John Cesters Poultry & Game Meat

Venison & Game Meat Melbourne

Oriental Duck Salad

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Ingredients

  • 2 duck breasts, skin on
  • 100g bag rocket & watercress saladrecipe-image-legacy-id--7814_11
  • 250g punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
  • bunch spring onion, sliced diagonally

For the dressing

  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • 1 tsp fresh grated root ginger
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp honey

Method

  1. Heat oven to 200C/fan-forced 180C. Score the skin of the duck breasts and season. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a high heat, add the duck, skin-side down, and cook for 4 mins or until the skin is crisp. Turn over and quickly brown the underside, then transfer to a baking tray.
  2. Mix the dressing ingredients together and spoon all but 2 tbsp of it over the duck. Roast the duck for 10 mins for pink, longer if you prefer. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 4 mins, then slice into strips. 3 Toss together the salad, tomatoes, spring onions and duck slices. Drizzle over the remaining dressing and serve.

(Recipe from Good Food magazine, September 2007)

Awesome foursome: duck, fig, walnut and pinot

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We have a recipe from our two favourite customers, Rick and Maggie – who doesn’t love wine and Pinot?

Ingredients (for two to share by candlelight)

2 duck breasts
10 walnut kernels, lightly toasted and rubbed with a dry cloth
3 ripe figs, quartered
mixed salad leavesduck-salad-3

For the marinade
3cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed or grated
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil

For the dressing (these days, for convenience, we use our vinaigrette dressing instead and it works equally well)
1 small brown shallot, finely chopped duck-salad-2
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
60ml olive oil
¼ tsp caster sugar
1 tbsp finely chopped walnut kernel
2 tsp finely chopped parsley
2 tsp snipped chives
salt and pepper

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 125C (fan-forced). Using a metal skewer, prick and pierce the skin of the duck, with no more than ½ cm between each prick mark. Place breasts skin-side DOWN on a grill-rack sitting in a pan with 1cm of water in the bottom. Bake for 1 hour and remove from oven.duck-salad-41
  2. Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth. Brush all surfaces of the duck with the marinade, put breasts and any leftover marinade in a suitable container, cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least four hours. Remove from fridge at least 30 minutes before step 3 and brush off any excess marinade (see the first photo below).
  3. Preheat oven to 175C. Place breasts skin-side UP on a grill placed on the top shelf and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until skin has turned a deep golden brown. Rest breasts while you prepare the other salad ingredients. (This time, we roasted the breasts in our Weber Q – purchased since we last made the dish – and cooked the duck skin-side down for 6 minutes once the skin was golden brown, which added some appealing char to the flavour mix.)
  4. To make the dressing, put shallot, vinegar, mustard, oil and sugar in a jar, put lid on jar and shake vigorously for about 10 seconds. Add chopped walnut, parsley and chives and briefly shake to combine. Adjust seasoning. duck-salad-4
  5. Combine leaves, fig and walnut kernels in a large salad bowl. Slice duck breast, place over salad and spoon over about half the dressing. Toss gently to combine and serve immediately.

(Maggie & Rick Grounds – RMG Travels and Food, 2015)

Duck, fig, walnut and pinot

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We love seeing customers enjoying our products – check out this recipe for a romantic night in!

Ingredients (for two to share by candlelight)

2 duck breasts
10 walnut kernels, lightly toasted and rubbed with a dry cloth
3 ripe figs, quartered
mixed salad leavesduck-salad-4

For the marinade
3cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed or grated
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil

For the dressing (these days, for convenience, we use our vinaigrette dressing instead and it works equally well)
1 small brown shallot, finely chopped
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
60ml olive oil
¼ tsp caster sugar
1 tbsp finely chopped walnut kernel
2 tsp finely chopped parsley
2 tsp snipped chives
salt and pepper

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 125C (fan-forced). Using a metal skewer, prick and pierce the skin of the duck, with no more than ½ cm between each prick mark. Place breasts skin-side DOWN on a grill-rack sitting in a pan with 1cm of water in the bottom. Bake for 1 hour and remove from oven.
  2. Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth. Brush all surfaces of the duck with the marinade, put breasts and any leftover marinade in a suitable container, cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least four hours. Remove from fridge at least 30 minutes before step 3 and brush off any excess marinade.
  3. Preheat oven to 175C. Place breasts skin-side UP on a grill placed on the top shelf and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until skin has turned a deep golden brown. Rest breasts while you prepare the other salad ingredients.
  4. To make the dressing, put shallot, vinegar, mustard, oil and sugar in a jar, put lid on jar and shake vigorously for about 10 seconds. Add chopped walnut, parsley and chives and briefly shake to combine. Adjust seasoning.
  5. Combine leaves, fig and walnut kernels in a large salad bowl. Slice duck breast, place over salad and spoon over about half the dressing. Toss gently to combine and serve immediately.

Need to grab a few things? Why not shop online now – we can even deliver!

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(Rick and Maggie Food Travels, 2013)

Duck, mandarin & chestnut ragu by Karen Martini

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Now that spring is nearly here, why not try some duck?

This is a recipe from on of our customers, celebrity chef Karen Martini

serves 6 mains
prep time 45mins (approx.)
total time 2hrs 15mins (approx.)

INGREDIENTS:

salt and pepper
20 chestnuts
60 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 brown onion, dicedHERO_RP000060_DuckMandarinRagu (1)
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 bay leaf
4 mandarins, zested and juiced, plus extra mandarin segments for garnishing
2 leeks, finely sliced
2 medium carrots, finely diced
4 celery stalks, finely diced
5 sprigs thyme
300 ml verjuice
2 teaspoons allspice
approximately 1 litre chicken stock
1 bunch cavolo nero, washed and chopped
100 grams pasta per person
parmesan cheese, to serve

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 220C.

Trim the duck marylands of excess fat and cut them into thigh and drumstick. Season the duck generously with salt and pepper. Roast the duck pieces on an oven rack for 15 minutes to render away some of the fat and turn the skin crisp and golden. Remove from the oven.

Score the chestnuts. Boil a pot of water and cook the chestnuts for 15 minutes. Remove one at a time and peel off both layers of skin. Slice and set aside.

In a large heavy-based pot, add the oil, onion, garlic, bay leaf and a little salt. Gently sweat over medium heat, then add the zest, leek, carrot and celery. Stir well then cook over medium heat for 15 minutes or until golden.

Add the thyme, duck, verjuice, mandarin juice and allspice and simmer for 5 minutes. Add enough stock to cover well and simmer for a further 40 minutes until the duck is about to fall off the bone.

Cook the pasta according to packet instructions, if using.

Remove the duck from the pot and add the cavolo nero. Continue cooking over medium heat for about 20 minutes, to cook the cavolo nero and reduce the sauce a little. Tear the duck meat from the bones while it’s still warm, skin and all but no gristle, and return to the sauce.

Season the ragu with lots of pepper. Add the chestnuts and the cooked pasta or gnocchi, if using. Add some peeled mandarin rounds and offer parmesan cheese grated at the table.

Need to grab a few things? Why not shop online now – we can even deliver!

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