Showing posts with label rillette. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rillette. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

How to Make Duck Rillette. Recipe from Cafe Pinot's Art of Charcuterie Class

Patina's Cafe Pinot is holding a monthly Art of Charcuterie class with Chef Joe Vasiloff. Each month's class is different, and last month we learned how to make duck breast prosciutto and duck rillette. Here's the recipe for the duck rillette!

INGREDIENTS
4 duck legs to make confit
1 cup green salt:

Ingredients for green salt (makes approximately 2 cups)
1 ½ cups kosher salt
1 cup picked parsley (packed)
¼ cup picked thyme leaves
3 fresh bay leaf
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
3 cloves of garlic (sliced)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse to a super fine consistency, so it resembles the texture of white sand.
Art of Charcuterie
4 cups duck fat for confit 3/4-1 cup duck fat for rillette Freshly ground pepper MATERIALS
1 medium size glass dish, such as Pyrex for curing duck legs 1 high-sided saucepan for melting duck fat for confit 1 high-sided, oven-proof baking pan or dish 1 boning knife 1 pair of scissors (optional)

DIRECTIONS FOR DUCK CONFIT
Step 1: Trim the duck legs of any excess fat that that extends beyond the flesh. Optional and as learned in class: around the base of the shank, cut around the shank, through the skin and tendons until you reach the bone.
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Tuesday, February 24, 2009

NOLA: Grand Final Dinner at Cuvee

In honor of Mardi Gras, I decided to do one of my New Orleans post! Cuvee was my very last meal there - the conference had booked the entire restaurant, open bar and all! The place was small that our group occupied the whole space (about 60 of us or so?).

Amazing hors d'oeuvres were being passed around like this duck rillette:
(I had like 2 ... or 3). Very flavorful and tender. We only had 30 minutes at the bar so on top of eating these rillettes I also quickly went through a Sazerac and a French75.

Apparently that might not have been such a good idea. I wasn't aware that a 6-course wine paired meal was ahead of me! (No, really, I always thought these conference dinners were capped at 100/person!)

The first course was a choice of two:
Course #1, Choice #1: Foie Gras Torchon (apple, honey chutney, cinnamon brioche)
Dr. Loosen Riesling, Mosel Saar-Ruwer 2007, Germany
There was no way I wouldn't choose foie gras! It is not the best foie gras I've ever had but it was pretty good and I liked the apple & honey chutney. I also thought the Riesling was a pretty good pairing.

Choice #2: Blue Crab Boudin

Course #2:
Taste of North&South Pasta (scallop + fresh ricotta ravioli, butter poached lobster & sweet corn puree, shrimp tortelli with sauce etouffee)
Tegernseerhof "T-26" Gruner Veltliner, Wachau 2006 Austria
The highlight of this dish was the butter poached lobster with sweet corn puree. The lobster was fresh and nicely done and although both the lobster and the puree were on the sweet side they worked quite well, both texture and flavor - wise.

Course #3: Basil-crusted Sea Bass (parmigiano reggiano polenta cake, vinaigrettes of citrus and sweet pepper)
Les Heritiers du Comte Lafon, Macon 2007 France
The seabass was just a tad overcooked, but I loved the polenta cake.

Course #4:
"The Duck" (confit-walnut-blue risotto, cured smoked breast)
Greenhough Pinot Noir, Nelson 2005 New Zealand

Course #5: Black Angus tenderloin. At this point I lost my menu notes ... probably too much wine or something silly like that ..
The meat was not bad, and it was cooked pretty well, but it was a little on the dry side, although the sauce definitely helped a lot with it.

Dessert: Pineapple beignets. This was served with your selection with dessert wine/liqueur/coffee/tea, so I opted for some Nocello (hazelnut liqueur).
This was not really like the beignets I "normally" have, like Cafe du Monde's all dusted in sugar. This was crispy and filled with pineapples.

A very satisfying meal (as I drank the last drops of my Nocello). If you're in New Orleans and looking for a nice place for some Creole-influenced continental food - I recommend this place!
Happy Mardi Gras!

Cuvee
322 Magazine St
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 587-9001

Cuvee on Urbanspoon
www.restaurantcuvee.com

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