Peking Duck Paired with 2010 Barboursville Vineyards Virginia Merlot

To celebrate the Chinese New Year and the New England Patriots victory over the Baltimore Ravens, I decided to prepare a Chinese classic – Peking duck.  Well, it is not exactly roasted raven, but it is about as close as I plan to get. 

This pairing also features a special treat thanks to the nice people at Barboursville Vineyards.  Following a recent post featuring the Barboursville Chardonnay (Halibut Steak Poached in Coconut Milk with Coconut Milk Foam, Garlic Sautéed Asparagus and Mushrooms, Roasted Red Peppers and Potatoes Pan Fried in Duck Fat Paired with 2010 Barboursville Vineyards Virginia Chardonnay) Luca Paschina, the winemaker at Barboursville Vineyards was very generous in sending me several of their wines to taste and pair.  Barboursville Vineyards produces fantastic wine (I am now a solid 2 for 2) – you will be hearing more about them soon.

While all the flavors and textures of Peking Duck combine to warrant it’s exalted place as a Chinese classic, the sweet rich flavors of the hoisin sauce dominate.  Normally, I would have prepared the hoisin sauce, but decided to go with the store version with a bit of elaboration (orange zest, orange juice, sesame oil, and sriracha).

Selecting the 2010 Barboursville Vineyards Virginia Merlot was pretty straight forward for this pairing.  Merlot is always a good choice for duck, but with the addition of the hoisin sauce, my choice was confirmed, and gratefully rewarded.

The 2010 Barboursville Vineyards Virginia Merlot is an exceptionally approachable wine that is pleasantly restrained in it’s treatment allowing the terroir and grape to speak for themselves.  The medium body of this wine was a precise match for the Peking duck.  But the real treat came with the magically complementary flavors.  The wine features flavors of red berries, a barely perceptible hint of oak, and round subtle tannins adding to an exceptionally smooth mouth feel.

If you have yet to be impressed by a Virginia Merlot, I encourage you to visit Barboursville Vineyards.  You will not be disappointed!  This was confirmed by our group of wine drinking Patriots fans.  Unanimous accolades for the Merlot, duck and Patriots echoed through the house.

Recipes

Ingredients

• One 4 to 6 pound duck
• 8 cups water
• 1/4 cup grated fresh ginger
• 1 diced scallion
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sherry
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in 3 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 teaspoons Sriracha
• 2 scallions diced for garnish

Preparation

1. Clean duck. Wipe dry and tie string wings, cut a hole through the neck skin, and run the string through the hole.
2. Hang duck in cool, windy place for 3 to 4 hours. 
3. Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Add ginger, diced scallion, honey, vinegar, and sherry. Bring to boil. Pour in dissolved cornstarch and stir to ensure no lumps.
4. Gently place the duck in the boiling liquid and scoop liquid over duck for 10 minutes.
5. Hang duck again in cool, windy place for 3 to 4 hours or until thoroughly dry.
6. Place duck breast side up directly on the rack in an oven preheated to 350 degrees. Set a pan half filled with water in bottom on a rack below the duck to catch drippings. Roast for 30 minutes.
7. Turn duck and roast 30 minutes more.
8. Turn breast side up again. Roast 10 minutes more.
9. Mix hoisin with sesame oil, orange zest, orange juice, and Sriracha.
10. Carve duck and serve on Chinese pancakes with hoisin sauce mixture and scallion garnish.

Alternative preparation if you don't have the time to let the duck hang and dry.

1. Skip the original hanging procedure and proceed to the boiling.
2. Preheat oven to 375.
3. Place duck in a roasting pan with a grate to allow the drippings to fall away from the duck.
4. Roast for 30 minutes breast side up, flip for 30 minutes, and finish with breast side up for 10 minutes.

