We should all eat more duck. If we did, it would be cheaper. One reason that doesn’t happen is that the word “duck” is especially funny in English, being so close to “fuck,” which by itself is pretty hilarious if you just take it as a syllable. Vaudeville logic states that all words with a “k” sound are funny, but my point is that eating such words can subject you to ridicule.
It’s hard to get past that. Consider the struggles of kasha, kohlrabi, and kale. The first two have toiled in the shadows for decades. The latter has broken from the pack by making the “k” sound part of its act, like an ethnic comedian. Yet despite finding acceptance in progressive circles, kale can never be lettuce. Just as duck can never be chicken. I expect we should be grateful.
There is a simple strategy for the pricing issue. My super sells duck breasts for almost $9 each, but an entire frozen duck, stuffed with a tube of terrifying orange sauce, is just $18. You can see where I’m going with this. A bit of simple butchery – it’s easier to cut up a duck than a chicken; it’s more delicate – gets you two plump breasts (for this or many other recipes), two leg and thigh combos (for confit or tacos), duck fat (for frying potatoes) and a bowl of duck soup.
We’ll deal with the by-products later; for now, let’s focus on those delicious breasts. You can pay the convenience toll and buy them outright, but the ones you scoop out yourself, even from a frozen carcass (duck freezes well), are surprisingly more plump. And you can do a million elegant things with them. So why chunk them up and then closet them into a midnight-black soup?
Eaters, asking the question that way shows you are thinking duck-first. Look at it instead from the soup’s perspective. There is no better soup than a vegetarian Cuban Black Bean, except one made with ham. And there is no better ham – succulent, smoky, a little sweet – than duck. Especially when you add the complimentary fragrances of molasses and espresso. As Chico Marx says, that’s why a duck.
Recipe: Black Bean Soup with Duck Breast, Molasses and Espresso
A black bean soup enriched with duck breast and dark molasses, amped with espresso.
-Full Post-
Soak black beans in cold water overnight. Alternatively, pour boiling water over beans and let soak for an hour. Place beans, and enough of the soaking liquid to cover them by at least an inch, in a large pot. Add the bay leaves and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer. Freshly dried, pre-soaked black beans might cook in as little as 20 minutes, so watch carefully! Beans should be just tender, but still hold their shape.
In a dry pan, toast the cumin and coriander seed until fragrant, then grind in a mortar or spice grinder. Glaze a large frying pan with the olive oil and saute the duck breasts for 4 or 5 minutes, skin side down, to pull out some of the fat. Sprinkle the top side with salt and pepper. Flip the breasts when the skin is brown, pull off the skin with tongs or your fingers - it's easier when it's cooked; you can let it cool for a minute if you like - and season that side as well. Once the underside is cooked, flip once more and brown the side that was under the skin.
Pull the skin off the duck breasts, sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper, and saute in olive oil over medium high heat until well browned, about 4 minutes per side. Cut the skin into about a 3/8" dice. When the duck is browned, reserve the breasts and add the diced skin to the pan. Render down over medium heat until all you have is crisp brown bits, about 8 or 10 minutes. Scoop out and drain over a paper towel, and sprinkle with coarse salt.
While the breasts are cooking, cut the skin into about a 3/8" dice. When the breasts are done, set them aside and add the diced skin to the pan. Render down over medium heat until all you have is crisp brown bits, about 8 or 10 minutes. Scoop out and drain over a paper towel, and sprinkle with coarse salt.
Drain off and reserve for another use all but about 1 1/2 T of the duck fat. Add the green pepper and onion. and saute over medium heat until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the diced duck and the ground spices and cook another minute or two, to blend all the flavors. Add some of the espresso or coffee to deglaze the pan. Pour all into a large saucepan or medium heavy casserole. Add the rest of the coffee, the molasses, about a cup of bean broth, and about 1 1/2 cup of the beans. Bring to a simmer and lightly mash until the broth is thickened.
Add an additional 4 1/2 cups of the beans, the teaspoon of salt, and 2 cups of the broth - you will have about a cup of beans left for a salad, or snacking. Bring back to a simmer and let cook for a few more minutes, to blend the flavors. To serve, ladle out the soup and garnish with sour cream, chopped green onions, a few leaves of fresh cilantro and the crisped bits of duck skin - if you haven't already eaten all of them. Have some hot sauce and lime wedges on the side.
The bean broth is what keeps the soup black, so hang on to it. Also, black beans are about the quickest-cooking beans I know, but cook times still vary a lot depending on the relative dryness of the beans. My two cents is, don't pressure cook black beans, and don't salt them until they're done.
The logistics in frying the duck breasts three times is a bit whimsical, but works for me. I want to saute the duck breasts in their own fat, but I don't want chunks of duck skin in the soup. If you want to pull the skin off before cooking and render some or all of it before cooking the breasts, that will work equally well.
