After a seemingly endless spell of nothing but dry crackers, vegetable broth and boiled rice for sustenance, I emerged from the culinary depths craving something long on protein, and full of flavour. Duck sounded perfect, and I had a vac-packed breast awaiting in the fridge. But on a hot and humid day, could I really stomach such a fatty meat?
Then I remembered Sally Schneider’s brilliant low-fat method for cooking duck breast as a lean steak. It involves removing the fat from the breast, dry-rubbing the meat with spices (I used ancho chile powder), and letting it sit for several hours or overnight. To flesh it all out, I popped to the store for a bunch of fresh local arugula and some Valencia oranges. The end result was this salad, a light and healthy take on duck a l’orange.
If you decide to make it, be sure not to throw away the skin with all that delicious, flavourful fat. Instead, render the fat down and reserve it for another use. Duck fat keeps ages in the fridge, and makes the most perfect roast potatoes or Yorkshire puddings, due to its high smoke point. And even if you are watching your saturated fats, you can add loads of flavour to a dish by mixing in as little as half a teaspoon of duck fat with a neutral monounsaturated oil like canola.
To render duck fat, cut the skin into small cubes and put them in a heavy-based pan over a very low heat with the lid on. A cast-iron pan is perfect. Stir the bits of fatty skin from time to time to prevent them catching, replacing the lid each time. Do not rush the process, keeping the heat on low will prevent scorching. Once the fat has fully liquefied, strain it through a fine sieve into a glass container with an airtight lid. Refrigerate when cooled.
Duck and orange salad with sesame vinaigrette
Serves 2 as a main, or 4 as a starter
Serves 2 as a main, or 4 as a starter
Ingredients:
1 large duck breast
2 tsp ancho chile powder
Olive oil
A bunch of arugula
2 juicy oranges
¼ cup of pine nuts
For the dressing--
1 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
1 tsp tahini (sesame paste)
1 Tbsp juice from one of the oranges
Salt and pepper
3-4 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
Method:
1. Remove the skin from the duck breast (the fat can be rendered for another use). Wipe the duck steak with kitchen paper, and then dry rub it with the ancho chile powder. Leave on a plate in the fridge under clingfilm for several hours, or overnight.
2. On a clean cutting board, peel the oranges ‘to the blood’, by removing all skin and white pith with a sharp knife. Over a small bowl to catch the juices, cut each section away from the membrane. If you need more juice for the dressing, squeeze out the remaining juice from the leftover membrane and the sections of orange peel. (Gerard Hirigoyen has a good demonstration video on YouTube showing how it’s done.) Keep the orange sections separate from their juice.
3. Make the dressing. Start by mixing the sesame paste and the vinegar into the orange juice with a little salt and pepper. Taste the mixture—it should be pleasantly balanced between sweet from the orange juice, tart from the vinegar, and savoury from the tahini. Adjust according to your taste, then add the extra virgin olive oil and whisk.
4. Remove the duck from the fridge around 20 minutes or so before you want to eat. Heat a grill or a ridged griddle pan until very hot.
5. Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts by tossing them in a dry sauté pan over a medium heat until they are a uniform golden brown.
6. Once the grill has pre-heated, pat the duck steak with a bit of kitchen paper, then season it well with salt and pepper. Rub it on both sides with a small amount of olive oil. Grill for 5-6 minutes, turning once, for medium rare duck. You could cook it longer, but be warned that without the natural fat, the meat will be tougher than a breast cooked with the skin on. Allow the duck breast to sit for 5 minutes, before slicing it thinly against the grain.
7. Wash and dry the arugula leaves. Season them with S&P, and toss them in some of the dressing.
8. Assemble the salad on each plate with a handful of dressed arugula, several orange sections, a spoonful of toasted pine nuts, and some slices of duck. Top with a bit of extra dressing, and any meat juices that may have fallen from the duck when slicing.
1 large duck breast
2 tsp ancho chile powder
Olive oil
A bunch of arugula
2 juicy oranges
¼ cup of pine nuts
For the dressing--
1 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
1 tsp tahini (sesame paste)
1 Tbsp juice from one of the oranges
Salt and pepper
3-4 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
Method:
1. Remove the skin from the duck breast (the fat can be rendered for another use). Wipe the duck steak with kitchen paper, and then dry rub it with the ancho chile powder. Leave on a plate in the fridge under clingfilm for several hours, or overnight.
2. On a clean cutting board, peel the oranges ‘to the blood’, by removing all skin and white pith with a sharp knife. Over a small bowl to catch the juices, cut each section away from the membrane. If you need more juice for the dressing, squeeze out the remaining juice from the leftover membrane and the sections of orange peel. (Gerard Hirigoyen has a good demonstration video on YouTube showing how it’s done.) Keep the orange sections separate from their juice.
3. Make the dressing. Start by mixing the sesame paste and the vinegar into the orange juice with a little salt and pepper. Taste the mixture—it should be pleasantly balanced between sweet from the orange juice, tart from the vinegar, and savoury from the tahini. Adjust according to your taste, then add the extra virgin olive oil and whisk.
4. Remove the duck from the fridge around 20 minutes or so before you want to eat. Heat a grill or a ridged griddle pan until very hot.
5. Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts by tossing them in a dry sauté pan over a medium heat until they are a uniform golden brown.
6. Once the grill has pre-heated, pat the duck steak with a bit of kitchen paper, then season it well with salt and pepper. Rub it on both sides with a small amount of olive oil. Grill for 5-6 minutes, turning once, for medium rare duck. You could cook it longer, but be warned that without the natural fat, the meat will be tougher than a breast cooked with the skin on. Allow the duck breast to sit for 5 minutes, before slicing it thinly against the grain.
7. Wash and dry the arugula leaves. Season them with S&P, and toss them in some of the dressing.
8. Assemble the salad on each plate with a handful of dressed arugula, several orange sections, a spoonful of toasted pine nuts, and some slices of duck. Top with a bit of extra dressing, and any meat juices that may have fallen from the duck when slicing.
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