Roasted Duck with Fig Stuffing

Like most artsy kids raised in 1980s New England, sometime around age eight I was cast in the local children’s theater production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. My official role was something like, “Ensemble Girl #7″, but I was also cast as the understudy for a more senior role  – a role that had two whole lines. Despite everyone telling her to break a leg, on the night of the performance the other kid was in perfect health, so that 15 minutes I spent rehearsing the two lines were for naught. I did, however, get to spend what seemed like hours singing about figgy pudding with the rest of the sheep in the ensemble. Apparently it left a mark.

Remember the scene where Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present(s) are creepily watching the Cratchit family serve goose on Christmas Day? And Bob walks in with Tiny Tim on his shoulder and announces that Timmy was “good as gold” in Church, and everyone’s super bummed because we all know it’s bad news for Timmy if Scrooge doesn’t get his act together and pay Bob a fair wage? Well, it makes sense that the Cratchits would serve goose at Christmas because they had like nine kids and a common roasting goose can feed up to 16 people.

What if you want to serve a fun, festive game bird for your holiday roast, but you’re only serving four people (see this month’s theme below)? In that case, goose is clearly not the best option, but duck certainly is. And it’s more readily available in supermarkets than goose, saving you a wild goose chase.

Duck is a rich, dark poultry option with a texture far more tender than turkey and a flavor that’s mildly gamey. The duck breast is surrounded by a thick layer of fat, so it’s important to score the skin in order to let the some of the fat melt away. Salting the bird beforehand seasons both the meat, but also the basting liquid so that each baste adds more seasoning. A good herbed bread stuffing absorbs some fantastic duck flavor and added figs balance out the savory herbs nicely.

Not quite figgy pudding, but close enough to be just as festive.

A note on this month’s theme: December is Roast Post Month here at YC. Each Thursday until New Years we’ll be posting a new holiday roast for your holiday inspiration. This year’s Roast Post theme is Party of Four -  each roast recipe is written to accommodate four people as opposed to the usual eight or ten, because not every holiday party has dozens of people in attendance.

Roasted Duck with Fig Stuffing – serves 4

1 – 5-6 lb duck
2 T salt
1 – 2 ft baguette with a good crust (about 6 cups diced)
1 t olive oil
2 shallots
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh marjoram
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh sage
1/3 C dried mission figs
1/2 C cream or milk
1 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground pepper

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Rinse and pat dry the duck. Set in a plate breast side up. Score the top 4 times on each side. Season generously with the two tablespoons of salt.

Cube the bread into 1 inch pieces. Place in a baking dish and toast in the oven while the other ingredients are prepared or about 10 minutes.

Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium-low. Peel and dice the shallots and add them to the oil. Soften about 5 – 7  minutes.

Finely mince the herbs, stems removed. Dice the figs into 1/4 inch pieces.

Remove the bread from the oven and in a large bowl toss with the shallots, herbs, figs, salt, pepper and cream or milk.

Stuff the duck with the bread mixture. Set on a rack in a roasting pan and allow to cook for about 2 hours total, basting every half hour until the temperature of the thickest part of the thigh reaches 175. Temperature will continue to climb to the safe temperature of 180. Serve hot with lighter sides like steamed vegetables.

Gammon with treacle bacon crust

Gammon with treacle bacon crust


It may seem excessive to top a ham with bacon, but Christmas is a time for generosity.
Ingredients
3 tbsp treacle
3 tbsp maple syrup
9 rashers smoked streaky bacon
1kg/2lb 4oz gammon joint
750ml/1½fl oz apple juice
1 onion, whole, peeled
3 cloves
2 whole star anise
2 bay leaves
6 peppercorns
½ large pumpkin
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
50g/2oz butter
Preparation method
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
In a bowl, mix together the treacle and maple syrup. Add the bacon and leave to marinade for at least four hours.
To a large pot, add the apple juice, onion studded with the cloves, the bay, star anise and peppercorns. Finally place the gammon joint in the liquid and simmer with a lid on for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Meanwhile cut the pumpkin half in half again.
Place the pumpkin on an oven dish, skin-side down, and trickle olive oil over. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, add a knob of butter in each pumpkin slice and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. When cooked set aside under foil to keep warm.
When the gammon has cooked, remove from the liquid, place on a baking tray, and then layer the treacle bacon over the top.
Bake for a further 15 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp.
Carve the gammon and serve with scoops of soft pumpkin flesh.



