DUCK ISABEL Copyright The Mobile Home Gourmet, MobileHomeGourmet.com, all rights reserved.

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1 DUCK ISABEL Serves 6 to 8. By Dennis W. Viau; an original recipe. When I heard that Clarissa Dickson Wright of the BBC cooking show Two Fat Ladies passed away, I wanted to do something as a tribute to her and Jennifer Paterson, who passed in In one episode, The Cambridge Eight, Clarissa made a Rabbit Isabel. I used the idea to create a similar recipe. Although complicated, it makes a delicious and beautiful centerpiece for a special dinner. Ingredients: 1 whole duck, about 5 pounds (2.25kg) ¼ cup (1½ ounces/42g) wild rice 2 tablespoons oil for frying ½ medium (5 ounces/140g) onion, chopped ¼ pound (113g) pork sausage meat 5 to 8 fresh sage leaves, depending on size, chopped 4 to 5 fresh basil leaves, chopped 1 egg Salt and pepper 1 or 2 tablespoons bread crumbs or panko, if needed 8 pieces thinly sliced prosciutto, more if needed to patch holes ¼ to ½ (60 to 120ml) cup dry white wine 2 heaping teaspoons plum sauce (optional) Directions: Thaw the duck in the refrigerator for a day or two, if frozen. Start cooking the rice in a cup (237ml) of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and cover the pan. Simmer 30 minutes. The rice will be al dente, but I like the texture in the stuffing. When done, drain and set aside, covered. While the rice is cooking, remove the skin from the duck and fillet the meat from the legs. It doesn t need to be done carefully because it will be ground (minced) later in a food process. However, carefully fillet the breast meat away from the ribs to keep each breast in one piece. Sauté the chopped onion in a skillet heated with about a tablespoon of oil. Cook until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Then remove from the heat and set aside to cool a little. Cut the leg meat into smaller pieces and place in a food processor with the sage and basil leaves. Chop briefly until the mixture resembles ground beef. Transfer the meat mixture to a large mixing bowl and add the cooked wild rice, pork sausage meat, onion, and the egg. Mix well. If the mixture appears to be too wet to hold a shape, add a tablespoon or two of bread crumbs and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. You can test for seasoning by cooking a small dab of the mixture in the skillet and tasting. Arrange a long piece of kitchen twine on the counter (I do this on a piece of parchment paper) and then arrange three shorter pieces, crossing the first, about 2 inches (5cm) apart (see the photos below). Carefully separate the prosciutto slices, trying not to tear them and arrange them on the strings, two on each crossing string, with the ends overlapping, and one at each end on top of the longer strings (see below). If any of the

2 slices tear, the hole can be patched with a cut piece of prosciutto. Place one of the duck breast pieces in the center of the prosciutto, aligned along the long string. Arrange the ground meat mixture on top of the breast meat, shaping the ground meat into a loaf. Then top with the remaining piece of breast meat. Carefully wrap the loaf with the prosciutto slices, starting with the pieces that are on top of the others. Try not to tear the prosciutto. Holes can be patched with a piece of prosciutto. Then tie the loaf with the strings. Do not pull the strings too tightly, as this could tear the prosciutto. Meanwhile, starting heating the oven to 350 F (177 C). Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet. Brown the loaf lightly on all sides, turning it carefully. I found the best way to do this was to arrange the skillet off center on the burner. By pushing the loaf against the side of the pan and tilting the pan to hold the loaf in place, the rounded edges along the bottom of the skillet helped shape the loaf. Browning will also strengthen the prosciutto wrapping on the loaf, making it easier to handle. Transfer the loaf to a baking dish or pan and pour the wine into the bottom. Cover the baking dish and bake to an internal temperature of about 160 (71 C) when tested with a meat thermometer. My loaf baked for exactly one hour to come up to this temperature. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes. The outer heat will continue to migrate toward the center, bringing the final temperature to about 170 F (77 C), a safe temperature at which to serve. Transfer the duck loaf to a carving board. You can strain the cooking liquid after removing the fat and flavor the drippings with a couple heaping teaspoons of plum sauce, if you prefer. Orange marmalade might work well instead. You can be a little creative with this sauce. Heat and use as a garnish when serving. Slice the loaf into thick slices at the table and garnish with sauce. Serve with your favorite vegetable. 2 1 STEP-BY-STEP These ingredients are easy to find. The local grocery store only sells ducks frozen; so it required thawing for a couple days in the refrigerator. Plan ahead. When buying sliced prosciutto, look for meat without a lot of fat inside the meat. It will tear less when you work with it.

