Photo: Roast and smoked duck risotto

Whenever we find a free range duck on offer we squeeze it into the freezer for a really special meal. Last weekend Danny roasted a duck and served it with a blueberry and plum sauce. Superb. Incidentally we usually cook fruit with the duck to make a sort of instant sauce. This time he roasted the duck “plain” and made the sauce separately. The duckiness of the duck was so good that I think that we’ll cook duck this way from now on.

“We can make a duck risotto with the leftovers. Possibly two.” Danny chortled as he cut himself yet another slice. But there’s the rub, when I opened the pack of duck from the fridge it was just a carcass with a sprinkle of flesh. I struggle to cut just 100g of meat. Barely enough to add to a duck risotto for one.

Luckily when Seraphina and I visited the Norfolk coast I had bought some smoked duck as a treat. So I added 100g of this to the mix. The risotto was outstanding – it could have fed three or four with a pud but I was delighted that there were just the two of us. Instincts said lick the bowl clean but we both held back with regret the next day.

Smoked duck can be difficult to get hold of but you can cure and smoke (or not smoke) your own quite easily. This is the recipe that we use regularly when we are feeling lazy and don’t want to smoke the bacon. Our friend Tessa uses our basic bacon cure and then smokes her duck breasts in a chiminea with a long duct pipe as an extension. You can read my post – explaining the dynamics – and see a picture of it in action here. A lot of shops are selling off their chimineas quite cheaply now as it’s getting towards the end of the season. Why not snap one up and give home smoking a go? The money that you save will be paid back so quickly as commercially produced bacon is a huge rip off.

Risottos are a great way of making a little meat go a very long way. This tasted as if it was bursting with duck and would be a great alternative dinner party dish.

Roast and smoked duck risotto recipe (for 2-3 greedy people)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp of duck fat – saved from the roast
200g of Arborio rice
100g of roast duck meat – chopped into 1-2cm chunks
100g of smoked duck meat – chopped into 1-2cm chunks
1 medium red onion – chopped
1 chunky clove of garlic chopped fine (or a teaspoon of garlic granules)
I small Romano pepper and one red bell pepper (deseeded and chopped) ours weighed in total 250g
4g of fresh thyme leaves rubbed from the stems
450-500ml of vegetable stock (I used Marigold vegetable stock powder)
2 large pinches of smoked paprika

Method:
Heat the duck fat in a large heavy bottomed sauté pan.
Gently fry the chopped red onion until it becomes translucent.
Add the Arborio rice and stir to coat the rice with the oil.
Add the chopped garlic and stir.
Add the chopped peppers and herbs.
Add the hot stock about 200ml at a time and stir until it is absorbed.
When the rice is soft but still has a bite stir remove from the heat and stir in the chopped duck meat. Cover the pan for five minutes to allow the meat to heat through.
Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and serve on warm plates.

Photo: Steak, venison and duck casserole

Our fridge freezer has been a bit of a trial for quite a few years now. It has problems coping with external high and low temperatures and generally performs best in the spring or autumn. So it was a bit of a surprise when we found the larder floor covered in dark water. We both assumed that the other had kicked the bacon curing pot.

The next day I investigated further and noticed red liquid dripping out of the freezer door. This is no super duper frost free machine. It has to be manually defrosted. If we forget to do this, the ice gradually builds up and finally begins to open the freezer door at the bottom with disastrous consequences.

I discovered that just the bottom drawer was affected. Faced with a lot of unfrozen berries – which were set aside for wine – and quite a bit of meat I made this unusual casserole in the slow cooker.

The combination of meat was not a mixture that I would have instinctively chosen but the final result was an unexpected delight. The secret is to use a much smaller proportion of venison to duck and steak. Rich and delicious, this is a perfect recipe for a treat meal that can be cooked in advance. I froze the remaining portions in flat zip locked bags that can be gently reheated from frozen in a sauté pan. Used as a filling it would make great individual posh pies too.

