Duck

This month My Kitchen My World made a quick visit to Portugal….

..a small country on the west coast of Spain. Portugal is known for its culinary diversity. Cooks pair meat with fish, fish with fruit, fruit with eggs, eggs with beans. Vasco de Gama found the water route to the east and introduced the spices of India, Africa, and South America to Europe. Today all those spices are incorporated into native seasons to add robust flavor to the dishes of Portugal – especially the seafood and water fowl, which, being a coastal country, is abundant.

I have been waiting for a recipe to use some ducks I had in the freezer. This one was perfect. So for supper last nite we had….

Arroz de Pato

{I had 4 wild ducks and no gibliets}

{For both bacon and prosciutto I had slices but it worked just fine.}

1. Pull all excess fat from the neck and body cavities of the duck and discard; prick the bird well all over with a sharp-pronged fork, then refrigerate until needed. Place the water, duck giblets and neck, onion, carrots, peppercorns, prosciutto, bacon, and chourico in a large heavy kettle, and bring to a simmer over moderate heat. Adjust the burner heat so mixture bubbles gently, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.
2. With a slotted spoon, lift the duck giblets and neck, the prosciutto, bacon, and chourico from the kettle and reserve. Now place the duck in the kettle, breast-side up, bring the
liquid to a gentle simmer, cover, and simmer 30 minutes; turn the bird breast-side down, re-cover, and sim- mer 30 minutes longer. Remove the duck from the broth and cool until
easy to handle. Strain the broth, discarding the solids. Now skim as much fat as possible from the broth-there will be plenty of it! This is a job requiring patience.
3. Preheat the oven to very hot (450°F). With poultry shears, cut the legs and wings off the duck. Divide the breast in half by cutting down the middle of the breastbone, then cut each half crosswise into three chunks. Remove as much meat as possible from the back of the bird.
Place all pieces of meat, skin-side up, in a shallow 3-quart earthenware casserole. (It should measure about 12 x 9 inches, or 11 to 12 inches in diameter, and be 2 inches deep.) Place the uncovered casserole on the middle shelf of the oven and bake the duck until lightly browned-about 15 minutes. Remove -the casserole from the oven and set aside; reduce oven heat to moderate (350°F).
4. Pour 1 quart of the skimmed duck broth (reserve any extra to use in making a soup, sauce, or stew) into a large heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat; add the rice and pepper, bring to a simmer, adjust the heat so that the mixture bubbles gently, then cook un-
covered about 10 minutes until the level of the liquid is below that of the rice. Meanwhile, cut as much meat from the duckling neck as possible and reserve; discard the neck bone. Also, coarsely chop the giblets, and dice the prosciutto. Add all to the rice, cover, and cook 5 to 8 minutes longer until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
5. Meanwhile, dice the bacon and brown in a small heavy skillet over moderately high heat until most of the drippings have cooked out, leaving crisp brown bits-about 5 minutes. You’ll have to stir the bacon frequently to keep it from burning. With a slotted spoon, lift the crisp brown bits to paper toweling to drain; discard the drippings or reserve to use another time. Slice the chourico ‘/4-inch thick; stir into the rice along with the bacon bits.
6. Spoon the rice into the casserole covering the. duck completely. Drizzle the surface first with melted butter, then with the egg yolk mixture. Cover snugly with foil and bake 15 minutes; uncover and bake 10 to 15 minutes longer, just until the rice is faintly golden. Spoon rice mixture onto serving dish or serve directly from the casserole.
{Note: Because ofthe saltiness of the ham, bacon, and sausage used, you will not need to add any salt.} Country Living September 1987

This was really good but took about 4 – 4 1/2 hours to make. The flavor of the bacon and prosciutto was all through the rice and the ducks were very flavorful. I am glad I made the full recipe so we could have leftovers.

For dessert we had….

PÃO DE LÓ

…a golden sponge cake layer that appears in its paper wrapper in markets and pastry shops throughout Portugal.

Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease 9-inch round cake pan. Cut a 15- by 12-inch piece of parchment paper and fit into pan, allowing edges to extend beyond rim (see
Note). Grease paper on bottom and 2 inches up side of pan.
In medium-size bowl, with electric mixer on high speed, beat eggs with salt until light and lemon colored. Gradually beat in sugar until soft peaks form. Add yolks, 2 at a time, beating 3 minutes after each addition.
Sprinkle flour over egg mixture. With rubber spatula, very gently fold flour into beaten egg mixture until uniformly combined. Spread batter into prepared pan.
Place another piece of parchment over cake, resting on extended edges of the parchment pan liner and being careful to avoid top of batter.
Bake 15 minutes or until center appears set. Remove top piece of parchment. Cool cake in pan on wire rack 15 minutes. Using edges of parchment pan liner, lift cake to serving plate and set aside at least 1 hour before serving.
{Note: The cake may be baked without parchment, but the surface will be darker. To do so, grease 9-inch round baking pan and line bottom with a circle of waxed paper; grease paper and side of pan.}{Country Living June 1997}

This cake was a perfect foil for ice cream or caramel or chocolate but by itself a little bland. I would definitely make it again tho. Very simple and quick.

Sure wish y’all would join us in visiting the cuisine of different countries. Just check

with the website each month to see what country we are visiting.