DUCK ON THE MENU!

I don't know about you, but I absolutely LOVE a tender filet of duck when I am going to make something nice for dinner. This time I made it with thyme and glazed shallots. YUM! This receipt is for 2-3 people.

700 g of duck - filets - room tempered! Very important. Let the meat sit for a few hours on the kitchen bench before preparing it. 

Duck with thyme and glazed shallots

12 pealed shallots

2 handfulls of fresh thyme

4 sweet potatoes

2 normal potatoes

2 cloves of garlic

3,5 dl of red wine

1 carrot

2 bay leaves

1 pealed yellow onion

1 table spoon with organic duck stock mixed with 2 dl of water

cooking string

salt and pepper for seasoning

12 asparagus

Butter

How To:

First I like to get the sauce cooking. You want to reduce it to less than half until it becomes thicker and smooth. Roughly cut the yellow onion and the carrot, put it in a pot together with 2 good table spoons of the fresh thyme, bay leaves, all of the wine and the stock mix. Bring it up to the boil without a lid and turn down to simmer on a medium heat. 

Then I prep my duck filets. I carve the flesh so it get nice squares. This helps making it crispy while frying it and it looks nice. Then I season it with generous salt and pepper, ad a good half handful of thyme on top of the flesh. After that I take the cooking string and whirl it around the filet so the thyme does not fall out. It also makes the filet have the same thickness everywhere.      

After I have done the prepping of the duck I have also prepared my wedgies. I boil the potatoes in squares until soft, add the garlic, butter and some milk and mash it until it is creamy and soft. Season with salt and pepper. Do not leave chunks in your mash! 

The asparagus just need maximum 3 minutes to boil and it is important that you have taken away the ends - they can be quite stringy. You can also steam these.

While all this is almost done, I have cracked the frying pan up high and put in some butter. When the pan is hothothot I place the duck in the pan - SKIN down! Then you leave it until it has obtained a good colour. Turn it over and turn the heat down to medium. Now you can add the pealed shallots. When both sides have got a nice color you can put a lid on for 3 minutes. Keep turning. As you notise there are alot of fat coming from the duck - please use a spoon to pour some on the duck while frying it. The whole process of frying this duck does not take long!  We want it to be red in the middle. 

Now, take the duck of the stove and let it rest for 5 minutes. This makes it keep all its beautiful juices. Back to the sauce - use a shifter to remove all the vegetables so you have a smooth sauce. Add a table spoon of butter to it when it is off the heat. Taste for seasoning.

Now, you can  enjoy a spectacular meal!!! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do! 

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