John Cesters Poultry & Game Meat

Venison & Game Meat Melbourne

QUAIL LARB TACOS WITH GRILLED PINEAPPLE SALSA

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You’ll need

15 gm (3cm piece) galangal, sliced1112GT-taco-recipes-quail-larb-628
2 tsp white glutinous rice
16 deboned quail, finely chopped 
5 golden shallots, thinly sliced
60 ml (¼ cup) lime juice, or to taste
60 ml (¼ cup) fish sauce, or to taste
½ cup (firmly packed) coriander, finely chopped, plus extra leaves to serve
¼ cup (firmly packed) mint, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp crushed light palm sugar, or to taste
½ tsp roasted dried chilli flakes, or to taste 
White corn tortillas
– 250 gm (1¾ cups)
– white masa flour (see note) 
Barbecued pineapple salsa
500 gm pineapple (about ½ pineapple), thickly sliced
½ Spanish onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup coarsely chopped coriander
Juice of 2 limes
2 tsp olive oil

Method

  • For white corn tortillas, combine flour, 340ml hot water and a large pinch of salt in a bowl and mix with your hands until a soft dough forms. Cover closely with plastic wrap and set aside to rest (15 minutes). Divide dough into 35gm pieces and roll into balls. Line a tortilla press with two squares of baking paper, then, working with one ball at a time, press gently but firmly in press to form a thin disc. Set aside on baking paper and cover with a tea towel.
  • Dry-roast galangal in a small frying pan over high heat until fragrant and toasted (4-6 minutes), transfer to a mortar and pestle, pound until finely ground, transfer to a bowl and set aside. Add rice to pan and cook, shaking occasionally, until roasted (3-5 minutes), transfer to mortar and pestle, pound until finely ground and set aside.
  • Heat a wok over high heat, add quail and 60ml water and stir continuously until cooked through (3-4 minutes). Remove wok from heat, add ground galangal, ground rice and remaining ingredients (except extra coriander), toss to coat quail, adjust seasoning to taste and set aside.
  • For barbecued pineapple salsa, preheat a char-grill pan over high heat, add pineapple in batches and char-grill until golden (1-2 minutes each side). Dice and transfer to a bowl. Add remaining ingredients, season to taste and set aside.
  • Preheat a cast-iron frying pan over medium-high heat, add tortillas one at a time and cook, turning once, until bubbles appear on the surface and base browns (30-45 seconds each side). Wrap in a cloth napkin to steam, soften and keep warm.
  • Serve warm tortillas topped with quail, barbecued pineapple salsa and extra coriander.

(Gourmet Traveller, 2010)

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)

Fettuccine with Quail Sauce

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Making the Dish

What You’ll Need
2 quail, rinsed and patted dry 
3 tbsp, olive oil
1 half sweet onion, very finely chopped
1/2 rib celery, very finely chopped
1/2 carrot, very finely chopped
1 sage leaf and 1 sprig’s worth of rosemary leaves, very finely chopped together
1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup white wine
1 can whole peeled plum tomatoes
1/4 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese
1/2 lb fettuccine (or, if you want to be fancy, fresh tagliatelle)

In a large wide saucepan that can contain all the quail in one layer, start heating up the olive oil over medium high heat. Once the oil is nice and hot, add the quail and brown them on all sides – about 2 -3 minutes per side. Once browned, remove hem from the pan.

In the same pan, add in the onion, celery carrot, sage and rosemary, and cook until the vegetables are softened, about 6 – 7 minutes.

Once the veggies have softened, add the quail back to the pan. Add a touch of salt and pepper, and gently stir together. You don’t want the quail to rip or tear, but you do want to get them covered up in the veggie infused oils. Turn them a few times as they start to take on a nice golden color.

After about 4 minutes, add your wine and bring it to a gentle boil for about 45 seconds. Add in about a 1/4 cup worth of the tomato juice from the can of tomatoes and let it return to a boil. Then, turn the heat down to low. Move the pan back and forth so that the quail are as submerged into the liquid as possible. Cover the pan, and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes.

While the quail are simmering in the tomato sauce, remove 3 – 5 tomatoes (your preference!) from the can and roughly chop them up. When the quail have cooked for 20 minutes, add the cup up tomato to the pan and fold them into the sauce, again stirring gently so as not to tear the quail.

Add in the tablespoon of ground black pepper, stir to incorporate, and then cover the pan with the lid slightly ajar and cook for another 25 minutes. Check the pan throughout this process and if the cooking juices are drying up, add in a tablespoon of the tomato juice.

By now, the quail should be fall off the bone tender. Remove the quail from the sauce. Start cooking your fettuccine in salted water – cook it until 1 minutes shy of the package directions, then get to work on the quail. Using two forks, pull the meat away from any bones and get it into nice chunks. Be sure that no bones remain in the meat. For presentation’s sake, you can keep the drumsticks whole and place them on top of the dish at the end.

With the meat separated and pulled, add it back into the pan of sauce and stir it in. You should have a nice thick, ragu of tomatoes and quail.

Add the fettuccine to the quail sauce mixture and add in the grated pecorino romano. Ladle a small amount of the pasta water over the pecorino to get it melted, and toss the entire concoction over medium heat until all of the juice is absorbed in the pasta – about two minutes.

Serve on warmed plates, the drumstick placed nicely on top, garnished with extra pecorino if you desire!

(Herbie Likes Spaghetti, 2013)

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)