side of each duck breast, then coat both sides lightly in flour, dunk it in the beaten egg, and coat it in the crumbs. Cook two schnitzels at a time for three minutes or until golden, turn and cook to your liking on the other side.

5. Drain on paper towel.

6. Add a little extra oil to the frying pan and cook remaining schnitzels. Serve with orange wedges and a crisp salad or finely shaved cabbage slaw.

Duck & Vegetable Stew

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  • SERVES 6 PEOPLE / 

You’ll need

2 tbsp olive oil
1 (about 2.2kg) duck, cut into 16 pieces
2 onions, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 sprigs of thyme
4 fresh bay leaves
4 carrots, coarsely chopped
3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
650 gm desiree potatoes, cut into 3cm pieces
1 litre (4 cups) chicken stock
360 gm (3 cups) frozen baby peas

Method

  • 01 Heat olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat, add duck and cook, stirring, for 6-8 minutes or until brown, then transfer duck to a plate. Add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes or until tender, then add herbs, carrot, celery and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.
  • 02 Add tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes, then add potatoes and chicken stock. Return duck to pan and bring to the boil. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Partially cover with a lid and reduce heat to low, simmer for 3 hours or until duck is tender. Stir through peas and cook for 5 minutes. Ladle stew into bowls and serve.

(Australian Gourmet Traveller, 2007)

ORANGE AND CARDAMOM DUCK LEGS WITH RICE PILAF

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A delicious duck dish from the team at Gourmet Traveller

INGREDIENTS

  • 0807orangeduck-628Duck
  • 6 (about 1.3kg) duck marylands
  • 300 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1 orange rind, removed with a peeler
  • 55 gm (¼ cup) golden caster sugar
  • 15 cardamom pods, bruised with the side of a knife
  • ¼ tsp ground allspice
  • 100 gm slivered almonds, toasted
  • Rice pilaf
  • 50 gm butter
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced
  • 6 cardamom pods
  • 1 cinnamon quill
  • 400 gm (2 cups) basmati rice, rinsed
  • ½ tsp ground allspice
  • 1 litre (4 cups) chicken stock

METHOD

01 Preheat oven to 160C. Place duck in a roasting pan. In a saucepan combine juice, rind, sugar and spices and simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved and mixture has combined. Pour over duck marylands, cover with foil and roast for 1 hour. Remove foil and roast, basting frequently, for another hour or until golden and sauce reduced. Carefully pour off fat and discard, reserving juices.
02 Meanwhile, for rice pilaf, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat until foamy, add onion, cardamom and cinnamon and sauté for 10-15 minutes or until onion is caramelised. Add drained basmati rice and allspice and stir to coat, add chicken stock and bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 12 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
03 Divide pilaf among plates, top with duck legs and drizzle with pan juices. Scatter with toasted almonds

Peking Duck

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peking-duck-recipe-11
Ingredients
For the duck:
  • 4 duck breasts (about 6 to 7 ounces each) with the skin on, rinsed and thoroughly patted dry with a paper towel
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
  • Pinch of five spice powder
  • 1 tablespoon oil
For the mandarin pancakes:
  • 1½ cups flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • ⅔ cup boiling water
  • 1 teaspoon oil
For the fixings:
  • 1 cucumber, de-seeded and julienned
  • ½ cup julienned cantaloupe (optional)
  • 2 scallions, julienned
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely minced and mixed with 1 teaspoon oil to make a paste (optional)
  • 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
 
Instructions
  1. First, marinate the duck. Mix the salt, soy sauce, wine, and five spice powder in a small bowl and massage into the duck. Leave the duck breasts skin side up on a plate uncovered, and let sit in the refrigerator overnight to marinate and to let the skin dry out. (If you don’t want to wait overnight, reduce the marinating time to 30 minutes).
  2. Next, prepare the Mandarin pancakes. Mix the flour and salt in a heatproof bowl. Pour the boiling hot water into the flour mixture and use chopsticks or a spatula to mix until a dough ball forms. Once it is cool enough to handle, knead the dough for 8 minutes until smooth, adding flour if the dough is too sticky. Cover with plastic and allow the dough to rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
  3. Roll the dough into a cylinder and cut into 12 equal pieces. Form each piece into a dough ball, then flatten them out into a small disc about 2 inches in diameter. Lightly brush 6 of the discs with oil, ensuring the sides of the discs are also brushed with oil. Layer the remaining 6 discs over the 6 oiled discs so you have 6 pieces, each comprised of 2 discs.
  4. Use a rolling pin to roll the discs into 7-inch circles, flipping the pancakes frequently so both of the dough discs are rolled into the same size.
  5. Heat a wok or frying pan over medium low heat, and place one pancake into the pan. After 30 to 45 seconds, you should see air pockets begin to form between the two pancakes. Flip the pancake; it should be white with just a couple of faint brown patches. Any more than that, and they are overcooked. After another 30 seconds, the air pockets should be large enough to separate the two pancakes. Remove the pancake to a plate, and let it cool for another 30 seconds. Now carefully pull apart the two pancakes at the seams. Place finished pancakes onto a plate and cover with a warm kitchen towel. Repeat until all pancakes are done.
  6. The pancakes can be reheated in a steamer for about a minute when ready to serve. They also keep in the freezer for up to 3 weeks if you decide to make a larger batch. Next, prepare your fixings and place in small bowls to serve alongside the duck. (Using cantaloupe as one of the add-ins was new to us but was quite common in China. It’s a surprisingly delicious addition!).
  7. Next, preheat the oven broiler on low heat. Heat an oven-proof pan over medium-high heat, and add 1 tablespoon of oil to coat the pan. Sear the duck breasts, skin side down. Move them frequently so the skin crisps up and fries in the duck fat that renders out. After 8 minutes, or when the duck skin is golden brown and a little bit crispy, carefully drain off the duck fat and discard (or save for later application to other recipes!). In the pan, flip the duck breasts (so they are skin side up), and transfer them to the broiler for about 3 minutes. Be careful not to burn the skin, which at this point should be a bit crispy.
  8. Remove the duck from the broiler and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes. The duck will be cooked about medium well and will be very juicy. Transfer to a cutting board and, using a sharp knife, cut into thin slices.
  9. Serve the duck with your warmed pancakes, fixings, and sauce.

