B u c k c u b P r e s e n t s

FEED YOUR BEAR !!!

LAST UPDATED 01/04/02

Bears 'n' cubs, pay no attention to those "Do Not Feed The Bears" signs - - we all know our bears are much happier when they're well-fed.

The problem is, what to feed our bears? You could call out for pizza or Chinese (again?!?), or throw one of those pre-packaged frozen entrees into the microwave -- but wouldn't your bear be happy to sit down to a nice meal of real "home-cookin' " once in a while?

WELL: that's what BuckcuB's "FEED YOUR BEAR!" page is all about! Every two weeks or so (except when BuckcuB's on vacation), a new dinner recipe will be posted here. You DON'T have to be a master chef d'haute cuisine to make these recipes. BuckcuB promises they're all easy -- even the holiday recipes! -- and he's prepared them himself more than once. So don't be at a loss about what to feed your bear -- bookmark this page now, and you'll have a handy resource of ongoing recipes. All of the recipes in "FEED YOUR BEAR" are original and copyright 1998 "BuckcuB" (alias). You may reproduce them for your personal use.

Along with recipes, BuckcuB will also post wine suggestions to accompany the meal -- always under $10-a-bottle. Not everyone has John D. Rockefellbear's budget! There will also be tips, hints, tricks and serving suggestions for easy and inexpensive ways to make dinner for your bear easy on you and special for you (both/all). All ingredients for recipes are widely available and easily obtainable -- Buckcub will not put any recipes here which call for things like squid ink or orgeat syrup, he promises! So, without further ado, here's the FEED YOUR BEAR! recipe for this week!

Feed Your Bear: Never-Fail Roast Duck (FYB #23 01/04/02)

MENU Never-Fail Roast Duck

Shopping List: One 5-8 pound duck(ling), frozen is fine; dried bay leaves; garlic; black peppercorns; kosher (coarse) salt; honey (I like orange-blossom honey but any kind will be fine.)

All right, every bear (well, practically) loves duck. But you never make duck at home, do ya? Oh, Bucky knows the comments -- "It's too fatty." "It comes out tough and dry!" "It makes an awful mess in the oven." "The skin never comes out crispy like in the restaurant." Well bears, what follows is my recipe for never-fail roast duck. It is very simple, although it does require you to spend a couple of hours on it. And I absolutely positively GUARANTEE that if you follow the instructions, you will end up with a roast duck that has moist, flavourful meat; glistening crispy skin; no gobs of fat between skin and meat -- in fact, virtually no fat or grease at all -- and which will make you appear to be a total god-chef of the kitchen when your dining guests start eating this duck!

Ingredients 1 5-8 pound duck
3 dried bay leaves
Water to cover (see explanation below)
1/4 cup kosher (coarse) salt
12 whole black peppercorns
1/2 cup honey

Preparation: If your duck is frozen, thaw it in the fridge for a couple of days. You want it to be flexible enough to remove any giblets, parts, atc. that are inside the cavity. Remove the duck from its wrapper, rinse thoroughly under cold water, and take out everything inside the cavity. Jab a lot of small holes/slits into the skin of the duck all over, using a skewer or the point of a sharp small knife. Now you need a large pot. A 12-quart stockpot is ideal; but any pot large enough to hold the duck will work fine. Put the duck into the empty pot, and fill it with COLD water until it reaches the top of the duck. Now remove the duck again and return the duck to the refrigerator to stay cold. The pot now contains the correct amount of water to cover the duck when it is placed in the pot again!

Add the salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, some split garlic cloves if desired, to the water in the pot. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Now, CAREFULLY lower the duck, neck-end-first, into the boiling liquid, making sure that the hot liquid runs into and fills the cavity. INSTANLY lower the heat under the pot to its lowest setting! DO NOT COVER! Push the duck down to make sure it is submerged. What you want here is a true French "poach," in which the liquid is never allowed to come to a boil or even to a simmer. If you have a cooking thermometer, the temperature of the liquid should remain around 180 degrees F. to 200 degrees F., NO higher! Otherwise, just make sure that the liquid is hot enough so that a few tiny bubbles barely break the surface every few seconds.

