Charcuterie_ The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing - Michael Ruhlman [108]
1 cup/250 grams diced onion
1 cup/250 grams chopped carrots
1 1⁄2 tablespoons/30 grams minced garlic
2 bay leaves
1 bunch fresh thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parchment paper
1. Weigh the dark meat: You should have about 12 ounces/336 grams. Add enough pork fat to equal a total of 1 pound/450 grams. Refrigerate. Cut the duck breasts into large dice, and refrigerate.
2. Lay the duck skin on a plastic wrap–lined baking sheet, outside down, arranging it so there are no wrinkles. Freeze for 1 hour.
3. Freeze all your blades and bowls before gathering and measuring the remaining ingredients (see Note below).
4. Season the duck breast aggressively with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a medium sauté pan over high heat. When it’s almost smoking, add the diced breast and sauté until the pieces are nicely browned on all sides but still raw in the center. Remove and set aside to cool.
5. Add the shallots to the pan and cook until translucent, about 1 minute. Deglaze with the sherry, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, then reduce until the mixture is almost a paste. Transfer the reduction to a small bowl and refrigerate it until chilled.
6. Combine the duck leg and thigh meat and fat, along with the liver and grind through the small die into the bowl of a standing mixer bowl set in ice. Add the sage, roasted garlic, salt and pepper, and the chilled reduction and mix on low speed, using the paddle attachment, for 1 to 2 minutes, just until well combined (don’t overmix, or the fat will become too hot). Fold in duck breast. Refrigerate.
7. Do a quenelle test to check the seasoning, and adjust if necessary. Cover and refrigerate.
8. Remove the skin from freezer and scrape off the excess fat (there will be a lot), being careful not to cut or tear the skin.
9. Place the duck mixture down the middle of the skin and roll up into a log or roulade. Tie each end securely with butcher’s twine, making sure to pinch the skin to trap the filling. Tie one loop of string lengthwise around the roulade making it just snug. Tie individual loops of string around it, as with a roast, to make a tight, uniform roulade or log. Season with salt and pepper.
10. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F./160 degrees C.
11. In a large heavy skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and garlic, along with the herbs and salt and pepper to taste, and sauté until they become translucent.
12. Transfer the vegetables and cooking juices to a baking sheet or roasting pan and spread out to make a bed the width and length of the roulade (the aromatic vegetables and herbs will flavor the basting liquid and thus the roulade). Place the roulade on top, and cover loosely with buttered or oiled parchment paper (this deflects the heat somewhat, making it a little more gentle, and also inhibits moisture loss).
13. Bake, basting the roulade frequently with the butter and juices in the pan, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the roulade reaches 140 degrees F./60 degrees C., about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
14. Remove the parchment paper and raise the oven temperature to 375 degrees F./190 degrees C. to brown the skin. Continue roasting until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees F./65 degrees C., about 15 more minutes. Let the roulade rest for 15 minutes before slicing into 1⁄2-inch/1-centimeter to 1-inch/2.5-centimeter slices.
Yield: 8 slices; 4 main-course servings
[ NOTE: See pages 204–212 for a detailed description of the general terrine method. ]
PORK PÂTÈ EN CROÛTE
The term en croûte (in a crust) refers to an ingredient encased in pastry. This is the most difficult and most luxurious way to use forcemeat, the apotheosis of the charcutier’s craft. The trick is in browning the dough and cooking it all the way through without over- or under-cooking the forcemeat inside (this dough originated from work by Dan Hugelier and Lyde Buchtenkirch for the Culinary Olympics team; to enhance the browning, they introduced milk powder).