Greatest Recipes

1 Duckling, (4- to 5-lb)

1 tb Kosher salt

1 ts Ground black pepper

REMOVE ANY GIBLETS from the cavity of the bird and reserve. Remove any fat deposits from the cavity and cut off excess skin around the neck. Rinse the bird under cold running water and pat dry. Sprinkle the cavity with salt and pepper. Sever the wing tips at the first joint and reserve with the giblets. Tie the legs together at the ankles and sprinkle the outside of the duck with salt and pepper. If you don’t have a steamer, improvise one. Use a roasting rack or create one by placing 2 small heatproof baking dishes or loaf pans upside down in a larger roasting pan. Fill roasting pan with a 2-inch depth of water and place the bird breast up on the rack. Cover tightly with the lid or with aluminum foil. Place over high heat on top of the stove. When the water boils, reduce heat to low and steam approximately 15 minutes per pound. Remove from the heat and transfer the birds to a plate. Strain the steaming liquid into a container, cool and place in the refrigerator. When chilled, remove the fat and pack into containers, discarding any water. Place in the refrigerator until ready to cook, or in the freezer for up to 1 year. Use the fat for frying and sauteeing. Place the bird on its side in a roasting pan, add reserved giblets, neck and wings, place in the oven and turn oven temperature to 350F. After about 15 minutes, turn birds on the other side and cook an

additional 10 minutes. Turn the bird breast up and cook another 20 minutes, basting the bird as it renders fat. In all, cook about 9 minutes per pound or about 45 minutes for a 5-lb duck, about 7 minutes per pound for an 11-lb goose. Remove the bird from the oven and set the bird aside on a platter. Remove any trussing and serve with sauce.

2 tb Worcestershire sauce

1 tb Starch,dissolved in 2Tb

-water 2 tb Light Soy sauce

1 ts Sugar

1 3-4 lb Long Island Duck

Combine the first three ingredients, coat the duck and let stand 2 hrs. Fill a steamer pan with water 1 1/2″ deep. Place duck on rack breast side up, reserving marinade . Cover, bring water to boil and steam 30 min. Skim fat from steaming juice and reserve. Preheat oven to 400 F. Transfer duck to a baking dish and brush with reserved marinade. Roast uncovered 15 min. Lower heat to 350 and roast a further 40 min. Remove duck to a cutting board. Skim and discard fat from the pan juices. In a small pan, combine reserved steaming and roasting juices, bring to a simmer, add the starch mix and cook, stirring, until thickened. Cut the wings, legs and thighs at the joints, split the back in half and the breast into quarters. Arrange pieces on a platter and top with the gravy.

4 5-pound ducklings

1 ts Seasoned salt

1/2 ts Rosemary

1/2 c Celery; chopped

1/2 c Onion; chopped

2 c Brown sauce; or chicken stoc

3 tb Sugar

1 tb Butter

1/2 c Vinegar

1 c Orange juice

1 ts English mustard

1/2 ts Cornstarch

1/4 c Grand marnier

Recipe by: Joe Mannke of Rotisserie for Beef and Bird, Houston, TX Preparation Time: 2:00 STEP ONE: Prepare the Duckling and Basic Brown Sauce– Trim the duck of excess fat at the base of the tail. Rub the inside with the seasoning salt and rosemary. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place the duckling in a roasting pan, add 1/2 cup of water, and roast for 1-1/2 hours, basting occasionally.

Remove the duckling from the oven and keep warm. Pour off all but two tablespoons of fat from the roasting pan, add the onions and celery, and saute until tender. Add two cups of brown sauce. Boil for 20 minutes. The basic sauce is now ready for additional flavoring. STEP TWO: Prepare the Orange Sauce– Melt the butter, vinegar, and sugar in a saucepan and boil until the liquid caramelizes. Add the orange juice, mustard, and basic brown sauce and bring to a boil. Strain the sauce, then thicken with cornstarch and season with Grand Marnier.

5 pounds duckling

3 cups water

1 medium onion — quartered

1 large carrot — peeled and halved

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup strawberry jelly — or red currant jelly

16 ounces pomegranates — juiced (2/3 cup)

3 tablespoons sugar

Dried-Fruit Couscous — *see recipe 1/4 cup dry red wine

2 tablespoons cornstarch

fresh mint sprigs — optional

1. Remove giblets and neck from duckling. Remove and discard excess fat from inside body cavity. Cut off and discard excess neck skin. Rinse duckling, giblets, and neck in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut off and reserve first 2 joints of the wings, leaving only the third. To cut duckling into quarters, using poultry shears, cut duckling lengthwise in half through the breastbone and continue cutting along one side of the backbone; cut duckling halves in half crosswise. 2. Coat bottom of 5-quart kettle or Dutch oven with nonstick vegetable cooking spray. Add giblets, neck, and reserved wing tips to kettle and cook until well browned. Add duckling quarters, water, onion, carrot, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the bay leaf. Cover and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until duckling is fork-tender - about 1 hour. (If preparing ahead, remove duckling from kettle, cool, wrap, and refrigerate. Strain cooking liquid, discarding fat and cooked particles. Refrigerate liquid, or duck stock.) 3. Just before roasting duckling, prepare pomegranate glaze: In 1-quart saucepan, heat jelly until melted. Stir in pomegranate juice and sugar and heat to boiling over high heat. Boil mixture 5 minutes; remove from heat and set aside. 4. Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Remove duckling from kettle and place, skin side up, on rack in roasting pan. (If duck breasts have curled up after boiling, remove their breast bones so they will be flat.) Roast duckling 15 minutes. 5. Meanwhile, pour duck stock through large strainer into bowl, discarding cooked particles. Remove excess fat from stock. Reserve 1 cup stock for the sauce and 2 cups stock for Dried-Fruit Couscous; refrigerate remainder for another use. 6. Brush duckling with some glaze and roast 5 minutes; roast duckling 10 more minutes or until well browned, brushing 3 more times with glaze. Prepare Dried-Fruit Couscous; keep warm. Set duckling quarters aside. 7. Prepare sauce: In cup, combine wine and cornstarch until smooth. Stir reserved 1 cup stock and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt into glaze remaining in saucepan. Heat to boiling and stir in cornstarch mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Pour sauce into serving bowl. 8. Spoon Dried-Fruit Couscous onto serving plate. Arrange duckling on couscous. Garnish with mint, if desired. Serve duckling and couscous with sauce.

