Garlic Duck Confit with Tri-Licorice Soy

What you need:

2 duck legs, skin pricked with sharp knife or needle repeatedly to help the fat render out during cooking and make it crispy!

1 tub of duck fat (300 g)

1 clove of garlic

1-2 tsp Sea Salt

1 tsp caraway

1tsp anis seeds

1 tsp fennel

1 tsp of soy sauce

1 pot,  no lid

oven preheated to 225 F

So I thought I would try adding a little soy sauce to the traditional duck confit, I added about 2 tsp or so and let it sit for a few hours in the fridge, then I wiped it off and went about business as usual.

Toast the spices in a pan until you smell the licorice aroma, then coarsely crush Anis, Fennel, Caraway. I chose these three spices because they are all like slightly differently licorice flavours, and the combination with the garlic and duck is just wonderful.

So, after patting the duck legs dry rub with crushed spices and pressed garlic, 3-4 cloves should do it. Then apply some salt to the skin, this will help dry it out over the next day or so, while it rests in the fridge, don’t worry about putting too much because you wipe the majority of it off right before cooking it!

Leave to absorb flavours overnight in the fridge, take out of fridge a half hour before cooking to let come up to room temperature. Wipe of the salty garlic spice paste off the duck legs and put them in a small pot with the tub of duck fat, the duck should be covered by fat, however, mine was almost covered with fat and came out just fine. Peel a few garlic cloves (maybe 3-4 big ones, or even a whole clove if you’re a garlic head!), these wil slowly cook with the duck and give off wonderful flavour and aroma.

Put the pot with the duck fat and legs into a preheated over at 225 F, for 3-4 hours ! When a knife slides right through the meat, you know you’re good to go. Take pot out of the oven and let sit to cool for a half hour, then throw the whole thing in the fridge, and let the duck fat firm up. You can keep these duck legs in the fat like this for over a week without going off. When you want to use one, take it out of the fat, scrape off the majority of the fat, and pan fry it until crispy on the outside and warmed through.

Also, you don’t have to stop there, you can incorporate the duck meat into lots of different pastas, or I was thinking that it would be really tasty in a homemade poutine with some onion and duck fat gravy, possibilities are endless!

White Wine Mussels with Chives and Paprika

What you need:

• 1 bag of mussels (I got some PEI rope grown blue mussels from my local, 3.99, smell them first! you are hoping that they don't smell fishy, if they do, don't buy them!
• 2 bowls
• some white wine, I used a tasty Jacobs Creek Semillon Chardonnay that was a gift for my birthday, thanks again sammy n ryan!
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp of really good paprika, I used some from morocco, smells so much different than the cheap stuff you get at the grocery store
• nub of butter
• tbsp of finely chopped chive

PREPING THE MUSSELS:

1. Get two bowls ready, in one put empty the bag of mussels and rinse thoroughly in cold water.
2. Go through each mussel individually and put the ones that are closed into the other bowl, throw out any mussels with cracked shells.
3. The mussels that didn’t open, tap them on the counter, or with your finger a few times, give them a minute, if they are still alive they will close completely, and you can put them with the other good mussels. If they still don’t open after being tapped a few times and waiting, throw them out.
4. NOW, take a regular knife and use the back of it to scrape the tiny barnacles off the mussels under some cold water. This will take 5-10 minutes, so put on some music and get into a rhythm. Give the mussels one last good rinse and drain them completely. Store in fridge if not using right away, but if waiting a day to use them, you’re better off double checking the mussels with the tap test with any mussels that are open (BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY).

Directions:

Heat butter in pan until it foams on med-high, then add the garlic, chives, and paprika. Cook for less than a minute, then add a good splash of wine (not too much because the mussels have water trapped in them, called liquor.

Stir to combine, and after 30 seconds add the mussels. Cook for 5 or so minutes with the lid on until all the mussels have blossomed open, watch them open over a glass of Jacob’s Creek Semillon Chardonnay.

Any mussels that did not open, or are not fully open, throw out!

Move the mussels into a large bowl, and pour broth over the mussels, serve with cold wine

Stay Hungry My Friends

Spicy Thai Pork Ribs with Garlic Ginger Sauce

What you need:

A pressure cooker, amazingly useful for cooking food quickly! Get one

2 small racks of ribs (I used pork)

2 tsp ginger paste

2 tsp coriander paste

1 tbsp sriracha

2 tsp  fish sauce

1 tsp chicken stock powder, or 1 cube bouillon, or use a cup of chicken stock and put less water in

5 garlic cloves, pressed

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp anise seeds, coarsely ground

A few cups of water, just enough to cover the ribs

1 lime

The combination of the heat from the chilli, the sour from the lime, the salty form the fish sauce, and the sweet from the sugar is magical. This classic Thai flavour profile works really well with the intense meaty flavour the meat gives off while being pressure cooked and pan fried. Enjoy these ribs on some thai stick noodles, or if you’re lazy – peel the meat off and make a rib sandwich, either way you should serve this with lime wedges to cut the hot/sweet/salty flavours of the sauce!