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Standing Rib Roast au Jus

December is Roast Post Month at Yankee Cook. Hooray! [noisemaker sound] Each Thursday until New Years we’ll be posting a new holiday roast for your holiday inspiration. This year’s Roast Post theme is Party of Four -  each roast recipe is written to accommodate four people as opposed to the usual eight or ten, because not every holiday party has dozens of people in attendance. We’re kicking off Roast Post Month with Standing Rib Roast au Jus.

Standing rib roast is the same cut of meat as prime rib before it’s been cut into steaks. A full standing rib roast rack has seven ribs, and can weigh up to 16 lbs and yield as many servings.  A two rib roast normally weighs between 3.5 to 4.5 lbs. What’s nice about making a smaller standing rib roast is that while it’s large enough to carve at the table, it’s also small enough to sear in a pan after it roasts. Roasting at the relatively low temperature of 325 degrees gives you control over the doneness of the center and prevents the outer edges of the meat from overcooking. A quick pan-sear finishes the roast off for a crispy exterior. Another benefit to roasting small – it takes a lot less time to cook.

One thing that’s nice about standing rib roast is that it doesn’t require a roasting pan with a rack. The ribs act as a rack, so if you’re just starting out and you don’t have a roasting pan, make this and you can just use a baking dish. You could even use a brownie pan.

Carving tip: To make the roast easier to carve, remove the ribs first and tie them back on using butcher’s twine. This way the person carving will only need to make vertical slices for the steaks to come off. After dinner, save the bones to make beef stock.

Standing Rib Roast - serves 4
Special equipment: You will need a meat thermometer and butcher’s string.

3.5 – 4.5 lb standing rib roast
1 – 2 T salt
6 sprigs of sage
6 sprigs of thyme
2 t cumin
1 T olive oil
1 – 1.5 t salt
2 C beef stock
additional sage and thyme sprigs for garnish (optional)

Start off by severing the ribs from the rest of the meat. Place the roast in a cutting board with the rib side down, starting at cut side of the bone, run a knife horizontally along the bone to remove the roast from the bone. Set the ribs aside. Trim away any extra fat from the top of the roast. Generously salt the roast with one to two tablespoons of salt. Fit the roast over the ribs and use two pieces of butcher’s string to tie the two parts back together just as they had been before the ribs were removed .

Place the roast on the counter in a large plate. Allow to sit for 1 hour at room temperature. This will take away the chill from the fridge in order to allow the meat to cook more evenly in the center.

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Finely mince 1 tablespoon of each of the sage and the thyme (about 2 or 3 sprigs) Combine the herbs, cumin olive oil, and salt in a small bowl.

Remove the salt from the rib roast using paper towels. Pat dry.

Rub the herb mixture into the roast and place the roast in a large baking dish.

Insert the meat thermometer into the center of the roast so that it’s not touching a bone. Place the roast in the center of the oven and cook until the thermometer reads 135 degrees (about 1 3/4 to 2 hours) for medium rare or 150 for medium (about 2 – 2 1/4 hours).

Remove the roast from the oven and, keeping the thermometer in place, loosely tent the roast with foil. Allow the roast to rest for at least 20 minutes or up to an hour. The temperature will continue to climb another 10 or 11 degrees.

After the roast has rested, take about a tablespoon of the rendered fat from the baking dish and heat to a shimmer over medium high heat in a large frying pan.

Sear all sides of the roast in the frying pan using tongs – at least 30 seconds per side or until a crispy, brown crust forms.  Set the roast on a serving platter or carving board with channels (to avoidspillage). Cut and remove the strings.

For the Jus:

Pour the stock into the frying pan and scrape up any bits of the meat, stirring to dissolve. Add the remaining sprigs of sage and thyme to the pan. Lower heat to medium and allow to reduce to about half the volume (about 5 minutes). Strain the jus through a mesh strainer into a gravy dish.

Carve the roast by slicing vertically to make steaks. Serve with the jus over something starchy and absorbent like mashed potatoes or a good polenta.

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