Chinese Pancakes

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 to 1 cup boiling water, as needed
• 3 tablespoons sesame oil, or as needed

Preparation

1. Add flour to the bowl of a kitchen mixer with a dough hook. Turn mixer to medium and add the boiling water.
2. Allow the dough to knead until smooth. Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.
3. Turn the rested dough out onto a floured surface. Cut the dough in half. Use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll each half out until it is 1/4-inch thick. Use a cookie cutter or a pint glass to cut out 3-inch circles of dough.
4. Brush 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil over the top of 2 dough circles. Lay one pancake on top of each other, so that the oiled sides are together. Roll out the pancakes to form a 6-inch circle. Continue with the remainder of the pancakes.
5. Heat a non stick skillet over medium high heat. Add one of the pancake pairs and cook until browned on both sides
6. Remove the paired pancakes from the pan and pull them apart. Continue with the remainder of the pancakes.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Crispy Pan Seared Duck Breast with a Red Wine and Blueberry Reduction, Duck Fat Sautéed Potatoes Paired with 2009 Aspen Dale Winery at the Barn Parris County Blend Virginia Merlot

Way back in the early days of my culinary independence, I picked duck as a challenge not yet conquered.  This recipe is my first foray into the wonderful world of duck, and duck fat.  My first attempt was very successful, and I have prepared it several times since.  However, I realized I had not shared this recipe.  Today, I am rectifying this tragic oversight.

If you have not yet attempted duck, this is an easy and tasty place to start.  From prep to plating, this recipe takes only 30 minutes with the most difficult challenge for the uninitiated being cutting the breast from a whole duck.  If you are not comfortable with this, I am confident you will find plenty of resources on Youtube.  You can also follow these easy instructions. 

First, a boning knife is a real plus.  If not, any knife with a sharp tip will work.  Begin by scoring through the fat along the center of the duck.  Continue to lightly cut until you reach the bone.  Once you get to the bone, move you knife slightly to one side and continue to make scoring cuts along the bone until the breast is laying off to the side and connected by just the layer of fat.  Cut through the fat, and you have a duck breast ready for the pan.  Repeat for second breast.

The principal flavors in this dish include the mild gaminess of the duck, dark fruit flavors of the red wine and blueberry reduction, and the rich earthy flavors of the potatoes pan fried in duck fat (the fat is reserved from rendering the duck breast).  With the acidity of the reduction, this dish is well balanced and therefore selecting a wine with strong acidity is not particularly important.  The combination of duck and the reduction call out for a medium to full bodied wine (tending more to the full bodied).  A wine featuring dark fruit flavors and healthy earthiness will also echo flavors found in the dish.

To achieve the pairing characteristics I was looking for, I chose a 2009 Aspen Dale Winery at the Barn Parris County Blend Virginia Merlot.  You are first greeted with earthy and dark fruit aromas which are echoed in your first sip.  Although the flavors feature pleasant blackberry and plum notes, I find the earthiness most memorable.  The tannins accentuated the earthiness and promise this wine will continue to drink well for years to come.  I am confident this wine has not yet arrived at it’s peak.  I recommend picking up a few bottles to cellar for a few years.

The 2009 Aspen Dale Winery at the Barn Parris County Blend Virginia Merlot featured each of the flavor components I was looking for, and the pairing was a great success.  Although I was not looking for healthy acidity, the wine delivered and balanced the rich duck fat perfectly.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 duck breasts
• 2 cups full bodied red wine (extra tannins are good)
• 1 pint blueberries
• 2 potatoes (thinly sliced – I used a mandolin)
• 1 onion (thinly sliced – I used a mandolin)
• red wine vinegar and sugar (to adjust balance of reduction)
• 4 tablespoons duck demi glace
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• Fresh parsley

Preparation

1. Score the fat on the duck breast in a 1/2 inch cross hatch pattern.
2. Place the duck, fat side down, in a cold skillet.  Render fat over medium low heat for 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Pour rendered fat into second skillet for frying potatoes.
4. While rendering the fat, pour two cups of red wine into a sauce pan and reduce by 1/2 over medium high heat.
5. When reduced by half, add blueberries (reserving about 1/4), 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and demi glace.  Reduce by 1/2 again.
6. Increase heat under the duck to medium high and crisp the skin.  When crisp, return heat to medium, and turn breasts to the meat side.  Continue to cook for 8 minutes.
7. Remove the red wine and blueberry reduction from the heat and blend with an immersion blender.  Adjust balance by adding sugar or red wine vinegar. Add remaining blueberries and return to medium heat.
8. Bring your second skillet (with duck fat) to medium high heat, and add thinly sliced potatoes, onion, garlic, and 1/4 cup diced parsley leaves.  Continue to cook until potatoes are tender and just turning brown.  Season to taste.
9. Remove duck from heat, slice on the bias and plate with a drizzle of the reduction.  Plate potatoes and onions with parsley garnish.