Alcohol Pairing: Works well with any beer, I had a Belgium style beer with coriander which worked well with the coriander in the dish.

I was at the restaurant The Tuck Shop recently, and they had Thai Ribs on the menu, I was going to get them but instead got fish ribs instead (which were great). Anyways, I wanted to make the ribs that I imagined I would have been served at The Tuck Shop had I ordered them, so I threw this together and was happy with the result!

Get out the pressure cooker, heat some oil, pat the ribs dry, sprinkle the anis seeds on the ribs, brown the ribs (don’t cook them through!, we’re just looking for some colour, which will translate to FLAVOUR!)

After browning the ribs, take them out and put them aside, and add to the pressure cooker the rest of the ingredients and about a cup of water (then add more water once you put all the ribs back in), stir.

Add the ribs back into the pressure cooker and arrange them to take up the least room as possible, now add a bit more water until the ribs are just covered.

Add caption

Cook on medium heat for 45 mins, let sit for 15-20 mins after to cool off and let the pressure to dissipate.

Take ribs out, pan fry them until crispy. While they are frying, reduce the cooking broth and incorporate that into the ribs when they are looking ready.

Serve over Thai stick noodles, or make a rib sandwich like I did, with a cold beer, bi-winning.

Stay hungry my friends

First time Butchering a Duck

So it was my birthday on sunday, and my gf got me a duck! I'm always keen on doing new things in the kitchen so I decided to butcher it up, with no instruction, just winged it..no pun intended. I think it turned out pretty good, and I can't wait to use the breasts, legs, and body in three different recipes. Three posts, three times the duck coming at your face.

*taking suggestions on what to make with the legs and breasts, body is getting used in a hearty soup!

stay tuned for more.......

3 NEW RECIPES COMING!

BAM!

 Looks so peaceful...nom nom nom

Looking alright for a first time job!

This will make a fine soup! recipe to be posted soon, duck and barley soup!

Taking recipe suggestions for the breasts and legs, they are in my freezer presently, waiting to be used! 

Drop me a message if anyone is out there..

I feel A little like dexter..tonight is the night..

Lazy Sunday Breakfast Sandwich

CHECKOUT THE YOUTUBE VIDEO!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncuPX6vjW_o

·      2 Slices of bread, I used Rye

·      1 egg

·      Some cold cuts, I used 2 slices of smoked meat & 2 slices black forest ham

·      Some cheese (I used aged cheddar)

·      Piece of lettuce

·      Mayo

·      Butter

·      Cracked black pepper

Directions:

1.   Fry egg in some butter for 1 minute

2.   Add a little water to create steam

3.   Quickly cover with lid

4.   Toast bread

5.   Let egg cook another minute or so

6.   When egg yolk turns a little opaque you know it has set a little, and is good to go

7.   Spread toast with butter and mayo

8.   Add cold cuts and egg on one piece of toast (freshly crack pepper on egg)

9.   Put cheese and lettuce on other piece
10.      Put slices together, cut and serve

 The egg is oooozing everywhere, so warm and delicious

 Next time I'm frying the cold cuts for a minute to warm them up a little, mmm.

ENJOY CATCHING UP ON SOME TV WITH A SAMMICH AND SOME COFFEE!




CHECKOUT THE YOUTUBE VIDEO!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncuPX6vjW_o

Bacon Choco Chip Cookies with hint of Irish Coffee

This is an old family recipe, some great childhood memories live here. I decided to twist it a little today by adding some crispy bacon and velvety Sheridan’s Irish creamy coffee liqueur. Breakfast in a bite!

**don’t be lazy, sift the flour at least 2 times!

•  ·     2¼ cups triple-sifted flour (measure after sifting)
• ·      1 tsp. salt
• ·      1 tsp. baking soda
• ·      1 cup softened butter
• ·      1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• ·      1 Vanilla bean, sliced lengthwise, scrape out the caviar! (or use 1 tsp vanilla, us the good stuff!)
• ·      1 tbs Sheridan’s Irish Coffee Liqueur (this stuff is amazing)
• ·      1 egg

• ·     1/2 cup roughly chunked bacon, pre-cooked in oven (line baking tray with foil, and bake bacon at 400 for roughly 20 minutes, sometimes a few minutes less, keep an eye on them! After the bacon cools it will become very crunchy and brittle, yum!)
• ·      2 cups chocolate chips (1  pack) or roughly chopped baking chocolate (I love milk chocolate so that’s what I’m using, but if your into dark or semi sweet or white or whatever you like --- USE IT!

