Braised Duck Tamales With Sour Cherry Mojo Food

DUCK TAMALES WITH MOLE SAUCE

Steps:

• To make the mole sauce, cover the ancho chilies with boiling water, and allow to soak until soft. Remove the seeds, and chop the chilies.
• Spear the tomatoes and tomatilloes with a fork and roast over an open flame until the skins begin to blacken. Chop and place in a food processor.
• Roast the garlic by holding it on a fork over the flame until lightly browned. Add to the food processor, along with the duck or veal stock, chilies, oregano, canela or cinnamon, cloves, pepper and allspice. Puree this mixture.
• Transfer the mixture to a saucepan, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Add the chocolate and sugar, and stir just until melted.
• To make the tamales, remove 3 tablespoons of fat from the duck confit, and heat the fat in a skillet. Add the mole sauce to the fat, and cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Melt the confit. Remove duck legs, skin them, and cut the meat off the bones, dicing it into 1/2-inch cubes. Mix with 1/4 cup of mole sauce and set aside.
• Stir warm water into the masa harina. The texture should be malleable, like a very soft dough. In a bowl whip the remaining chilled confit fat with a fork, and beat in the masa harina. Season to taste with a little salt.
• Dry the cornhusks. Flatten them, and spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the masa harina-fat mixture on the smooth inner side of each husk. Distribute the diced confit mixture in a line down the center of each husk. Roll each husk loosely, allowing room for expansion, and fold down the top to make a package. Tie with a strip of cornhusk. If cornhusks are not available, use pieces of cooking parchment.
• Steam the tamales for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, reheat the remaining mole sauce. Allow the tamales to cool slightly, then serve with the mole sauce on the side.

GRILLED SHRIMP WITH ORANGE-HABANERO MOJO

Steps:

• Soak eight 8-inch wooden skewers in cold water for at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour. Meanwhile, make the mojo: Combine the orange juice, 1/4 cup olive oil, the pickled habaneros, half of the garlic, the cilantro, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl; whisk well and set aside.
• Combine the remaining garlic and 1/4 cup olive oil in a small bowl. Preheat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Skewer the shrimp and brush with some of the oil-garlic mixture on both sides; season with salt and pepper. Grill until opaque, about 2 minutes per side, brushing with the remaining oil-garlic mixture. Arrange on a platter and drizzle with the orange-habanero mojo.

BRAISED DUCK TAMALES WITH SOUR CHERRY MOJO

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine the kosher salt and minced thyme and mix it well. Rub the salt and thyme mix on both sides of the duck, layering it on thickly. Place legs in a shallow pan and chill, covered, overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the same shallow pan, add in the onion, garlic, star anise, canela, and duck fat over the legs. Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Roast in the oven for 3 hrs. Meanwhile, soak the cornhusks in hot water for 1 hour. To make the dough for the tamales, moisten the instant corn flour with the hot water. Set aside. Beat the shortening in a mixer till creamy and fluffy, about 10 min, then mix in the corn flour and chicken stock. After 3 hrs remove the legs from the fat, remove the outer skin and shred the meat away from the bone and set aside. To assemble the tamales, open the soaked cornhusks and add in 2 Tbsp. of dough. Spread the dough over the cornhusk leaving a 1/2-inch border. Put 1 Tbsp. of the shredded duck meat in the center in a line. Fold the cornhusk over, enclosing the duck in the dough, and secure the tamale with a string or possibly ripped-off piece of the cornhusks. Repeat the process till all the dough and filling is finished. In a double boiler or possibly steamer, steam the tamales for 20 min. Turn off heat and allow to sit for 10 min before serving. To make the Sour Cherry Mojo: Soak the dry cherries in a bowl with red wine for 1 hour. In a medium saucepot, heat 1 Tbsp. of oil over medium-high heat. When the oil has begun to smoke, add in the shallots, chipotle, and garlic. Cook for 5 min then deglaze with red wine vinegar and duck stock. Cook for 3 min then add in the cherry mix. Cook for 30 min till the liquid has thickened. Add in the parsley. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, remove the tamale from the steamer. Open the tamales and serve with a spoon of the cherry mojo. This recipe yields 4 to 6 servings.

BRAISED DUCK WITH RED CURRY

Steps:

• Bone ducks and remove the skin. (You can ask a butcher to do this, reserving the carcass for stock making and skin for rendering.) Cut breasts in half, then into about 3 pieces across the width. Chop legs and thighs into about 4 pieces each. (Remember: You want to start with generous pieces of meat, since they will shrink when cooked. Don't worry about cleaning the tendons, since they will soften with long cooking.) Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper.
• Heat rendered fat in a large, heavy bottomed Dutch oven over high heat. Brown duck on all sides, then transfer meat to a platter. Reduce heat to medium low and cook shallots until well browned, about 15 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, increase heat to medium high and cook about a minute, then add curry paste. Cook, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes. Return duck meat to pot along with brown duck stock and cook at a slow simmer, uncovered, until meat is tender, about 40 minutes.
• With a slotted spoon, transfer meat to a platter and reserve in a warm place. Puree sauce in a blender and strain back into pot. Cook over high heat until liquid is reduced by one third. Stir in fish sauce, coconut milk, sugar, and lime juice, and remove from heat. Stir duck back into warm sauce. Ladle stew over Jasmine Rice. Garnish with remaining ingredients and serve immediately.