3 2 3 Wild rice typically takes about 45 minutes to be fully cooked. I like mine less cooked when I am using it in a stuffing because I prefer the slightly al dente texture. Cook the rice for about 30 minutes in water. Then drain and set aside. 3 Here is the duck. I won t pretend the following steps are easy. I ve deboned so many chickens in my time, a duck or goose or even a turkey are not overly difficult. On my web site there is a procedure and video for deboning a chicken. Look under Basics. Once you become comfortable with deboning chickens, it is a skill that will prove useful again and again in the kitchen.

4 4 4 Don t attempt this procedure without a really sharp boning knife. I start by removing the wings first. The joint is deep under the breast meat. Cut carefully so as to only cut away the wing without damaging the breast meat. The wings and other trim can be used to make stock later. 5 With the wings removed you can begin removing the skin. Cut along the full length of the duck along the center back and the center front.

5 6 5 Carefully separate the skin from the breast meat. If you notch the meat a few times, it won t make any difference. The loaf will be wrapped in prosciutto later, which will cover any cut marks. With the breast skin removed, start cutting around the joint where the leg attaches to the pelvis, separating the leg. 7 With the leg removed, you can separate the thigh from the drumstick by cutting through the joint. Then remove the bone from each piece by cutting carefully around it. Above is a boneless thigh.

6 8 6 To fillet the breast meat, carefully cut along the breast bone down to the rib cage, then follow along the ribs with the knife, carefully separating the meat from the bones. Place all the meat in a bowl, cover, and set aside. 9 With the meat filleted, chop the onion next.

7 10 7 Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a skillet and sauté the onion over medium heat until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. 11 To prepare the leg meat for chopping in a food processor, cut into smaller pieces.

8 12 8 Process the leg meat with the sage and basil until reduced in texture similar to ground beef. This only takes a few seconds. 13 Transfer the ground leg meat to a mixing bowl and combine with the cooked wild rice and onion. Add the pork sausage meat and egg. Mix well. Season lightly with salt and pepper. You can taste for seasoning by cooking a small amount of this mixture in the skillet and tasting. The mixture works best if it is stiff enough to hold a shape. If the stuffing is too wet, you can add a tablespoon of bread crumbs or panko to help stiffen it.

9 14 9 This is where the fun begins. Start by laying a long piece of kitchen string on a clean surface then arranging three shorter pieces across the top. 15 Carefully arrange the prosciutto slices on top of the strings, overlapping them. If the meat should tear (mine did) you can patch with a piece of prosciutto, as you can see above. The pieces arranged on a different grain from the other pieces are patches. Sometimes prosciutto holds together perfectly; sometimes it tears too easily.

10 16 10 Arrange one of the two breast fillets in the center, on top of the prosciutto. Align it with the long string. 17 Arrange the stuffing mixture on top of the breast meat and shape into a loaf with your hands. Then place the second piece of breast meat on top.

11 18 11 Carefully bring up the prosciutto slices to encase the duck loaf and secure into place with the kitchen string. Do not pull the string too tight when tying it, lest it cut into the prosciutto. You just need to hold everything in place. In the next step, the browning, the prosciutto will be fixed into place. 19 I find the best way to brown this loaf is to use a skillet that is rounded along the bottom edges. I place the skillet off center on the burner, to heat the edge, and then push the loaf against the rounded corner. I also tilt the pan, keeping the loaf against the side. Turn occasionally until all the loaf is lightly browned on all sides.

12 20 12 Transfer the browned duck loaf to a baking dish or pan. I am using an oval Dutch oven here. You can see how beautifully shaped the loaf is after carefully browning in the skillet. Add ¼ to ½ cup of white wine to the bottom of this pan. Cover and bake for about an hour in a 350 F (177 C) oven. I used a digital thermometer to check the internal temperature. At 1 hour the temperature was almost 160 F (71 C). 21 I chose to use the drippings from the bottom of the baking pan by straining them into a small saucepan after removing the fat.

13 22 13 One trick to add a little additional, and interesting, flavor to the drippings is to use something like this plum sauce. I used a couple heaping teaspoons. It adds a little sweetness, which works well with the duck, and a more complex flavor. Blend well and heat if necessary. 23 I think the best way to serve this Duck Isabel is by slicing it at the table and garnishing it with the sauce. If you tell your dinner guests they will be eating duck, they ll expect a roasted bird on a platter, and bones. Presented with a boneless loaf of duck meat and meat stuffing, the result can be dramatic appreciation for the meal. They ll still be talking about it days later. I chose sautéed green beans garnished with sesame seeds, but you can serve this with any favorite vegetable.

14 Conclusion I won t pretend this meal is easy. It s a lot of work. Those who have never deboned a chicken might want to practice on chickens first. They re less expensive. Then move up to duck. I ve deboned hundreds of chickens during more than 40 years of cooking. I know where every joint and tendon are. I strongly believe that learning the skill of deboning a chicken is a very useful lesson to master for cooking gourmet meals. This Duck Isabel, created by me, is an example of what can be accomplished. 14