Duck á la Roy
Cooking at Christmas time is one of my fondest memories . Truth be told it was the only time of year that I ventured into the kitchen . My father (Roy) and I had a tradition of selecting a different somewhat fancy dish for Christmas and attempting to make it . Maybe this was my start of my love affair with cooking something different.
Whole roasted duck stuffed with grapes and onions was one of the most ambitious yet memorable kitchen adventures. This recipe was totally from my father's head from in the style of Galloping Gourmet (A cooking show from the 1950s and 1960s) . I truly remember this dish because when it was finished, I did not want to taste it because it the duck looked so different and weird to a roasted chicken … I ducked out of tasting it!
In attempting to recreate and put my "Kari" spin on this recipe I looked into the Galloping Gourmet archives and only found a recipe for a deep fried duck in red wine sauce nothing close to what we made, so maybe Roy put his own spin on it before I did ?
As an ode to my original cooking partner , I developed my own take on this recipe I call Duck A' La' Roy . I used duck breast and leg to reduce cooking time, and roasted shallots and grapes in a port wine sauce to incorporate ingredients from the original recipe. This is truly a special and decadent dish, it reminds me of a Christmas morning many years ago with my parents and their glass of Harvey's Bristol cream and me and my shandy being all fancy.
Ingredients for Duck :
1 duck breast scoured
1 duck leg
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1tablepsoons Fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon of Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon of mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon of ginger powder
11/2 tablespoons of salt
2 Shallots halved
12 grapes (red or green )
Ingredients for Port Sauce :
1/2 cup of port wine
1/2 cup of water
1 clove of garlic finely minced
1/2 bouillon cube (4 tablespoons of stock )
1 teaspoon of corn starch
2 sprigs of thyme
1 teaspoon of butter
Preparation:
Toast all spices in fry pan for 5 minutes until fragrant ; If using powdered spices pan roast for 2-3 minutes .
Place toasted spices in the spice grinder and pulse until a powdered consistency is reached .
Season the duck breast and leg with rub and 1 tablespoon of salt . Leave uncovered in the fridge over-night . (This can be skipped but it gives a crispier duck skin ).
Preheat oven to 425 F . Using a paper towel, pat the duck breast and leg to get rid of any moisture and add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon to the duck breast and leg .
In a cast iron pan (oven proof pan ) , place in duck breast and leg skin side down in the cold pan. Turn on heat on high and sear the duck pieces until a lovely golden brown colour is achieved. Approximately 8 minutes.
Add shallots and grapes seasoned with salt and black pepper into the pan with the duck breast.
Put in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes (depending on your likeness for doneness).
Remove duck breast , shallots and grapes from the pan and place on the dish to cool. The duck leg should be returned to the oven at 385 degrees for 35 minutes to be completely cooked.
Using a cooking spoon remove approximately 1/2 of the oil rendered from the duck breast.
Add 1/2 cup of port to the baking pan and using a spoon move the liquid around scraping off the bits of crusted on the bottom of the pan. (Deglaze)
Let the port simmer on medium heat for 3-5 minutes . In a small bowl add 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 bouillon cube (or stock), corn starch, finely minced garlic into a bowl.
Add this mixture to the pan, toss in thyme sprigs and lower heat . Roasted grapes can be added to the sauce and sauce will thicken in approximately 8 - 10 minutes .
When the sauce has thickened to your preference , turn off the heat and add in the teaspoon of butter to finish off the sauce.
Recommended serving with :
Creamy polenta .
Mashed potatoes
Roasted veggies .
Give it try and let me know how it goes for you! Please note this one can definitely break a diet!