Duck, Parsnip, Pear & Jus
It’s been a long time everyone and I am sorry. I know I haven’t been around as much but hey I am back. I have a new dish for you to cook. I am learning to appreciate the very simple things in life when it comes to plating and cooking in general. In our industry, we tend to complicate things and while that works for some people, I am not sure how I feel about having 7-9 elements on a plate. This dish is simple and easy enough for you learn and understand the basics of flavour combination. There were a few things I would change like if I had a juicer, the pear puree would be a clear gel, but hey! We must make do with what we have.
Serves: 2
Difficulty: Easy
Duck & Chicken Sauce
5 D’ Anju Pears(macerated)
2 Carrots
3 Medium Yellow Onions
6 bay leafs4 Celery Stalks
½ Handful thyme
1 Tbsp. Black peppercorns
10 -12 cloves of garlic
3 - 4 L Chicken broth
5-6 lbs. roasted Chicken & Duck bones
5 Plum Tomatoes
1/3 Cup Brandy
Amaretto
Duck
2 Duck Breasts
4 Bay leafs
4 Cloves Garlic
Oil
1 Lemon Peeled
Rosemary
2 Ziplock bags
Parsnip Puree
3-4 parsnip
1 L Heavy Cream
Salt
Spiced Pear Puree
2 Sticks Cinnamon
1 Star anise
3-4 Peeled D’ Anju Pears
Peel 5 D’ Anju and let macerate in Amaretto for 5 days.
Take the duck breast and turn it flesh side up and remove all the tendons and white fibrous lines you see (they are inedible). Flip it around to skin side up. Using a very sharp knife lightly cut the surface with multiple parallel lines then turn the duck around and do the same to form diamonds on the skin. Be sure not to cut all the way to the flesh.
Put them in a ziplock bag with bay leaf, garlic, oil, a splash of Amaretto & peeled lemon skin. Let sit for 24 hours.
Get chicken bones and Duck Bones and roast them until they are brown. Cut all the vegetables for the stock and lightly oil the pot, put on a medium to high heat. Add the carrots until brown, remove and repeat for onions and tomatoes. Add the celery last and turn the heat down, the water from the celery will help remove the fond at the bottom of the pan. Deglaze with Brandy. Add back the vegetables & pears. Add bones, broth, bay leaf, thyme and bring to a boil. Once boiling turn down to a simmer. Remember, in terms of stock you want to do it slowly and reduce fast after filtering. This stock will take a couple hours, you want it to reduce by half, as its cooking be sure to remove any scum or gunk on top of the stock.
Once your stock has reduced strain through a coffee filter and fine strainer. Let cool and refrigerate until the next day. Remove the layer of fat on top of sauce, reduce by half, and pour through another coffee filter when finished. Store until ready.
Peel the parsnip and cut into quarters. The centre “vein”/core is very woody so just cut those off then medium dice the parsnip and put in a medium pot. Lightly season with salt, add cream just above the parsnip and cook on a low – medium. Be sure to watch it and make sure it doesn’t boil over. Once it’s done, add the parsnip to the blender with ¼ of the cream-filled up to make a thick puree. Do this until you’ve used up all the parsnip. It must be smooth, be sure there aren’t any lumps. There might be some cream left over. It’s okay.
Peel pears and small dice them, keep in lemon water until ready. Get a pan on a high heat with a little oil, once hot add pears from the water. Do not shake them, you want a hard sear on them. Turn the heat down to low once they have an even colour on them, add spices, and a teaspoon of butter and cover to cook them. Remove the lid after 5 minutes, cook out the liquid. Taste one piece to be sure they are cooked, once all the liquid is gone, deglaze with apple cider vinegar and let simmer for 2 minutes. Blend pears the same way you did the parsnip. It should taste sharp and be a light brown colour.
Take out your duck season and let it reach room temperature. Place it on the pan skin side down and render the fat with the rosemary on a low to medium heat, constantly basting it for 5-7 minutes. Using a cake tester, run it through the side of the duck and let it stay in there for 5 minutes. Take it out and check the temp, it’s not supposed to be hot. It should just be warm. Take it out the pan and let it sit and rest. Reheat your sauces, put the pear in a squeeze bottle and keep the meat sauce nearby and the parsnip puree. Place the parsnip, slice the duck, put on a plate, add pear puree, pour sauce, finish with nasturtium or a cress of your choice.