John Cesters Poultry & Game Meat

Venison & Game Meat Melbourne

Slow Cooker Duck Confit

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what is it?
Confit is a cooking term for when food is cooked in grease, oil or sugar water, at a lower temperature than deep frying.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup kosher salt
  • 8 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves stripped
  • 3 bay leaves, lightly crushed
  • 1 tablespoon white peppercorns, lightly crushed
  • 2 teaspoons juniper berries, lightly crushed
  • 6 whole duck legs *WE HAVE THESE IN STORE*
  • 5 1/2 cups duck fat *WE HAVE IN STORE*

Instructions

  1. Combine the salt, thyme leaves, bay leaves, peppercorns, and juniper berries in a small bowl and stir to mix thoroughly.
  2. Rinse the duck legs and pat dry with paper towels. Place in a large baking dish and spread the salt rub on all sides, distributing the entire rub evenly over the legs. Cover and place in the refrigerator to cure overnight, at least 12 hours.
  3. When ready to cook the legs, place our rendered duck fat in a slow cooker and melt on high. Rinse the legs under cold water and pat dry. Once the fat has melted, carefully add the legs and cook at a simmer. (Monitor the heat and lower it if the fat is creating more than one or two bubbles every minute.)
  4. Cook until the meat is very tender and pulls away to expose the bones, about 4 hours. Remove the legs from the fat and serve immediately or place on a wire rack to cool. Once the legs and fat have cooled, the legs can be returned to the fat and stored in the refrigerator for several weeks. To use the confit, remove it from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature until the fat has become liquid, about 1 hour.

GNOCCHI WITH DUCK RAGÙ AND PORCINI MUSHROOMS

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You’ll need

100 gmparmesan, finely gratedGourmet-Tipo-0034275
2 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
125 gm pecorino pepato, shaved 
Duck and porcini ragù
6 duck Marylands (250gm-300gm each), skin seasoned with sea salt 1 hour before cooking
1 carrot, diced
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp crushed garlic (3-4 cloves)
2 sage sprigs1thyme sprig
1 fresh bay leaf
10 gm dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 250ml warm water for 1 hour
100 gmtomato paste
125 mldry white wine
750 ml (3 cups) of our homemade chicken stock 
Gnocchi
1 kg floury potatoes (such as sebago or russet Burbank), scrubbed
200 gm (1⅓ cups) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
30 gm finely grated parmesan
1 small egg yolk
Pinch of finely grated nutmeg

Method

  • 01 For duck ragù, preheat oven to 150C. Heat a casserole over medium heat, then add duck skin-side down and fry until browned and fat renders (5-6 minutes). Turn and fry until browned (2-3 minutes), then set aside. Add carrot, onion, garlic and herbs to pan, and sauté until vegetables are tender (5-8 minutes). Meanwhile, gently lift porcini from liquid (reserve liquid) with a slotted spoon; leaving any grit settled at the bottom. Coarsely chop mushrooms, add to vegetables and sauté until softened (3-4 minutes). Add tomato paste and cook until colour deepens (2-3 minutes). Deglaze pan with wine and stir until thickened (4-5 minutes). Add stock and three-quarters of the strained mushroom liquid, and bring to the boil. Season to taste, add duck, cover with a lid or foil and braise in the oven until meat falls from the bone (1¾-2¼ hours). Uncover, rest for 15 minutes, then remove duck legs and, when cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones in chunks and stir into sauce. Discard herbs.
  • 02 For gnocchi, bring potatoes to a simmer in a large saucepan of cold salted water and cook until tender (40-50 minutes). Drain then, when cool enough to handle, peel, pass through a drum sieve or potato ricer and refrigerate, covered with a tea towel, until cold (2-3 hours). Combine 660gm potato with remaining ingredients and ¼ tsp salt in a bowl and mix lightly until smooth. (Take care not to overwork dough or the gnocchi will become dense.) Divide dough into 4 pieces and roll each on a lightly floured surface to 1cm-diameter ropes, then cut into 1.5cm pieces.
  • 03 Cook gnocchi in batches in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until they rise to the surface (1-2 minutes), then drain (if you are not using gnocchi right away, refresh them in iced water, drain, lightly coat in oil and refrigerate in an airtight container up to a day). Add gnocchi to ragù with parmesan and parsley, toss to coat, then serve scattered with pecorino pepato.

