Quack Me Up

SWMBO and I are planning a Christmas dinner. Neither of us is a turkey fan - there just isn't a lot of flavour in them and any enjoyment you get is usually from the sides and sauces - a tasty gravy, stuffing etc.

As there is just the two of us we have tended to opt for either duck or goose. I cook more of the former because I can cook two at a time if we entertain (which we won't be doing this year, of course) and two geese doesn't really fit into a standard oven very well.

I figure one duck can feed 4 people max and a goose is about the same - a whole lot of carcass and a limited amount of meat. So duck it is.

My question is what accompaniments to make. Sweet is off the table - neither of us likes an essentially candied duck nor sweet sides.

I have some thoughts - I have done a side dish of cooked red cabbage with chestnuts before and while I am not a big Brussels sprout fan (but SWMBO is) I can take them if I add enough bacon to them.

Any favourite sides for Christmas dinner out there? No starchy stuff, no sweet stuff, but anything savoury would be of interest. Not looking for the all too common gorge-on-turkey etc. and then collapse on the couch until the tryptophan fog lifts. I figured that the cooks here would probably have some interesting recipes I'd be interested in.

[Jenise]

Bill, I think most brussels sprout haters are not fans because brussels sprouts are so often prepared badly. They're old so they're bitter. They're undercooked so the natural sugars haven't been activated, or they're overcooked and dull. Even in good restaurants I have never been served brussels sprouts as good as what I made last night.

Here's how to make perfect brussels sprouts: select enough for two persons, about 16-20. Rinse, then trim the ends and cut each sprout in half. Gather them up plus any loose leaves, rinse quickly again and place in a small cereal bowl sized bowl. Whatever water clings to them is enough to be your cooking water. Add a sprinkle of salt and a pat of butter. Cover with cling film, cut a slit for steam to escape. Microwave on high for five minutes. Uncover, stir and serve.

The resulting sprout will be brilliant emerald green, achingly sweet and luxuriously tender. Add two crushed cardamom pods at the start of cooking to add an exotic twist. Bacon, garlic or other 'cover-ups'--not needed.

Only after you've prepared them my way will I believe you really don't like brussels sprouts.

Thanks Jenise, I will try it (and I may still add bacon, because everything goes better with bacon, right?)

[Jenise]

Actually no! I think you should meet and acknowledge sprouts' actual natural goodness first. Cooked fast under intense high heat makes a remarkable difference over conventional cooking methods. Honestly, if the sprouts are fresh in the first place no adornment's needed. They're GOOD.

Years ago I read a humorous essay titled "How to Cook Your Goose". The author observed that roasting a ten-pound goose will yield about fifteen pounds of goose fat. I did a roast goose for Christmas once. It's true.

-Paul W.

Fortunately it is probably the best fat there is, useful for roasting all sorts of things.

Ditto foie gras fat - whenever I sear some FG I save the fat and freeze it in aliquots suitable for frying eggs in and such. Yum!

Bill

That it is!!

-Paul W.

Years ago I read a humorous essay titled "How to Cook Your Goose". The author observed that roasting a ten-pound goose will yield about fifteen pounds of goose fat. I did a roast goose for Christmas once. It's true.

-Paul W.

I actually saw a spray can of duck fat in the grocery store today. Never heered of sucha thang...

Haven't seen spray cans but some of our stores have little tubs like margarine full of duck fat, which is similar to FG fat.

There's a great Roz Chast cartoon about the good things that come with Evolution: it shows a pre-historic brussels sprout the size of a boulder and, as each age progresses, it gets smaller and smaller....

Amazed at that steamed microwave prep for brussels sprouts, but may try it one day.

Aside from the standard roasting, one of the more creative uses I have seen was a pizzeria that plucked the individual brussels sprout 'leaves' and used them as a pizza topping. Very cost effective because one brussels sprout could probably fill a whole pizza! But, also very labor intensive and I have not repeated at home. But, now that I think about it, perhaps I will.

[Jenise]

Rahsaan, what the microwave achieves with high heat and very low moisture is unduplicatable with conventional stovetop cooking. Really, really fine.