Duck Two Ways with Onions and Char Siu Glaze

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Duck Two Ways with Onions and Char Siu Glaze

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Master Stock Duck Legs:

Onion Puree:

3 white onions, finely sliced

Crispy Duck Breast:

Roast Leeks and Shallots:

Char Siu Glaze:

Garlic Chips:

Garnish:

Method

  1. Heat oven to 190C. Heat a pressure cooker on browning setting.
  2. For the Master Stock Duck Legs, place the garlic and 2 tablespoons of the oil in the pressure cooker on browning setting and fry until garlic is golden and caramelised.
  3. Add sugar, soy sauce and water and stir to combine. Turn the machine to pressure cooker setting and add the duck legs. Secure lid and cook for 35 minutes.
  4. Once the duck legs are cooked, remove from pressure cooker. Strain the master stock liquid through a fine sieve, discarding the solids. Set the master stock aside until needed.
  5. Place a medium fry pan over medium heat and add the remaining oil. Add the cooked duck legs and half the master stock. Simmer until duck legs are glazed and caramelised, about 8 minutes. Add more master stock to the pan during cooking if required.
  6. For the Onion Purée, place the sliced onions in a medium saucepan along with the butter. Cover the saucepan with a lid and place on the stove top over low heat and cook gently, stirring occasionally until onions are soft, about 10 minutes.
  7. Once onions are soft and cooked through, transfer to a stick blender canister along with the pan juices and blitz to a smooth purée. Season with salt and white pepper to taste and set aside, keeping warm, until needed.
  8. For the Crispy Duck Breast, place duck breasts, skin side down, in a cold fry pan. Place over medium heat and allow to cook gently on skin side until duck skin is rendered, about 8 – 9 minutes. Turn the duck breasts over and continue cooking on the other side for a further 5 minutes or until duck is cooked and still slightly pink in the middle. Remove duck breasts from the pan and place on a wire rack to rest until required. Reserve the rendered duck fat in the pan for the Roast Leeks and Shallots.
  9. For The Roast Leeks and Shallots, place the leek and shallot slices in the reserved fry pan of rendered duck fat. Place over a medium heat and cook gently for 10 – 15 minutes or until soft and caramelised, being careful not to break up the vegetables. Once cooked, remove leeks and shallots from pan and set aside, keeping warm, until needed.
  10. For the Char Siu Glaze, place a large fry pan on the stove top over high heat. Add oil and duck bone and wing pieces and fry until bones are golden and caramelised, about 5 minutes.
  11. Add the water and char siu sauce to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon or spatula. Reduce heat and allow the sauce to simmer until syrupy and reduced by half, about 20 minutes.
  12. Once reduced, strain the glaze through a fine sieve, discarding solids and set aside until needed.
  13. Place a clean fr pan over high heat and add the butter. Swirl the pan until the butter melts and turns a dark, nut brown colour, being careful not to burn. Add the strained glaze and whisk to combine. Add vinegar, sugar and salt to taste until flavour is balanced. Set glaze aside, keeping warm, until needed.
  14. For the Garlic Chips, heat oil in a small saucepan to 190C. Drop the finely sliced garlic into the hot oil and deep fry until crisp and golden, about 1 minute. Remove the garlic form the oil an drain on paper towel. Season to taste and set aside until needed.
  15. To serve, place 2 spoonsful of the Onion Purée into the centre of each plate and smear slightly. Place 2 pieces of roast leek and 2 pieces of roast shallot on each plate near the purée.
  16. Trim the duck breasts and slice in half diagonally. Place half a duck breast on each plate on one side of the purée. Trim the meat away from the duck legs, removing the bone. Roll the meat in a little warm master stock and place on each plate on the purée at the opposite side of the plate from the duck breast.
  17. Scatter garlic chips over each dish. Drain the sliced spring onion and pat dry. Scatter over each dish to garnish.

(Masterchef, 2016)