In vino veritas, buen provecho

Craig

Curried Duck with Ginger and Mango, Seared Duck Liver with Plum, Turnip Puree, Duck Gizzard and Heart Salad Paired with 2007 Mayo Viognier

This meal is all about making the most of the rest of the duck.  Recently I wrote about a duck breast pairing “Glazed Duck Breast Quinoa, Cipollini Onions, Black Trumpet Mushrooms Paired with 2006 ZD Carneros Pinot Noir.”  The pairing under consideration in this post is a result of the rest of the duck.  I had carcasses (including legs and thighs intact) and all the other bits and pieces so decided to use every quacking piece.

My results were mixed.  As I have always promised, I will share the good and the bad – even when the “bad” is my own doing.  So lets get on with the blow-by-blow.

The Food

With all the bits and pieces of duck, I decided on a three course meal.  To start, a salad of sautéed duck hearts and gizzards over mixed greens with a plum vinaigrette.  This was followed by seared duck liver over sliced plum and a plum caramel sauce.  And finally, curried duck with ginger and mango accompanied by a puree of turnips.

The salad was very tasty, but the texture was horrible.  I was not able to get the gizzards soft enough – no, they were just plain chewy.  So we pushed aside gizzards and enjoyed the hearts, greens and plum vinaigrette.  I will include the preparation instructions when I get it right.  If you can make gizzards sufficiently tender, you have a winner.

The seared liver was very nice, and the caramel plum sauce and bed of sliced plums added a bit of sweet contrast with the plum flavors swimming in unison with the seared liver.  Unfortunately, you will have to take my word for it; Chef Sue is not a fan of liver and politely declined my offering.

The curried duck with ginger and mango was really all I needed.  The rest of the meal was just taking up space.  This was seriously good, and perfect use of the unused duck.  The dominant flavors came from the mildly gamey duck, curry spices, coconut milk, slight hints of ginger, and sweet fruity mango.  Surprisingly, the flavors were well balanced.

Finally, the turnips.  Just stinking awful.  I have prepared turnips plenty of times.  These were fibrous and nearly inedible.  This was a real disappointment because I enjoy turnips.  I can’t say for certain, but I believe it was the turnip and not the cook.  But in the end, I was enjoying the duck and the wine sufficiently to completely forget about the turnip abomination (as a matter of fact, I almost forgot to write about it).

The Wine

The 2007 Mayo Family Winery Russian River Valley, Saralee’s Vineyard Viognier comes from our membership in the Mayo Family Winery wine club – a recent delivery.

I found the description on the back label of the bottle entertaining, and I thought you might enjoy it as well.

“Consider this wine a real showoff…with a secret.  It’s the aroma that makes the statement.  The wine is explosive and exotic.  Perfumed aromas of honeysuckle, ripe apricot and sweet summer peaches will knock your socks off as this is not a typical, cloying Viognier with a simple sweet greeting.  Once on your palate, you’ll love its fresh, crisp structure not usually found in Russian River Valley Viognier.  Balanced on its well-structured frame is an array of peach, lemony and floral flavors that finish forever.”

I may not be quite as energetic as this description, but I honestly cannot disagree with it – this is a wonderfully intense wine that leaves you with thoughts of “wow, where did that come from?”  The parts that stood out for me were certainly the apricot and peach aromas, a well balanced sweetness, nice crisp acidity, and the peach flavor taking center stage.  This is a great wine for food.  The sweetness, acidity and pleasing peach – apricot flavors will stand up to demanding and highly spiced foods such as Indian and Thai.  At $35, this is a fairly priced wine.

The Pairing

This was a roll your eyes back in the head palate dislocating intense experience.  No kidding.  Forget about the salad (tasty, but lets just give it an honorable mention).  Forget about the seared duck liver with plum caramel sauce (super tasty and the sweetness melded perfectly with the wine) - just a warm-up band for the main event.  The curried duck came out of its corner punching with big flavors of duck, coconut, and curry supported by a ring crew of sweet ginger and mango.  This is a heavy weight contender.  They Mayo Viognier is no light weight and returned the punches with matched intensity.  Oddly, after the first punches were thrown, they both decided to dance and sing rather than fight.  The fruits fused.  The sweet notes sang in harmony, and the acidity of the wine balanced the spice of the curry. 

