Delicious Roast Duck with Gravy and Bread Dumplings

On May 19, 2021May 19, 2021 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Germany, RecipesLeave a comment

Roast Duck with Gravy and Bread Dumplings

We enjoyed having different styles of duck in many different locations throughout Europe. Although we often will pan-sear duck to render off the fat, roasting it with the skin pricked is another way to cook that provides a crispy skin. Whether you use the pan drippings or happen to have duck stock as we did, serving it with a gravy enhances the flavor. Another side dish that we had in several places was bread dumplings, which is a cross between a savory bread pudding and stuffing.

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Prep Time 45

Cook Time 1 30

Course Main Course

Cuisine German

Servings 2 people

Equipment

Oven
Bundt Pan
Skillet
Small Sauce Pan

Ingredients

1/2 Duck
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Fresh Sage chopped
2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1/4 cup Onion finely chopped
1/4 cup Carrots finely chopped
1/4 cup Celery finely chopped
4 Eggs room temperature
3 1/2 cups Milk room temperature
2 tbsp Fresh Parsley chopped
1 pinch Fresh Nutmeg grated
4 tbsp Melted Unsalted Butter
14 oz Stale Bread (about 1 loaf) cut into 1 – 2 inch pieces
1 cup Duck Stock
1 cup Chicken Stock
2 tbsp Flour
4 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 tsp Dried Sage
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

Prick the skin of the duck with a fork and brush it with a the olive oil. Season the duck with the fresh sage, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, salt and pepper. Place the duck on a lined baking sheet and let the duck come up to room temperature.
Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onions, and celery and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Set them aside to cool.
Mix the milk and eggs in a large bowl with the nutmeg and add half of the bread pieces. Let this sit for 30 minutes to fully let the bread soak up the custard mixture.
Heat an oven to 350 degrees. Coat the remaining bread with melted butter and place in the oven for about 8 minutes or until the bread has toasted lightly.
Coat the Bundt pan with 2 tablespoons of softened butter, even if it is a non-stick pan.
Add the toasted bread, sautéed onion, carrots, celery, parsley, salt and pepper, and thoroughly fold everything together. Poor into the Bundt pan.
Put the bread dumpling mixture into an oven heated to 325 degrees and cook for 90 minutes. When done, remove and set aside.
Heat the oven to 375 degrees and then add the duck and let roast for about 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees, turning the duck every 10 minutes so that it cooks evenly and the skin gets crispy. When done, let the duck rest for about 10 minutes.
In a small sauce pan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and stir in the flour to make a roux. Stirring constantly, slowly whisk in the duck and chicken stock. Add the remaining teaspoon of garlic, dried sage, salt and pepper. Simmer until the gravy has thickened.
Cut the duck and serve with gravy and slices of bread dumplings.

Pan-Seared Duck with a Savory Cherry Compote

On January 20, 2021January 20, 2021 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Europe, Recipes3 Comments

We have enjoyed many different preparations of duck, especially during our time and Europe. Although restaurants here in Colorado tend to offer various meals of game, it isn’t necessarily easy to find them in the store. While we were living in Frankfurt, our butcher always had lamb, duck, goose, and other gamier items available, but unfortunately it just isn’t the case here. We were able to get a whole duck, but since we were just cooking for the two of us, we decided to cut it into parts which gave us a boneless duck breast and a duck thigh with the leg still on. We often cut up a whole chicken, but duck is a little more difficult, although worth the effort. By cutting the duck into pieces, it allows you to pan sear it as opposed to roasting it and that makes it even more tender. We froze one half of the duck to have at a later date and cooked up the breast and thigh for dinner. Duck goes really well with fruits such as orange or cherry, so we made a cherry compote to go with the duck. The compote (or sauce) was more savory than sweet, which is what we prefer. It was extremely delicious and definitely reminded us of duck that we’ve eaten during several of our travels.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 Duck – breast deboned and thigh deboned with the exception of the leg (if you can get two deboned breasts, that would work as well)
1 Shallot – chopped
2 Garlic Cloves – minced
1 cup Cherries – fresh or frozen, pitted
1/2 cup Chicken Stock
2 tbsp Cherry Preserves
2 tsp Honey – preferably fresh or organic
2 tsp Rosemary – chopped
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
1 tbsp Unsalted Butter
3 tbsp Vegetable Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Using a very sharp knife, score the skin of the duck. Season the duck with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon of the rosemary. Let the duck come to room temperature. While the duck is coming up to room temperature, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a small pot. Add the shallots and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the shallots are soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute just to let the garlic bloom. Add the cherries, cherry preserves, chicken stock, honey, and the remaining teaspoon of rosemary. Continue to simmer for 10 minutes while the duck is cooking. When the sauce has slightly thickened, add the butter and lemon juice and keep warm until the duck is finished. Heat the vegetable oil in a cast-iron skillet to medium-high heat. Place the duck skin-side down and don’t touch it until the skin has released from the bottom of the skillet, at least 5 to 10 minutes. Once the skin is browned and the fat has rendered, turn the heat down to medium and flip the duck over to finish cooking, about another 8 to 10 minutes (or until an instant read thermometer reads 160 degrees). To serve, drizzle the cherry compote over the duck and place the rest in a bowl for people to add more as they eat.

Time of Year for Special Dinners

On November 18, 2020November 18, 2020 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Food, Recipes2 Comments

With the holidays approaching, this is the time of year when we tend to make something a little more special for dinner. Although we will sometimes treat ourselves to some meats that are a little more expensive like lamb, prime rib, duck, or goose, it doesn’t have to be exotic. Sometimes it is simple as taking chicken and making a special meal out of it. Obviously, it is time for a big turkey or ham dinner here in the States, but the holidays can be an opportunity for something a little different. Here are some of our favorite meals to cook during this festive time of year.

Leg of Lamb with Gravy, Roasted Potatoes, and Sautéed Spinach

Roasted Leg of Lamb with Gravy – Even though it is more food than the two of us can eat, we love cooking a leg of lamb and enjoy making savory dishes with the leftovers. Even if you don’t like rare meat, leg of lamb is best when it is cooked to medium-rare at most, otherwise it can get a little tough.

Prime Rib with Yorkshire Pudding – This is definitely a holiday tradition for our family and something that we look forward to every year. As good as it is the night of the dinner, it is great for sandwiches for days afterwards. It is elegant and easy to cook, making it great for entertaining or just a dinner for family at home. Obviously, you don’t need to make the Yorkshire pudding, but if certainly makes for an extra special treat.

Roasted Duck with a Plum Glaze – We don’t understand why duck is so expensive here in the United States, but it certainly isn’t something that we get very often. Whether cooking duck or goose, it is important to render out the fat that is in the skin. We tend to cut the duck into breasts and thighs as opposed to cooking it whole so that we can control the cooking more easily. The best way to render out the fat is to start it, skin side down, in a cast-iron skillet and then transferring to the oven to finish cooking.

Tuscan Chicken with Green Beans and Bacon – Like most people, we have chicken on a regular basis. That doesn’t mean that chicken can’t be turned into an elegant dinner for the family to enjoy. By using fresh ingredients and adding a butter under the skin, it is not only delicious and moist, but makes for a great presentation. This is definitely not your boring chicken dinner.

Rack of Lamb – Although this is something that you might think of ordering at an upscale restaurant, it is something that you can cook for yourself at home. For the best presentation, the chops should be “French cut”, which is simply the technique of trimming the meat and fat from the bone tips. This is definitely a meal for a special occasion or when you truly want to impress your guests.

Do you have meals that you prepare for special occasions?