Poach the duck in this hot liquid for 1 1/2 to 2 hours -- the larger duck will require the longer time. This long slow poach will ensure that your duck meat remains moist and flavourful; it will also "render" (dissolve) nearly all of the fat from under the skin, which will rise to the surface of the pot as you continue poaching. After the poaching period is close to being over, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Carefully remove the duck from the hot liquid, being careful to drain the cavity, and place it on a rack in a roasting pan (or use the "broiling pan" that came with your range.

Put the duck breat-side-up on its pan into the oven, and roast uncovered for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, baste the duck all over with the honey, and return it to the oven to roast for an additional 15 to 20 minutes. This will make sure the skin is very crispy and lightly sweet!

Duck is so very rich that BuckcuB suggests accompanying this delicious fowl with a simple, tart green salad. Some torn romaine lettuce, lightly dressed with a vinaigrette of extra-virgin olive oil and some wine vinegar (four parts oil to one part vinegar, please!), garnished with some chopped green olives and perhaps the chopped white parts of a few scallions/"spring onions," and of course finished off with a good grind of fresh black pepper. If you have made your duck extra-sweet, you might want to include a sprinkling of nice tart-salty capers on your salad as well. I strongly prefer GOYA brand, as they are nice big capers instead of those tiny little "nonpareil" capers marketed (more expensively!) by other brands.

Wine Suggestion For This Dinner: Bolla "Valpolicella" 1999 Approximate Price: $9.00 This is a great spicy, peppery red with deep undertones of berries and chocolate, but not a hint of sweetness. Lush but dry, this will complement the robust flavors of roast duck and the slight floral sweetness of the honey glaze.. Serve at cool room- temperature, around 60 degrees F., and remember to open the wine 15 or 20 minutes before serving to let it breathe. If you prefer white wine with duck, try a Meridian Chardonnay "Santa Barbara Valley" 2000,(Approximate Price: $11.00) a lush buttery oaky Chardonnay in the tradition of the great white Burgundies, instead of one of those grassy, mineral-y 'California style' Chardonnays. Serve it well-chilled.

If, sadly, you are one of those unfortunate people who prefer "white zinfandel" with duck, PLEASE reconsider! White zinfandel was invented specifically for people who don't really like wine, or who think they don't like wine. It is nothing more than an adult version of Kool-Aid with some alcohol in it. Too much sugar, no depth of flavor, and a metallic "grapiness" characterize most white zinfandels -- they really are not suited at all to drinking with food. If you absolutely MUST have a sweetish wine with duck, get a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau -- as the name implies, it is "new wine" that is only lightly fermented and is often still a bit on the "fizzy" side, with a pronounced grape flavour and a good dose of sweetness. Most Baujolais Nouveaux can be had for around $7 per bottle. If you prefer this style of wine you will be MUCH happier with this, than with one of those dreadful "white zins!"

Tips, Hints and Tricks: A half-duck per person is the "rule" these days, but if you can each eat a whole duck go ahead! Remember it's the holidays, so spruce-up your dinner table with appropriate decorations -- and spruce isn't a bad idea! Instead of a fussy centerpiece, pile some small branches of spruce or pine on a platter, set some shiny tree-ornaments into them (hanger-side-down), and you've got a great table decoration. You can garnish plates with sprigs of holly (be sure your guests aren't stupid enough to try eating it), and with a li'l chopped parsley and paprika, you can make anything look festive. And use candles! Nothing makes a meal more "special" than candlelight, especially at this time of year when it gets dark so early. (Sorry, North-American-timezone-centrism there.) Tie bows of bright ribbon around the stems of your wineglasses, fold red-and-green napkins together so both colors show. Hey, just because you're a bear doesn't mean you can't "make pretty!"!

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