TAMALES WITH YELLOW MOLE: TAMALES DE AMARILLO MOLE

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl soak the corn husks for 30 minutes.
• In another bowl, add the masa harina and salt and with a whisk, mix well. Slowly add the chicken stock to the masa harina and mix well until a dough-like consistency. Make 10 ping-pong ball size balls of dough.
• In a plastic-lined tortilla press (both sides), press out each ball of dough to form a 5-inch round (about the size of the press). Carefully remove the tortilla, and place a spoonful of amarillo mole sauce, a spoonful of shredded cooked chicken. Fold each side of the tortilla and place in a corn husk length-wise. Secure both ends with a string or part of the husk used as a string, and repeat process.
• Steam for 30 minutes.
• Toast chiles on a griddle. Remove and place in a bowl. Cover with boiling water and let stand for 20 minutes.
• In a hot cast iron pan, roast the onion, garlic, tomatillos, and green tomatoes. Roast until well charred on all sides. Place in a bowl and let cool.
• Meanwhile grind peppercorns and cloves in coffee grinder. When the vegetables are cool enough to handle peel off the charred skin and puree them in a blender with the hoja santa leaves, drained chiles, and spices.
• In hot pot, heat the lard, add the pureed strained sauce, and cook for 5 minutes.
• In a small bowl, add the masa harina and water. Mix until well blended. Add this mixture to the sauce and cook for 5 minutes more, until done.

HONEY TANGERINE GRANITA WITH SOUR CHERRY SYRUP AND FRESH RASPBERRIES

Steps:

• Granita:
• Pour the water, tangerine juice, and lemon juice into a saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, add the honey and sugar, and stir until dissolved. Pour the mixture into a shallow metal pan and let cool to room temperature. Place in the freezer and stir every 30 minutes for 2 to 3 hours. You'll want the granita to be firm but not rock hard.
• Syrup:
• Place the cherries in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Put all the ingredients into a saucepan and place over high heat. Let it come to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour into a heatproof pitcher and let cool to room temperature.
• Assembly:
• Divide the granita among 4 martini glasses, top with fresh raspberries, and drizzle the whole thing with the syrup.

CRISPY BALSAMIC DUCK BREASTS

Steps:

• Using a sharp knife, score the duck skin (fat) with diagonal parallel slashes 1/2 inch apart to make a diamond pattern, being careful not to pierce through to the flesh.
• Pour the balsamic vinegar into a shallow dish just wide enough to fit the breasts in one layer.
• Add the duck, flesh (not fat) side down; cover and leave to marinate for 20 minutes at room temperature (can be marinated up to 2 hours refrigerated but remove for last twenty minutes at room temperature).
• Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add duck, fat side down and cook until crispy, about 5 minutes (covered to avoid spattering).
• After the 5 minutes, carefully pour the rendered fat from the pan and wipe the outside of the pan of any grease that may have dripped there before placing back on the stove.
• Turn the duck breasts over and continue to cook: about 5 minutes more for rare, 8 for medium rare, and 10 minutes for well done, but of course depending on the size of the duck breasts.
• Remove duck from pan to cutting board and slice thinly against the grain.
• Serve immediately, passing extra balsamic vinegar for drizzling if desired.

HONEY-LACQUERED DUCK WITH SOUR CHERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Put 10-12 sage leaves into a small saucepan with 1 cup of water and bring to the boil; simmer for 7 minutes and remove from heat; remove leaves and allow to cool.
• Wash the duck out and pat dry with paper towels; season generously with salt and put on a plate in the refrigerator to air-dry for 1 hour (2 hours is even better ;-) ).
• In a small saucepan, combine sage infusion, honey, balsamic vinegar and soy sauce and bring to the boil; boil at medium-high heat for 7-8 minutes until mixture becomes slightly syrupy and is reduced to 2/3 of a cup; pour 1/3 cup+ 1 tblsp into measuring cup and keep remainder in saucepan.
• Preheat oven to 415F°.
• Put duck in roasting pan, breast-side-down and roast for ½ an hour (drain fat off, retain); turn duck breast-side-up and roast ½ an hour longer (drain fat off again, retain); brush duck with the honey glaze and continue roasting 15 minutes; after the 15 minutes, turn duck so that it is breast-side-down again and brush with more honey glaze, do this once more after 15 minutes then turn duck breast-side-up again, brush with glaze and roast for a final 15 minutes; in all, the duck will have roasted a total of 2 hours and have had 4 glazings, 1 up, 2 down, and the last one up again; remove roaster from oven and allow duck to stand for 10 minutes while you finish the sauce.
• Pour off the fat you have retained into a small container (duck fat is great for frying potatoes!) and pour any accumulated duck juices into the saucepan containing the remaining honey glaze; add the cherries and any accumulated cherry juices as well as the cinnamon and bring to a boil; boil for 7-8 minutes, or until cherry sauce has become slightly-thickened and syrupy (if you want your sauce slightly thicker, you can sprinkle 1/2-3/4 tsp of cornstarch over cherries).
• Carve duck (in our case, this just means quartering the duck), and serve with the sour cherry sauce.
• Note: I have a special double-lined roaster, with one inclined tray with a hole in it fitting over a classic pan, this allows the fat to drain off the roasting meat, drip through the hole, and gather in the pan underneath; if you do not own this type of pan, use a classic roaster but drain fat off roasting duck more often.