If you followed the advice of the related post and bought a whole duck, frozen or unfrozen, remove as much skin as you can, reserve the legs and thighs, and simmer the carcass in cold water to cover with a half dozen each peppercorns and juniper berries, plus 3 or 4 whole allspice, a bay leaf, and a fat coin of peeled ginger. Cook for an hour and a half, then add the legs and thighs and cook for another half hour. Reserve the legs and thighs for this or some other taco recipe, strain the broth through a fine strainer or cheesecloth, and use right away or freeze.
The crisped bits of duck skin, with a bit of salt, are absolutely delicious. In Yiddish this is called gribenes, though technically, maybe, gribenes is chunkier, and mixed with fried onions. This version makes a good sprinkle on a lot of things, including scrambled eggs. Use them! At the very least, freeze the raw skin and render it out when you want a really flavorful fat to fry onions or potatoes.
Ingredients
Directions
Soak black beans in cold water overnight. Alternatively, pour boiling water over beans and let soak for an hour. Place beans, and enough of the soaking liquid to cover them by at least an inch, in a large pot. Add the bay leaves and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer. Freshly dried, pre-soaked black beans might cook in as little as 20 minutes, so watch carefully! Beans should be just tender, but still hold their shape.
In a dry pan, toast the cumin and coriander seed until fragrant, then grind in a mortar or spice grinder. Glaze a large frying pan with the olive oil and saute the duck breasts for 4 or 5 minutes, skin side down, to pull out some of the fat. Sprinkle the top side with salt and pepper. Flip the breasts when the skin is brown, pull off the skin with tongs or your fingers - it's easier when it's cooked; you can let it cool for a minute if you like - and season that side as well. Once the underside is cooked, flip once more and brown the side that was under the skin.
Pull the skin off the duck breasts, sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper, and saute in olive oil over medium high heat until well browned, about 4 minutes per side. Cut the skin into about a 3/8" dice. When the duck is browned, reserve the breasts and add the diced skin to the pan. Render down over medium heat until all you have is crisp brown bits, about 8 or 10 minutes. Scoop out and drain over a paper towel, and sprinkle with coarse salt.
While the breasts are cooking, cut the skin into about a 3/8" dice. When the breasts are done, set them aside and add the diced skin to the pan. Render down over medium heat until all you have is crisp brown bits, about 8 or 10 minutes. Scoop out and drain over a paper towel, and sprinkle with coarse salt.
Drain off and reserve for another use all but about 1 1/2 T of the duck fat. Add the green pepper and onion. and saute over medium heat until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the diced duck and the ground spices and cook another minute or two, to blend all the flavors. Add some of the espresso or coffee to deglaze the pan. Pour all into a large saucepan or medium heavy casserole. Add the rest of the coffee, the molasses, about a cup of bean broth, and about 1 1/2 cup of the beans. Bring to a simmer and lightly mash until the broth is thickened.
Add an additional 4 1/2 cups of the beans, the teaspoon of salt, and 2 cups of the broth - you will have about a cup of beans left for a salad, or snacking. Bring back to a simmer and let cook for a few more minutes, to blend the flavors. To serve, ladle out the soup and garnish with sour cream, chopped green onions, a few leaves of fresh cilantro and the crisped bits of duck skin - if you haven't already eaten all of them. Have some hot sauce and lime wedges on the side.
The bean broth is what keeps the soup black, so hang on to it. Also, black beans are about the quickest-cooking beans I know, but cook times still vary a lot depending on the relative dryness of the beans. My two cents is, don't pressure cook black beans, and don't salt them until they're done.
The logistics in frying the duck breasts three times is a bit whimsical, but works for me. I want to saute the duck breasts in their own fat, but I don't want chunks of duck skin in the soup. If you want to pull the skin off before cooking and render some or all of it before cooking the breasts, that will work equally well.
If you followed the advice of the related post and bought a whole duck, frozen or unfrozen, remove as much skin as you can, reserve the legs and thighs, and simmer the carcass in cold water to cover with a half dozen each peppercorns and juniper berries, plus 3 or 4 whole allspice, a bay leaf, and a fat coin of peeled ginger. Cook for an hour and a half, then add the legs and thighs and cook for another half hour. Reserve the legs and thighs for this or some other taco recipe, strain the broth through a fine strainer or cheesecloth, and use right away or freeze.
The crisped bits of duck skin, with a bit of salt, are absolutely delicious. In Yiddish this is called gribenes, though technically, maybe, gribenes is chunkier, and mixed with fried onions. This version makes a good sprinkle on a lot of things, including scrambled eggs. Use them! At the very least, freeze the raw skin and render it out when you want a really flavorful fat to fry onions or potatoes.