Cheers to the fleet-winged duck. Cheers to the hard-flying falcon. Christmas Dinner looked like this…
Christmas Dinner
Those of you who know Hank Shaw and his amazing cooking, will be floored when I tell you I last minute cancelled on his undoubtedly delicious goose in order to eat my duck. It wasn’t that I think I can cook better. And I know the duck would have been better if it had hung for a few days. It was just that she seemed like such a gift.
The falcon had little business catching a mallard and Christmas, in the fact the year seemed so much brighter for a meal that took two seasons to secure. Sometimes I’m just sure that nature hands you a gift and the superstitious falconer in me cannot stand the idea of shrugging it off. The duck should be honored. (Or suffer the wrath of the falconry gods.)
I hadn’t expected to get a duck on Christmas, so I had to “Iron Chef” it a bit. What was in the refrigerator was what I had… a lot of parrot food. Apples, grapes… so I decided to make a chutney. (Which I’ve never done before, but it seemed like a reasonable idea.) I breasted her out and marinated the meat in a spicy sweet sauce I whipped up. The chutney was gala and granny smith apple, a medley of seedless grapes, cinnamon, ginger, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, cayenne and peanuts that were added just as it was finishing cooking.
I couldn’t tell you how much of which ingredient, I can only tell you that served with sauteed duck breast, salad and wild rice, it was delicious. And that I’ll never be able to make it again. I like it that way. The things we cannot repeat are the things that become personal legends.
And I still made it to Hank and Holly’s for wine, pecan pie and hunting stories. It was a perfect Christmas.
It looks just incredible! I happen to love Gala apples, as well as Cameos, and the vinegar and peanuts must have given it an incredibly great sweet/sour flavor. Beautifully presented and I am going to copy it as soon as I can find some duck.