(Gourmet Traveller, 2016)

Duck Curry – Melbourne Food & Wine Festival

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Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

2 medium sized duck marylands12666415_555110464646315_562700618_n

1/2 cup of our homemade chicken stock

1 glove of garlic, chopped

1/4 small bay leaf

1/4 tablespoon Chinese 5 spice

1/4 tablespoon of cinnamon

1/4 medium sized onion, diced

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Chop up the garlic and onion and place in the slow cooker, add the ½ cup fresh orange juice, ½ cup of our homemade chicken stock, the duck Maryland fillets and all other ingredients.
  2. Turn the slow cooker either on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours – whichever you desire.
  3. Cover and let simmer for desired time, stirring every hour or so.
  4. Once the curry is cooked, take the duck marylands out of the slow cooker and place on a cooking board ready to be shredded. Taking your time and slowly begin to shred the tender meat off the bone – it should simply fall off the bone.
  5. Stir the shredded meat through the curry and rest for 5 minutes.
  6. Serve with rice pilaf and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Tip: If you want to add some heat or spice to your curry add 1 tablespoon of curry powder and 1 fresh jalapeno, diced.

Duck burger with potato rosette, foie gras & fried quail egg on top

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Serves 4-6

Ingredientsanyafoto_art_de_fete_10-24-13_00801

  • 2 large, skinned, finely cubed duck breast
  • 2 small shallots, finely diced
  • 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
  • 1 egg
  • ¼ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
  • Medallion of duck foie gras with truffles (D’Artagnan)
  • 4 quail eggs
  • 50g rendered duck fat
  • 200g mushrooms
  • 500 Yukon gold potatoes, skin on
  • Chives
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Duck Burger: Cut the duck breast into small cubes. Put into a bowl.
  2. Add shallots, Chinese five spices, plenty of salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  3. Crack the egg and add panko bread crumbs. With your hand thoroughly combine the mixture.
  4. Divide the mixture into 4 or 6 parts, roll each part into a ball and then squash slightly to get the shape of a burger.
  5. Preheat the frying pan on high, add the duck fat. Cook each burger for 3 minutes on each side.
  6. Potato Rosette: Using Japanese mandoline or a very sharp knife cut the potatoes into thin round slices. Fry in the duck fat, but without coloring them. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper and arrange them in “rosette” shape-rounds on greaseproof paper.
  7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and cook the potatoes in the oven for 10-12 minutes.
  8.  Mushrooms: Sauté the mushrooms in a pan on medium high heat in some olive oil for about 5 minutes until soft and fragrant. Season with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Transfer to a bowl and keep warm.
  9. Quail egg: Break the quail eggs onto the non-stick frying pan and fry for about 1 minute.
  10. To serve: arrange the potato rosettes on each plate, top with the duck burger and a thin slice of duck foie gras medallion. Lastly, arrange the fried quail egg on top. Decorate with two chives and scatter some sautéed mushrooms on a side of the plate.

kitchen tip:

To mimic rose flower petals, stack slices of already slightly seared potatoes, overlapping each other in a round-shape rosette, and finish it with a small slice on top. Once baked, the rosettes will become crisp on the edges and will hold their shape.

(Artdefete, 2014)

Spiced duck breast with warm cherry tomato vinaigrette

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SpicedDuck-01

Ingredients

  • 4 duck breast fillets
  • 1 tbsp garam masala, approximately
  • sea salt, to taste
  • potato puree and spring greens, to serve

Warm tomato vinaigrette

  • 80 ml (⅓ cup) extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 large French shallots, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 400 g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 pinch sugar

Instructions

Using a sharp knife, score the duck breasts two or three times through the skin, taking care not to cut into the flesh. Rub 1 scant tsp garam masala into each duck breast, then season with salt.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the duck breasts, skin-side down, and cook for 5-6 minutes or until most of the fat has rendered and the skin is crisp. Turn and cook for another 3 minutes, then remove from the pan and stand, uncovered, in a warm place to rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the tomato vinaigrette, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over low heat. Add the shallot and garlic and stir for 4-5 minutes or until soft. Add the cherry tomatoes, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft and falling apart. Stir in the vinegar and remaining olive oil, a pinch of sugar and season to taste.

Slice the duck and serve with the tomato vinaigrette, potato puree and spring greens.

(SBS.com.au, 2014)