C – I looked forward the most this week to making this dish.
Unfortunately, I overcooked it. No, I don’t think it should have fallen off the bones completely. It’s messy to work with and the presentation doesn’t look as good. Sometimes, the meat looses flavor.
The duck should have been tender. But, not so tender that you couldn’t lift it out of the pot without falling apart.
I wasn’t happy. Especially, with all the work I put into making the dish.
I think that’s one of the challenges of braising something. You really can’t tell if it’s going to be good until you finish cooking it.
It’s hard to correct it. You already made the commitment to cooking for a certain length of time.
Here at Be Mindful. Be Human. we’ve all made a few of these braising mistakes. Most of them haven’t actually made it to the site.
Yup. Each of us has made mistakes braising something here.
Luckily, mine wasn’t too bad. Of course, I needed to tell you about what not to do and adjust the cooking time. Then, I needed serve it carefully, so it didn’t look too bad.
The sauce was great. Jim said it was the best braising sauce he’d had. The flavor of the duck was good too. It wasn’t actually flavorless. Just a bit dry.
The nice thick sauce was loaded with tender pearl onions, chunks of mushrooms and pieces of bacon.
We served it with crispy pieces of fingerling potatoes. It was a nice, hearty stew for a cold winter day.
I guess next time I won’t over think my braising plan. I need to clearly define what I want from a dish before committing my time and energy.
| Holiday Duck Week: Canard Au Vin (Duck in Wine Sauce) |
- 1 cup pearl onions, peeled
- ½ pound thick bacon, cut ¼ inch pieces
- ½ cup plus ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 whole duck, cut into 8 pieces
- 1 pound mushrooms, quartered
- 1 Tbsp garlic, minced
- ½ cup cognac
- 1 bottle red wine
- 2 cup duck stock
- 5 sprigs parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 10 black peppercorns
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Heat a large, straight-sided saute pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, until brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
- Season ½ cup of the flour with ¼ teaspoon of the salt and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper.
- Dry each duck piece, then lightly dredge the piece in the seasoned flour, shaking to remove any excess.
- Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the duck to the fat in the pan and cook until lightly browned, about 4 minutes per side.
- Remove the duck pieces and set aside.
- Drain off all but 3 to 4 tablespoons of fat from the pan.
- Add the pearl onions, mushrooms and garlic. Cook until onions begin to brown and the mushrooms release their liquid.
- Remove the pot from the heat and carefully add the cognac.
- Using a long-stemmed lighter, ignite the cognac. Return the pan to the heat, cooking for 1 minute, until the flames die out and the alcohol cooks off.
- Add the remaining ⅓ cup of flour to the pan and stir to bind with the fat in the pan and make a roux. Continue to cook the roux, while stirring, until brown in color, about 5 minutes.
- Add the wine and stir well to combine.
- Add the stock, stir well and bring to a boil.
- Return the duck to the pan and add bouqet garni. Reduce heat and stir in duck pieces.
- Cover with foil and the pot top. Place in the oven and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 2 hours. Duck should be tender, but not falling off the bones.
- Add an extra 10 minutes if it’s still too tough.
- Remove the duck pieces from the sauce with a slotted spoon and cover to keep warm.
- Continue cooking the sauce at a low simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring often to keep the sauce from sticking.
- Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.
- Return the duck pieces to the pan. Add the crispy bacon.
- Serve on individual plates over potatoes or rice.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and fresh thyme sprigs.
- Enjoy!
Hopefully, I won’t make this mistake again.
Oh well, it’s just one dish and I am only human.