Day thirty-seven: Game for game and a recipe to match
Posted on | September 8, 2009
I had duck breast with apple chutney for lunch. And I chased it with a bit of quail and some dirty rice.
Ah, the life at culinary school. If you like to cook and you like to eat, there is no better place to be.
“Food is an important part of a balanced diet.”
~ Fran Lebowitz
So you wanna learn how to cook feathered game (tomorrow we cook furred)? Such as duck and pheasant and quail? Then step right up and let me tell you what I learned. And, because you’ve all been very, very good (really, I love the comments – thank you), I’ll give you a recipe that’s perfect with game.
Ready? Okay!
Let’s start at the beginning. Namely, what, exactly, is game? Game is simply animals that are hunted. Or, at least they were. Then the government stepped in and said, “Yeah, no. No selling of food we have not inspected.”
So then game became the domesticated version of animals we used to hunt. Unless of course your Uncle Bob goes out and bags him a big one. You can eat that, if you like, but you can’t sell it because the government has not inspected it.
Got that?
Now, the difference between game and other domesticated animals is flavor. Game tends to get more exercise which means it is more flavorful (exercise = flavor). But, alas, it tends to be leaner and tougher (exercise also = well, you know). As well as getting more exercise, game also tends to get a better diet. This also helps boost the flavor. And it results in a meat that tends to be lower fat, lower cholesterol, and higher in nutrients.
I say “tends” to because there are exceptions. Such as duck. Which is so incredibly fatty that sauteing a single breast can give you a good ounce or so of fat. Ditto goose.
So, you’ve got this really tasty, really dry, meat. How do you cook it? The trick is to keep it moist. So you might want to:
- Baste it
- Bard or lard it (drape it in fat, such as bacon, or insert fat into the meat)
- Braise it (brown the meat, then cook it in liquid)
- Brine it (presoaking the meat in a heavily salted, flavored liquid)
- Marinade it
Now, my last tip with cooking game birds is to make sure you have enough for everyone. See, quail is only about half a pound each (to put that into perspective, chicken is about 3 pounds). So you really can’t count on it to feed more than one person. Ducks are bigger, at 5 or so pounds. But squabs, which are baby pigeons, are nearly as small as quail, at a pound or less. So keep these sizes in mind when you are planning your menu.
“You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces. Just good food from fresh ingredients.”
~ Julia Child
Then off to the kitchen we went where we started with a good old fashioned demonstration on how to fabricate a duck. Now, different people learn in different ways. For me, my preferred way of learning is never show and tell. So I am always struggling during these demonstrations to absorb what I can. To help me, I take copious notes (and I’m not the only one). But, really, the true learning for me will be when I get my hands on the product and do it myself.
So, right after the demo, I promptly fabricated a duck. The skin was kept so we could render the fat then fry it up. The legs were kept so we could make confit with them (the legs will be poached in the duck fat). I sauteed the breast.
Four tips if you want to saute duck breast:
- Score the skin to release the fat
- Use that fat to saute the meat (as in, don’t add any more fat to your pan)
- So, of course, you need to start your breast skin side down to get that fat
- Keep your heat medium, not high, so you have time to cook your breast without making it dry and tough
“At a dinner party one should eat wisely but not too well, and talk well but not too wisely.”
~ W. Somerset Maugham
Now, to go with my duck breast, I made an apple chutney.
See, a good vinegary chutney is a perfect side dish with duck because the acid cuts right through the fat. I decided I wanted to make an apple chutney. So I did. And, because you all are jsut plain wonderful, I’ve decided to include my recipe. Here it is.
Recipe: Apple chutney
3 large green apples, peeled and large diced
4 ounces onions, medium dice
4 garlic cloves, minced
8 fluid ounces cider vinegar
6 ounces brown sugar
3 ounces crystallized ginger, minced fine
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cinnamon sticks, ground
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 fluid ounce apple brandy
1 fluid ounces lime juice
Cook everything except the lime juice and the brandy over a low heat for about 45 minutes (keep it to a light simmer). You want to soften the apples and the onions and reduce the liquid, but you do not want to turn the liquid syrupy (add a splash of water, say a few tablespoons, if needed to prevent this). Then add the brandy, reduce a bit more, then add the lime juice and remove from the heat.
Taste, adjust seasonings as needed, then serve with your duck breast.
Refrigerate leftovers (and there will be leftovers, this makes 2 – 3 cups of chutney) and enjoy with sandwiches, curry, eggs, and so on.
Just don’t eat it at three in the morning when it is too hot to sleep and you’ve got a serious case of the munchies. It’ll give you heartburn.
Trust me.
Comments
4 Responses to “Day thirty-seven: Game for game and a recipe to match”
Leave a Reply
September 8th, 2009 @ 7:28 am
Oh I love chutneys. I’ve never made one myself. Thank you for the recipe.
September 8th, 2009 @ 8:11 am
Apple Chutney! With fall upon us and the apple bounty filling stalls at the farmers’ markets, I will definitely have to attempt that recipe.
Something tart and fruity usually goes famously with game, semi-domesticated or otherwise. I’m thinking hot smoke duck breasts with a mango chutney
Why is it that every time I read your blog before lunch, I lose interest in whatever I packed
Cheers!
September 8th, 2009 @ 9:41 am
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September 8th, 2009 @ 8:57 pm
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