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 F
2.  Sift together dry ingredients in a bowl, set it aside
3.  Combine butter, sugar, vanilla and water
4. Add the egg and beat until creamy
5.  Add dry ingredients, mix this well!
6.  Stir in the bacon chunks and the chocolate chips/roughly chopped baking chocolate
7.  Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, face the shiny side up! (or parchment paper, OR Silpat silicone non-stick mat, whatever you have!)
8. Drop the cookie dough onto ungreased foil by the tablespoonful, about one inch apart
9. BAKE about 10 -12 minutes, or until they turn light brown

**Take the cookies out of the oven. If you find them soft, let them cool a bit on the baking sheet to solidify a little! Enjoy with a tall glass of milk!

Stay hungry my friends

PICTURES COMING SOON!!

Filet Mignon with Fresh Coriander Garlic Glaze And Crunchy Sweet Potato Chunks

MARCH 14th SPECIAL:  STEAK AND .... POTATO DAY

Fillet Mignon Marinade/Glaze:

• 1 heaped tsp ginger paste
• 2 heaped tsp coriander paste
• 1 tbsp white sugar (infused with vanilla bean, you would be surprised how nicely a subtle hint of vanilla works with savoury dishes)
• 1 good squirt sriracha hot sauce, more or less depending on how spicy you like it!
• 2 tbsp tempura soy sauce (could use regular, but as i’ve mentioned, I prefer the sweeter more mellow taste of kikkoman’s tempura sauce)
• 2 big Quebec garlic cloves, pressed
• Splash of the white wine I’m drinking with dinner (I’m not into red wine! I’m sure you expected red, but not today, today i’m enjoying some Brumont, a  sauvignon and gros manseng blend, recommended by Jeremy Banks (astute wine technician) years ago, I fine addition to my white wine short list!)

Other:

• 1 Large sweet potato
• 1 pinch of Chinese 5 spice powder ( ground cinnamon, anise seed, cloves, ginger, and fennel)
• Glug of oil (enough to coat potatoes)

Directions:

Turn oven on, 350 or so should do.

I Didn’t have long to marinate the steak, only about an hour and change, so to make the marinade effective I rubbed the fillet with some vinegar first to open the pores up (use whatever you have on hand, I used some rice vinegar because its all i had), you don’t need to bath the meat, just put a little bit and work it into the meat, show your meat some love, massage it.

Start on the Potatoes by soaking them in some water to pull some starch out and make then crunchier on the outside when they cook. Dry Thoroughly, cut into medium chunks, toss with some oil and five spice blend in a large bowl. I deep fried the potato first for a few minutes to help crunchify the exterior, and then threw them in a warm oven @ 350.

Once you’ve massaged a little vinegar into the meat, now you can put the marinade together and put your meat in. Move the meat around every fifteen minutes so it gets properly drowned. 

Turn up that grill and pat the steak dry quickly with some paper towel, reserve the marinade to baste the meat while its searing on the grill. 



Once the outside is looking picture perfect to you it’s time to throw it in the oven to finish off the middle of the steak, which is completely raw.


Put the steak in the oven to finish on the tray with the potatoes, and let cook for 5-10 minutes before turning up the heat from 350 to BROIL. Keep a close eye on the potatoes so they don't over brown (chef term for BURNT), keep moving them around on the tray, try one and when they 
are crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside, take them out and place on some paper towel to absorb any excess oil, toss with some salt and pepper lightly. Just as you basted the meat on the grill, do the same while its broiling in the oven. **If you have enough marinade left over  bring it to a boil & reduce it in a pan until it coats the back of a spoon, drizzle over meat after plated if you're a star**

If you have a thermometer use it! Medium Rare is internal temp. 145 F and medium is 160 F. Otherwise, feel the steak, medium rare (my preference) feels like the thumb muscle when touching your thumb to your index finger, medium will feel like thumb to middle finger, then take steak out and let it rest for 5-8 minutes (depending on thickness). DO NOT CUT INTO IT RIGHT AWAY!! EVER...All the juices will run out and leave you high and DRY. The resting time allows the delicious meat juices to redistribute all over the steak, and any excess juices that run onto your cutting board are ‘WHY YOU DO THIS’, pour these juices over the meat after cutting it, and serve your glistening meat with PRIDE!!

click pictures to enlarge

Crispy Duck Leg w. Roasted Sweet Potato, Shallots, and Garlic

Here we go..