Slow cooker chef: Steak, venison and duck au vin recipe

Ingredients

500g of braising steak chopped into 2 cm cubes
500g of duck breasts chopped roughly into 2 cm cubes (leave the skin on)
250g of venison chopped roughly into 2 cm cubes (ignore any gristle as this will break down during the slow cooking)
4 tablespoons of plain seasoned flour
350g of skinned and chopped carrots
100g of chopped red onion
1 stick of celery or I level teaspoon of dried celery
500ml of red wine
300ml-500ml of stock made with boiling water and two tsp of vegetable stock powder
1 tsp of garlic granules or one chubby clove of garlic chopped fine
Half a tsp of dried savoury or thyme

At the end
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp of corn flour

Method:

Prepare the meat and roll it in seasoned flour. Put the meat into the slow cooker. Add the vegetables, herbs and red wine and stir well. Add enough hot stock to cover the meat and vegetables so that they are just floating.

Switch the slow cooker to high and when the mixture starts to bubble (this usually takes an hour) turn it to low for three hours. Test the meat for tenderness and continue to cook on low, testing every half hour until the meat is cooked. Mine took four hours from the stage of switching to low.

When the meat and vegetables are tender, strain of the juices leaving the meat and vegetables in a warm place. The slow cooker pot with the lid on is perfect.

Skim of the fat - I use a Jack Sprat or Fat and Lean gravy boat *. Add a little of the juices to two teaspoons of corn flour and stir this mixture evenly through. Then reduce the juices, stirring every now and then until they have thickened. Pour the juices back over the meat and serve with baked potatoes and green peas or beans.

*Alternatively let the meat and juices stand in the fridge overnight. Remove the layer of fat and continue as above.

Photo: Duck rather than teal copyright Hanna Zabielska

Photo: Copyright Hanna Zabielska

Teal – wild duck – is a lot gamier than ordinary duck and far more compact. We occasionally find one on offer at Waitrose and pop it into the freezer for a special occasion. So I was delighted when Duncan sent me this recipe. 

“I first cooked it about six years ago and it was yummy I was then asked by a friend for ideas on how to cook Teal for Valentines evening, so I gave him this recipe.” Duncan explained.
“He did the cider variation and it met with great success by all accounts. I decided that I should also revisit its tantalising delights and so I cooked the red wine version on the Friday before Valentines for my better half.
 
Anyway, thought you and Danny might enjoy having a go. If you do not have any teal it works just as well with jointed mallard or pheasant or whole partridge. In fact it works with most game, oh rabbit is good too.”

This recipe inspired me to cook some pheasant thighs that had been bought on a whim (£4.99 down to £1.25) and were knocking about in the freezer as I wasn’t sure what to do with them. I used the wine version, in the slow cooker and it was truly superb (recipe to follow in a few days). I can’t wait to try it with teal.

Dukes Teal au Vin or Tippled Teal in Cider

Ingredients:

Brace of Teal
1 large onion roughly chopped or 8-10 shallots
1 clove garlic crushed or chopped using the back of the knife
1 small carrot chopped
Sprig each thyme and parsley 1 bay leaf
75g unsmoked bacon lardons
10 button mushrooms or small dark gilled mushrooms
Bottle of red wine or cider
Slug of brandy
Butter and olive oil
Salt and pepper
Roux

Method:

Put a knob of butter and a glug of olive oil in a casserole dish over a medium heat.

When it is ready add the onion and carrot and fry for about 3 mins until they start to brown.

Add the bacon and continue cooking until that too begins to brown

Add the garlic and cook for about 3 mins – do not let the garlic colour

Remove everything and put aside. Then ad the teal breast down and brown each breast for about 4 mins. Do not keep moving them or they will not brown enough. Do both sides of the breasts and then turn them on their backs and cook for another 3-4 mins.

Remove the teal. Glug some brandy in and flambé.

Put every thing back in (except the mushrooms)

Season, cover with the wine, bring to the simmer and cook for 2-3 hrs at 120 C. add the mushrooms for the final 20 mins of cooking.

When the meat is beautifully tender, remove the teal to a warming oven and add some roux a little at a time to the casserole, stirring well until the sauce has thickened to your desired consistency.

Serve with green beans and crusty French bread.

Thank you Duncan – this recipe is a winner.