Rainy day: best place to walk is in a forest: you
don’t get as wet. Additional reward:
Salmonberries!
They taste a bit like pincherries . . . which
reminded me of a wonderful day long ago when George and Donnie brought us younger
kids a special treat. In my mind’s eye,
I can still see a BIG green, leafy branch loaded with pincherries. You
might think that was not a good thing to do, but little kids could not go tramping off into the woods to find their own, and we
didn’t get very many treats those days . . . so this was really SPECIAL.
George and Donnie . . . it may have been only one
of them who brought that branch home, but, in those days, I thought of them as almost one person because
they were so inseparable that, if I was talking about them, I didn’t say one’s
name without the other.
George and Donnie . . . thanks for the pincherries
and other treats like chunks of cow salt, and the chocolate bars you brought us on
Saturday nights.
George
Donnie
I miss you guys!
********
Every fall, Mom roasted
many a wild duck shot by George & Donnie.
The problem with roasting ducks is that if you
roast them long enough for the legs to be tender, the breast is overdone.
That’s why I like to cut a duck up and braise
everything except for the breast.
Just
before serving, I sauté the duck breast and cut it into pink medallions.
Serve the breast separately so that everyone will get some!
The problem with braising ducks is that you don’t
get that lovely crisp roasted skin.
Enter Julia Child! She suggested
peeling off as much skin as possible, trimming off the fat, cutting the skin into
thin strips, and roasting it to make cracklings. I tried that once and didn’t like the result.
SOLUTION: This
time I cut the skin only off the back and the neck but left the skin on the
legs, thighs, etc. Do NOT cut up the
skin or trim off the fat. Preheat the
oven to 400. Put the skin on top of a grill pan. The fat will render and go into the
bottom. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes until brown and
crisp.
BE CAREFUL when
taking the pan out of the oven or the fat will slosh out.
Cut up the skin into small squares, toss with a
sprinkling of salt and pepper, and serve on top of the braised duck.
Oh WOW! so GOOD!
******
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