Here's how to make perfect brussels sprouts: select enough for two persons, about 16-20. Rinse, then trim the ends and cut each sprout in half. Gather them up plus any loose leaves, rinse quickly again and place in a small cereal bowl sized bowl. Whatever water clings to them is enough to be your cooking water. Add a sprinkle of salt and a pat of butter. Cover with cling film, cut a slit for steam to escape. Microwave on high for five minutes. Uncover, stir and serve.
,
The resulting sprout will be brilliant emerald green, achingly sweet and luxuriously tender.

Did this tonight, as stated. Sprouts were, indeed, bright green, tender, and boring. They desperately needed to be tossed in a pan with some hot oil and sizzled until leaves curl and crisp and the cut face is a slab of brown. A bit of seasoning would also help.

Live and learn.

[Jenise]

Several things: I don't like or promote boring food. And I found salt and butter perfect for seasoning, though sometimes I add a few crushed cardamom pods. And I don't care for them skillet-blackened, which seems to be all the rage now.

We are going to try your recipe for sprouts, Jenise (will have bacon on stand-by to be used if necessary)

On the Christmas dinner front, I have decided to accompany the duck with one of two recipes - red cabbage with juniper berries and pears, or braised red cabbage with chestnuts bacon and apples (the latter is the current - not currant - front runner).

Several things: I don't like or promote boring food. And I found salt and butter perfect for seasoning, though sometimes I add a few crushed cardamom pods. And I don't care for them skillet-blackened, which seems to be all the rage now.

A chacun. (And, no offense intended.)

[Jenise]

On the Christmas dinner front, I have decided to accompany the duck with one of two recipes - red cabbage with juniper berries and pears, or braised red cabbage with chestnuts bacon and apples (the latter is the current - not currant - front runner).

I was going to come back to your duck quest, Bill, to ask the question I should have asked in the first place: what's your theme? French, old English, Asian, no theme--makes a difference in what one would suggest for sides. Looks like you're going old English.

Well the side is certainly European, but I'm considering a spicy duck - but anything other than sweet. No figs, no a l'orange. I may well just do a salt and pepper rub and then roast it. Or a touch of hoisin, garlic, sesame oil, five spice and soy might make it more interesting.

Some riff on Beijing or Sichuan Duck, perhaps? Coat the skin and air-dry it before roasting, to yield crispy skin.

-Paul W.

The Szechuan version takes a long prep to do right, but the Peking version is not hard to do. I like the 5 spice touch.

[Jenise]

Bill, I love the combination of five spice powder and star anise. Combine them with a little salt and sugar (doesn't turn it sweet), rub all over AND inside, put in a bag because it will leak juices, leave 24 hours, turning every so often.

Btw, I am not a fan of sweet either as you know, and I did a l'orange a few years back that was to die for. Lots of herbs and modest on the orange, without sugar. I was attracted to the recipe because it was specifically for people like us who don't like sweet. You would like it in the same way you like aged Reislings.

Speaking of ducks! (Whew, mistyped that the first time!) I ordered a fresh guinea hen flown in from New York yesterday. Guess what, they sent a duck instead. Which is okay--it will be a free duck because they still owe me that guinea hen. So that, tonight, will likely be dinner. Or it waits until Saturday, tomorrow's spoken for. So I'm now in duck limbo too--def don't want to freeze it, fresh will be such a treat.

Our local big box store has started selling duck confit! We grab them and freeze the and use them whenever we want. All precooked in a bag that you drop into a pot of hot water to warm and then stick under the broiler (down a bit) to brown. I was skeptical at first but it is really good and quick.

I can see a non sweet a l'orange being decent - I would probably opt for using Seville oranges and hold the sugar to get the flavour without the goo.

[Jenise]

Seville oranges aren't even an option down here. I've only seen them at retail once in my whole life. Further, I would worry that they'd be too bitter for the wine match--you don't think that would be a problem? Anyway, trust me--you'd like the dish.

So I just talked to D'Artagnan and they are apparently in a frenzy because they've been inundated with people calling to say their guinea hens are mislaberled as ducks. And I told him no way, I know my birds and this is a duck. He dug out the photo I sent last night and agrees. Guinea hen comes next week. I think someone in the warehouse just lost their job.

But oh wow, it's Luxury Poultry Week at Chez J!