Final Words

This was a prize fight match contrived by Don King, fought by the iconic heavyweights, and concluded with a Broadway musical.  This was not my plan, but I liked it!

Recipes

Plum Seared Duck Liver

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3 sliced plums
• 3 duck livers

Preparation

Over medium heat add butter and sugar to a sauté pan and heat until caramel forms. Add basalmic vinegar and plums. Cook until beginning to thicken. Remove from heat and leave at the ready for plating with the duck liver.

Heat pan over high heat, and add livers seasoned with salt and pepper. Cook for 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Place plums on plates, top with seared liver and drizzle caramel around plate.

Curried Duck with Ginger and Mango

Ingredients

• Six legs and thighs
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large onions, diced
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 inches fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 large mango cubed
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• Garnish with Fresh cilantro

Preparation

1. Season duck legs and thighs with salt and pepper.

2. After taking the breasts off your ducks and using them in another recipe (see Glazed Duck Breast Quinoa, Cipollini Onions, Black Trumpet Mushrooms Paired with 2006 ZD Carneros Pinot Noir) season the balance of the duck with salt and pepper and place in a roasting pan and into a preheated oven (350).  Remove from oven when internal temp reaches 160.  Alternatively, oil a sauté pan over high heat, add duck and brown on both sides.  Either way, the legs and thighs need to end up in the sauté pan.

3. Blend one onion, garlic, ginger, curry powder, vinegar, cayenne, turmeric, black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup water in a blender until smooth.

4. Add one onion and a large pinch of salt to the sauté pan with the duck drippings on medium heat . Sauté until soft. Add the product of your blender sidetrack and cook for two minutes.

5. Add coconut milk and 2 cups water, and bring to a simmer. Add mango, brown sugar, and duck. Bring to a boil, cover and turn heat to low and simmer for one hour turning the duck every 15 minutes. Turn duck again, and let simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.

6. Plate with fresh cilantro as garnish and serve.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Glazed Duck Breast Quinoa, Cipollini Onions, Black Trumpet Mushrooms Paired with 2006 ZD Carneros Pinot Noir

I love duck.  I love preparing duck.  I love the way duck plays so well with a number of wines.  But this is not about my infatuation with duck, it is about our latest wine pairing.  This pairing returns us to Decanting Napa Valley the Cookbook. 

When it comes to food and wine we should not be in a rush.  As testament, this is just the third wine paring from my inspiration for this blog - Decanting Napa Valley the Cookbook – since the inception in early February 2011.  I am ok with this pace – so much food, and so much wine to explore, why rush?

With this pairing, I cannot provide the recipe (buy the book) but Photo Buddy John was part of the dinner party – which means that between his photography and mine, we have a bunch of good imagery to make up for a lack of recipe. 

Also in attendance were John’s wife – Super Artist Ji, El Jefe Abel and his wife, Banker Beth, and of course Chef Sue.  It was wonderful having these good friends to share this pairing, but it also presented a couple of challenges – including insufficient range space for 6 duck breasts, quinoa, and sauté of several veggies…all at the same time.

The Food

First I have to admit a couple of substitutions.  I was unable to find cipollini onions (substituted yellow and red pearl onions) and Black Trumpet mushrooms (subsituted a blend three mushrooms).  These substitutions had no bearing on the delight delivered by this meal.  I have already declared my love affair with duck, and to that we added another favorite – quinoa.  Quinoa is an experienced chameleon that assimilates the surrounding flavors while maintaining a delightfully distinct texture that is a fine addition to most dishes.

In addition to the wonderfully delicate gamey flavor of the duck, the dish had a nice balance of acid (sherry vinegar), sweetness resulting from the direct use of honey in the glazed pearl onions, and a honey shallot glaze for the duck.  Everyone was pleased with the duck breast – crispy skin and butter tender.  Similarly the quinoa was enjoyed by all with comments of “nicely sweet, but not too sweet,” and perfectly balanced with the second wine (more on that in a moment).

