serves
6
prep
30 minutes
cook
4:15 hours
difficulty
Mid
serves
6
people
preparation
30
minutes
cooking
4:15
hours
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 25 g dried chanterelles or wild mushrooms (see Note)
- 2 (about 4 kg) ducks, breasts, thighs and legs removed, carcasses and legs reserved for duck stock
- 60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil
- 4 large eschalots, finely chopped
- 200 g rindless smoked bacon, cut into lardons
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- 400 g Swiss brown mushrooms, large ones halved, stalks trimmed
- 3 each thyme and oregano sprigs
- 60 ml (¼ cup) white wine
Duck stock
- carcass and legs reserved from the 2 deboned ducks, skin discarded, carcasses cut into 4
- 20 g lard or 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small carrot, roughly chopped
- 1 large onion, unpeeled, halved
- ½ leek, roughly chopped
- ¼ small celeriac, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 375 ml (1½ cups) dry white wine
- 4 bay leaves
- 6 flat-leaf parsley stalks
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 3 cloves
- 6 juniper berries (see Note)
- 10 black peppercorns
Drink 2010 Riorret Emu Vineyard Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley ($42)
Instructions
To make duck stock, preheat oven to 210°C. Toss carcasses with 1 tbsp salt. Place in a large roasting pan and roast, turning and basting with pan juices occasionally, for 45 minutes or until golden. Set aside.
Melt lard in a large saucepan over high heat. Add carrot, onion, leek and celeriac, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes or until golden. Add tomato paste and stir for 1 minute. Add duck carcasses, duck legs and wine, and stir for 5 minutes or until wine is reduced by half. Add herbs and spices, then top with enough water to cover carcasses. Bring to the boil over medium heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 2½ hours, skimming any impurities that rise to the surface.
Strain through a muslin-lined sieve into a clean saucepan, discarding solids. Bring to the boil, skimming surface frequently. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 30 minutes or until reduced by a third. Set aside. Makes 1.5 litres.
Soak dried mushrooms in a bowl of boiling water for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, season duck breasts and thighs with salt and pepper, and toss with 1 tbsp oil. Preheat a chargrill pan or barbecue to high and cook, skin-side down first, for 2 minutes each side or until golden. Transfer to a wire rack set over a tray to catch juices. When cool, cut duck into 3 cm pieces and reserve juices.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pan over high heat. Add eschalots and cook for 30 seconds. Add bacon and cook for 4 minutes or until golden. Stir in garlic, chanterelle and Swiss brown mushrooms, herbs and ¼ tsp pepper. Add wine, cover and cook for 6 minutes or until mushrooms soften. Remove from heat. Strain liquid into a bowl. Reserve mushroom mixture and liquid. Wipe pan clean and reserve.
Heat remaining 1 tbsp oil in reserved pan over high heat. Add the chopped duck and cook for 3 minutes or until seared all over. Add reserved duck juices, mushroom mixture and stock. Bring to the boil, then remove from heat. Season and add mushroom liquid to taste.
Note
• Ask your butcher to bone the ducks for you. You can make the stock up to 3 days ahead. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
• Dried chanterelle and wild mushrooms are from selected delis and specialist food shops.
• Juniper berries are available from selected delis and supermarkets.
As seen in Feast Magazine, Issue 14, pg55.
Photography by Sean Fennessy
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