1/2 c Shelled peanuts, red skin

-removed 1/2 c Chestnuts, either fresh or

-dried 1/2 c Ginkgo nuts, canned or fresh

1/2 c Dried lotus seeds

8 Dried Chinese mushrooms

1/2 c Red dates (jujubes)

1 Duck (about 5 pounds)

Salt 1 tb Finely chopped fresh ginger

-root 3 Shallots, chopped fine

2 Eighteen-inch pieces of

-sugar cane (if unavailable, -omit) Clear water from 1 coconut 1 ts Rock sugar

1 tb Fish sauce

3 Scallions, both green part

-and white, cut into 4 -pieces crosswise Black pepper to taste Fresh coriander, chopped Prepare the various nuts, the lotus seeds, dried mushrooms, and red dates as follows: Soak the peanuts in hot water for 30 minutes; drain and set aside. If using dried chestnuts, boil for 20 minutes, drain, and set aside. If using fresh ginkgo nuts, remove the shell and blanch to remove the thin inner skin; set aside. Soak the Chinese mushrooms in hot water for 20 minutes, then drain, remove the stems and cut into quarters; set aside. Boil the dried lotus seeds for 20 minutes; drain and set aside. Soak the red dates in hot water for 30 minutes. (If they are very dry, boil for 10 minutes.) Drain and set aside. Rinse and clean the duck. Rub salt over the duck and rinse off; let dry for 10 minutes. Combine the ginger, shallots, and 1 teaspoon salt. Rub the inside of the duck with the mixture. Combine the peanuts, chest- nuts, ginkgo nuts, lotus seeds, and 1 teaspoon salt and stuff the duck. Sew the duck closed with heavy white thread, or else use skewers. Peel the sugar cane and cut into thin lengthwise strips, the same length as the duck. Place 3 pieces of white kitchen string on a flat surface, long enough to tie the slices of sugar cane around the duck, covering the entire surface. Bring the string around and tie as you would a roast. Turn the duck over and slide the remaining strips under the string, covering the entire duck with the sugar cane. Pour the coconut water into a large pot. Put the duck into the pot and add enough water to completely cover. Add the rock sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil and remove the scum continuously for 15 minutes, then turn the heat down, cover, and keep at a lively bubble for 2 hours. Turn the duck every 30 minutes. After 2 hours, remove the duck from the pot; untie and discard the sugar cane. To the liquid remaining in the pot add the mushrooms, red dates, 1 teaspoon salt, and the fish sauce. Boil, covered, for 15 minutes, then remove the duck to the broth, cover, and simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Remove the duck and add the scallion pieces to the broth. To serve, break the duck, with the bones, into 8 pieces. Put the pieces in individual bowls and add broth, some of the various nuts that were stuffed into the duck, red dates, and mushrooms. Sprinkle with black pepper and chopped fresh coriander.

3 Ripe, but firm, avocados

1 qt Water

Juice of 1 lemon The breast and thigh meat -from a whole roasted -duckling 6 md Oranges, peeled and

-segmented Lettuce leaves 1/4 c Chopped pecans or toasted

-sliced almonds 6 tb Mayonnaise

2 tb Frozen undiluted orange

-juice, defrosted Parsley sprigs Orange wedges (optional) 1. Peel the avocados, cut them in half, and immediately dip them in

the water with the lemon juice added to keep them from discoloring. 2. Be sure the duck meat is skinless and boneless. Cut it into

bite-sized pieces. 3. Mix the duck meat with the orange segments. Divide into six

portions. Fill the avocado halves, which have been placed on a platter lined with crisp lettuce leaves, with the portions of meat and oranges. 4. Mix the concentrated juice with the mayonnaise and spoon this

over each stuffed avocado. Top each with the nuts. Decorate with parsley sprigs and orange wedges. CHEF’S SECRET: Always peel the avocado first and then cut it in half. This is important, because if avocados are ripe enough to be eaten, the halves would be mashed during the peeling process. If you leave the pits in after halving the avocados and dipping them in the lemon water, you can wrap the avocados in plastic wrap and keep them all day in the refrigerator. They won’t discolor. You can give this dish an oriental flavor by mixing 1 tbs. soy sauce into the 6 tbs. mayonnaise, replacing the orange with canned tangerine segments, and grinding some roasted sesame seeds over the dish. (The sesame seeds are available in very bandy little plastic throw-away grinders in grocery stores carrying oriental foods.) When using the canned tangerine segments, you can greatly improve the taste by pouring off the canned syrup, rinsing the segments quickly in cold water, then transferring them to a plastic container. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over them and, if you like, add 1 or 2 tbs. brandy and enough water to cover. Chill in the refrigerator overnight. Makes 6 servings. From “The Chef’s Secret Cookbook”, Louis Szathmary, Quadrangle Books, Chicago. 1972. Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; March 14 1993.