Another component that added an interesting flavor to the quinoa was the celery root.  This was the first time I had (intentionally) tasted celery root and quite positively the first time I cooked with it.  My response is unconditionally favorable.  It has s concentrated aroma and flavor of celery while adding an earthiness that contrasted nicely with the sweet components of the quinoa.

The Wine

OK, another substitution…actually two.  The pairing from Decanting Napa Valley the Cookbook lists the 2007 ZD Founder’s Reserve Pinot Noir.  We were anxious to prepare this pairing and rather than go through the wait of ordering this wine, we found a bottle locally of 2006 ZD Carneros Pinot Noir to stand in.

The 2006 ZD Carneros Pinot Noir is a full bodied Pinot Noir featuring aromas of cherry, dark fruit and cocoa which is quickly rewarded with deep flavors of black cherry, plum, toasted almond, and a delicate touch from the oak that it communed with for 10 months.

My planning was not the greatest for this pairing.  While we have plenty of wine, I had only one bottle of the ZD Pinot Noir for the meal.  Clearly this would not be sufficient.  I quickly ran to the cavernous wine cellar, found the Pinot Noir section, and nearly became lost finding my way back to the dinning room (OK, the “wine cellar” is the recovered space under the stairs in the basement).  Fortunately, my daughter had gifted us a wine club membership which had arrived just days before. The latest shipment included a bottle of 2008 Rutz Cellars Sonoma Cuvée Pinot Noir.  Thanks Dana!!

The 2008 Rutz Cellars Sonoma Cuvée Pinot Noir is a delightful wine and a great value at $21.  While certainly a nice wine, I will not put the ZD Pinot Noir in the good value category at $50.  The Rutz Pinot Noir, like the ZD, is aged in oak for 10 months and features similar aromas and the same black cherry, and plum flavors with the addition of a hint of cocoa and a delicate touch of earthiness-smoke-oak.  This Pinot Noir is silky smooth which is a wonderful compliment to the terroir and smoke-oak hints.

The Pairing

The pairing was exceptional.  The dark cherry and plum flavors of both wines made a wonderful foil for the sweet honey flavors in the duck and quinoa.  The added smoke and earthiness of the Rutz Pinot Noir intensified that contrast even more.  The contrast seemed to enhance or brighten the flavors in both the duck-quinoa and the wine.

Interestingly, the 2008 Rutz Cellars Sonoma Cuvée Pinot Noir was clearly the star among the two wines.  Our conclusion is that this resulted from three aspects.  First, the ever so slight bitterness in the cocoa flavors contrasted brilliantly with the sweetness in the duck and quinoa.  Second, the hints of smoke, oak and earthiness added a compelling dimension.  And finally, the 2008 Rutz Cellars Sonoma Cuvée Pinot Noir was so silky smooth the impression was immediate and lasting.  This smooth character seemed to work particularly well with the duck – almost as if putting an exclamation point of softness on the extremely tender duck.

Final Words

This pairing also included an impromptu desert paring between a blueberry pie with sorbet and a 2006 Royal Tokaji.  The house was split regarding this pairing.  One half of the table declared a win, while the other half maintained that both were good, but didn’t care for the resulting union.

I hope you enjoyed the additional photographs in this post.  It is always good having Photo Buddy John around to make sure I don’t miss anything and to also take advantage of his very creative perspective.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Duck Three Ways with Mayo Viognier

Last minute invite…I am doing duck three ways tonight, and if you have a good bottle of wine, come on over and we can all share.  Tonight’s duck is “the rest of the duck” from a wine pairing we did earlier in the week – that pairing only used the breasts.  So I have three ducks in the oven rendering down some great duck fat (every freezer should have equal parts ice cream and duck fat). I will be making an adaptation of plum foie gras, the hearts and gizzards will be sautéed and featured in a micro green salad with vinaigrette, and the legs and thighs will become curried duck with mango and plum.

The remaining bits and pieces (bones and neck) will be turned into stock.  In the end, my goal is to use every possible morsel of these brave ducks.

I’m posting this at just after 5pm on Friday, 1 April.  You have about two hours before the tasting begins.  Photos and the full blow by blow should be posted next week.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig