Magret to be precise, and here is where the duck fat comes in. The assembled meat eaters had Magret, garlicky roast potatoes, and green beans with mushrooms and more garlic. Followed by warm fennel salad and green salad, a fruit salad, and then cheese of course (goat and sheep because two of us need to avoid lactose/casein). Finally. Stollen and the little bit of Buche left from yesterday. And candy.
Forget the duck, try Vegan Wellington
Check out the Vegan Wellington I made based on THIS amazing recipe by Sarah Cobacho over at plantbaes (you’ll see more of her recipes on this blog I imagine). I made one loaf using the larger slices of puff pastry you get here, and I did not use vegan pastry. I also added chestnuts (hence the three nuts) and morel mushrooms. It was a lot of chopping, but I did it by hand and alone — probably better with company — and each set of ingredients (three kinds of nuts, three vegetables, and three kinds of mushrooms) had to be cooked separately. I said I would never make it again (especially when my latticework came out more like a mummy than a Wellington); however, when I tasted it I knew I would. And when all the meat eaters also declared it fabulous I figured I was stuck. The recipe makes enough for eight, but there wasn’t much left for boxing day… I really recommend it and the gravy Cobacho suggests is probably amazing as well.
But about those potatoes.
If you do not have a jar of duckfat, the fat from the edges of the Magret can be sliced off and rendered in a pan to make enough fat for the roast potato without sacrificing any for cooking the duck itself. First, let it be noted that you can make a fine roast potato with olive oil, too, and I did — everything tastes amazing with garlic and rosemary after all. But for the purists, here’s the trick. There are a lot of steps, but even the vegetarian version is extraordinary
Buy the right potatoes
- Pre-bagged potatoes are labeled with the best use, and you want to get the ones that proclaim for frites. You’re going for the same golden crunchy edges and fluffy interior, so you want a soft floury / starchy potato, never a waxy variety;
- There are some who swear by my beloved Binjte for roast potatoes, but I keep it for soups and sometimes mashed potatoes. I suggest one of the three M’s: Maiwen, Marabel, or Monalisa. My preference is Monalisa (this helpful site includes pictures so you can identify them if you are shopping at a market without labels);
The first secret is the fat
- For full duck (the desired for non-vegetarians), render duck fat (slice the little skirt of fat from around two or three Magret and fry small chunks on a medium heat until a lot of the solid fat has turned to oil, or use already rendered fat;
- Vegetarians, use good vegetable oil – I use a locally produced olive oil;
- If rendering duck fat, once you have about 5 tablespoons of fat, scoop out the remaining solids (save them for snacking, with a little more salt and maybe a grind of nutmeg says my sister-in-law);
- Once the fat is liquid/hot, add a LOT of chopped garlic (nice folks will tell you 3 cloves, but really six is better or even more if you like garlicky potatoes as opposed to garlic overtones), along with fresh thyme leaves and chopped rosemary, and cook until the garlic is fragrant but not brown;
- Scoop out and save the garlic/herbs to add to the potato at the end.
The second secret is the par-boil
- Peel and cut into quarters or halves if small (about two to two and a half inches long and one and a half inches wide — but don’t worry too much about the size, just get them roughly the same);
- Trust me on this: for 4lb (2 kilo) of potatoes, boil about two litres of water and add two tablespoons of salt (an ounce/25g) of salt and half a teaspoon of baking soda (this increases the alkali of the potatoes and gives a nice crunchy exterior—if you don’t trust me, here is “Serious Eats” testing a variety of methods and coming back to this one);
- Add the potatoes to the boiling water mix, bring back to the boil, and simmer for about 10 minutes;
- Strain the potatoes and put into a bowl. Add the oil/fat and toss to cover. Shake them around so that they get coated in oil and hit the side of the bowl so that the edges get crumbly (do not miss this step, the bruising adds to the crunchiness).
The roasting
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C)
- Spread the oily potatoes onto a baking tray in a single layer (so they all directly touch the tray—don’t pile them up; let each one develop independently) and add any fat/oil that is left in the bowl. Place in the middle of the oven, or wherever there is space;
- Ignore them 20 minutes, then shake and try to loosen stuck pieces;
- Roast for another 30-40 minutes shaking every now and then;
- When they are done or almost done add the garlic, cooked herbs, and salt and pepper to taste.
Then make the Magret
This is Walter’s method:
- Heat a pan very hot (on an outside grill if you live with a vegetarian or don’t want to have to clean up lashings of fat).
- Score through the fat on the fat side of the Magret (down to the meat—see the picture at the top).
- Place the Magret fat side down on a hot pan until the fat browns and renders the breast moves around when pushed,
- then flip and sear it on the flesh side adding some slices of pear if you are so inclined.
- Remove it almost right away (5 minutes max) once the meat has a light sear. It will still be bloody — this is not a meat that should be medium anything.
- Place it on a plate to rest (novices beware that resting involves bleeding onto the plate).
- After 5-10 minutes, slice (see picture above) and serve with the pear, potato, green beans, .
This was well received by all who ate it.