Spices:
1 Tsp black mustard seeds
1 Tsp coriander
1 Tsp anis
1 Tsp salt
.5 tsp black pepper
Meat and veg:
1 duck leg
small sweet potato, peeled and chopped coarsely
2-3 large garlic cloves, crushed with side of knife (don’t worry about the skins..)
2-3 large shallots, chopped into 1 inch nubs (..because they will peel right off after roasting)
red leaf lettuce
other:
Glug of rice vinegar  (I used rice vinegar with a ginger infusion, turned out lovely)
Asigo cheese (to sprinkle on the salad)
Spoon of grated parmesan
Tsp of mustard (I used honey mustard because I don’t like Dijon, but Dijon would work nicely for those who enjoy it)
Mayonnaise
Splash of olive oil
Preheat oven to 375
Procedure:
Trim excess fat from duck leg, poke skin with fork repeatedly to allow fat to escape while cooking, also, if your knife is sharp enough you can score the skin and it looks wicked when its done.
Crush spices in mortar and pestle and rub into the skin of the duck leg, any excess can be thrown on the veg
Arrange coarsely chopped veg around duck leg so that they sort of fry in the fat as it renders.

Chuck in oven for about 90 minutes, check periodically to make sure everything’s alright and give the veg a little toss in the rendered duck fat. The combination of duck fat with these spices is wonderful, smells awesome.

Time to start the salad, wash the lettuce and dry it thoroughly (salad spinner is quickest!, otherwise some paper towels will do). Mix the oil, mustard, mayo, vinegar, parmesan, with some freshly cracked black pepper.  *if it looks too thick add some vinegar, too thin, add some more parmesan  and/or mayo.  Rip salad leaves and toss in dressing, sprinkle some shredded asiago on top again hit it with some fresh pepper.

Back to the oven, assuming you’ve been tossing the veg every now and again in the fat they should be crispy and caramelized on the outside and soft on the inside. Take everything out and left it rest for a few minutes so the juices can redistribute, then serve with the roast veg and salad. Notice the skins of the shallot and garlic slide right off effortlessly, enjoy!


Videos to get your taste buds excited

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhuEeoRD8s0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLfj2oKePBs



and to my channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/gogogadgetbobyn#p/u/12/cgJsyZPedPY

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Oriental Ribs with Coconut Rice

Check out the videos to get those taste buds goin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb1EtsJmR1c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_yFeQsG7aE

also, check out my youtube channel!
http://www.youtube.com/user/gogogadgetbobyn#p/u/12/cgJsyZPedPY


Here we go..


Rib Sauce:

• 1 Tbl spoon soy sauce (I love to use the Kikkoman tempura sauce, its not as salty as regular, and more sweet as well)
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp corn starch
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp mirin
• A few drops of sesame oil
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 nice squirt sriracha hot chili sauce
• Other:
• 1 pound of ribs (I used pork back)
• Rice (my new favourite is Calrose rice, very succulent)
• 1 Can Coconut Milk
• 2 tsp chicken stock powder
• 1 tsp ground fennel
• small white onion, chopped however you like

Procedure:
Get out the pressure cooker, add a little butter and some oil. Brown the 1 person portion of ribs after patting it dry with paper towel.  Take it off the heat.
Add some chopped onions to the meaty oil/butter combination in the hot pressure cooker. Stir until translucent, then incorporate the rib sauce into the onions and add two or so cups of water.
Put the lid on the pressure cooker and cook on medium low for 45 mins, then turn off the burner and leave the cooker to cool for 20 minutes, until you hear the click of pressure being relieved.

Start the rice when you turn off the burner. I usually make extra rice and freeze it once it cools in some ziplock freezer bags, after flattening it and putting in the fridge for a half hour to cool thoroughly.  Make 2 cups of calrose rice, by adding the fenne, the chicken stock,  1 can of coconut milk and 2 cups of liquid, either plain water, or half water and half beer is good too!  (you can put the rest of the beer in the rib sauce when you reduce it). Bring to boil, reduce heat to low, and cook for 20-22 minutes, take off heat, and let sit for 5 mins with lid on, take lid off and fluff with fork, serve (finally).
 
Take the ribs out and put them on a baking tray into the oven and let the sauce reduce. Broil the for a few minutes on each side in the oven to char them, or bbq them, this will add a great texture to the exterior.


Take ribs out of the oven, let rest for a few minutes, smother with delicious teriyaki  onion sauce and serve over steaming coconut rice, enjoy!


Youtube links to these videos, in case you missed them up top:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb1EtsJmR1c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_yFeQsG7aE

also, check out my youtube channel!

http://www.youtube.com/user/gogogadgetbobyn#p/u/12/cgJsyZPedPY

Cheers!

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