fri07sept2012: magret du canard, sauce a la prune (duck breast, plum sauce) a la brugue

Approaching Souillac, an arched viaduct spans the Dordogne. In timeless picturesque, this river meanders its lazy way under a relentless summer sun through wooded hills & valleys. Holiday makers picnic in the cool shade of its river banks, or splash about in kayaks. A boy with a fishing rod sits on his rock, watching the river. From the passenger seat of the Morgan, roaring through this French countryside, it looks lovely. We, however, have no time for such pleasantries. This is foie gras country & it's way way past lunchtime.

There is an abundance in this part of France that is truly delightful. The Lot & Dordogne in particular are known for the food grown & produced here: walnuts & chestnuts, apples & plums grown harvested & available in the markets fresh or dried, in oils & vinegars, syrups & liqueurs;  wild strawberries in the early summer then later ceps & truffles are foraged in the woodlands; for lovers of goats cheese, locally made chevre is displayed on the tables in every marketplace, most famously Rocamadour; & then there is... le canard. 

Sitting down to blog about cooking/eating duck, naturally foie gras presents as the immediate distraction, but here the whole bird is celebrated: there is from the liver, of course, foie gras in all its forms; also the fat, rendered down for cooking (yum!!) or preserving, as with the legs for confit; the carcass stripped of its meat is used to make stock; even the gizzard is often stuffed, sometimes with wild mushrooms sometimes with chestnuts; the breast meat often grilled or pan roasted & appears in this form on every other menu in the region. This week then, using local duck & fruit from the trees in his own garden here in La Brugue, Alan Edwards, bon vivant, all round gastronomic celebrity & also my host, welcomes fridaynightdinnerboxers into his kitchen & shares a own recipe of his own design for duck breast, first grilled then finished in a yellow damson plum sauce.  

ingredients:

a good solid cast iron pan (ok, so it's not an ingredient) -it makes all the difference

duck breasts, skin on (we used two, & fed four people, but normally one each)

olive oil/salt/pepper

fresh plums (i like damsons because they are sugary but also quite tart)

butter/onions/garlic -finely diced

white wine, we used a white bordeaux

pinch each of ginger/juniper/star anise

method: stage1: preparing the plums for the sauce

*clean & wash the plums, a dozen or so will be ample, slice in 1/2

*place in a saucepan with the spices & a glass of the white wine

*on a medium heat, simmer until soft

*pass through a sieve, using a wooden spoon, to remove stones & skin

method: stage2: score & seal the breasts

*take breasts &, using a sharp knife, criss cross the skin side with shallow cut strokes (see pic below for effect);

*in a hot pan, really hot, smoking hot even, lay the breast skin side down (we in the trade call this 'presentation side' & let it sit in the pan for 3-5 minutes or so until it is nice & cloloured. The skin will shrink, the cuts will be defined, a nice sizzling brown edging will be the effect;

*turn the breasts over & seal the other side quickly, then remove from the pan & prepare the sauce;
(tip: the duck we used in France has a high fat content, so sealing at the start releases some of this, which in turns helps to colour & enrich at this stage. At home in NZL the duck I'm familiar with is not as fatty, I often rub the skin with a little seasoned oil to help this process)

method: stage3: preparing the damson plum sauce
*in the same pan used to seal the duck breasts, lowering the heat to avoid burning or even colouring at this stage, & add the diced onions/garlic, using a lump of butter to help the saute & stirring it all about a bit to deglaze the flavours clinging to the pan;

*let it gently doits thing for about 5 minutes or so, when the onions are soft & sweet;

* add the plum sauce to the pan, bringing it back to temperature with the onions;

*add a little more white wine if required & simmer all together, allowing the sauce to develop character & reducing it slightly runny saucy consistency;

method: stage4: bringing it all together, finishing the dish

*return duck to pan, skin side up, good coverage with the sauce, simmer for a good 5-7 minutes;

*aiming to both cook the breast as well as reduce & caramelise the sauce to a nice consistency;

(dont murder it by boiling the hell out of it here, medium/rare, ie pink in the middle, is ideal)

*Al did his entirely on the stove top, though I like to finish with a few minutes under the grill;

*all meat likes a little resting time after being subjected to intense heat, so remove it from the sauce & rest the duck in a warm place for 5 minutes while plates warm & prepare the garnish.

*Carve the duck breast, which should be nice & plump & succulent at this stage on the slant, & serve over sauce.

I hovered about the kitchen, taking photos as Al cooked, while the smells of sizzling duck fat & plum sauce filled the room. Out at the table, Sally had the table set, pitcher of water & a bottle of local white chilled & ready, candles lit, cheese board waiting on the side, & passing the time with Nico drinking g&t's. Actually, probably passing the time keeping Nico away from the cheese board, more likely. 

Another perfect warm summer's evening at La Brugue, overlooking the garden & watching the sun go down. Everyone has their speciality; Al's duck breast with Damson plum sauce was a triumph. Al & Sal, once more, thankyou.