Rooftop Gourmet

Unless you’re an avid hunter with excellent aim, or know a great butcher, it can be hard to get your hands on some quality game meat. Luckily, our friend Leigh’s father is a certified, wildlife ass-kicker, who goes on hunting trips armed with a massive bow and arrow. He snipes all sorts of delicious animals such as elk, caribu, deer, and goose just to name a few. Last Sunday, Leigh was generous enough to empty out her freezer for us while we watched the big futbol game.

We had plenty of time to plan the menu in between all the scoring going on between Spain and Netherlands. It was beautiful out, so we moved the party up to the roofdeck and opened a few bottles of crisp white wine to enjoy with our first course… Sliced venison summer sausage with extra sharp cheddar and three peppercorn mustard.

 As soon as the deer was killed, it was professionally butchered, ground up with pork fat filler, and piped into natural casings. It had the appearance of Genoa Salami but the flavor was definitely different. There was an intriguing gamey flavor that came out in the aftertaste, which was perfect with the velvety pork fat and the tangy cheese. This was some serious charcuterie!

After a few craft brews and a Spain victory, I opened some celebratory Spanish Godello to go with our next bird course. This was the first animal of the evening that I have yet to try. Breasts were removed from a goose, corned by boiling in salted water for a long period of time, and them dowsed in peppercorns before getting smoked. This is how pastrami is made.

The goose pastrami looked like two, bright red, clenched fists that were dipped in black pepper. We sliced them very thinly to reveal the bright purple, flesh and a wonderful, smoky aroma. We made a huge platter of goose pastrami crostini, topped with a chiffonade of shallots and sage, followed by a healthy drizzle of black walnut balsamic reduction.

The sweet, vinegar complimented the smoky meat nicely as I wolfed down a handful of these gamey treats. It brought me back to the days of sitting Indian-style in my living room, clenching my bright orange weapon, and picking off virtual ducks, which is obviously as close as I’ve come to hunting real birds.

Even my friend Tommy, whom I had to get “back up” food for, chomped away at the goose while pretending to line up a sea gull that swooped over our heads. The sun started to set along the skyline and it was time to start cooking the main course. This is what I had been waiting for all day. The giant elk that is getting pummeled by Rambo in the attached picture is what went into our burgers.

 Elk is not only the largest species of deer, but also one of the largest mammals found in North America. It was shot by Leigh’s dad, butchered, ground immediately to ensure freshness.

You know you’re not eating your typical dose of hormones and other additives when consuming a free range animal. The flesh was bright red and extremely lean. Even though elk has tons of natural flavor, I added some chunks of cubed butter to the patties so that the burgers didn’t dry out during the cooking process.

 I pan seared the burgers in a giant cast iron skillet and then finished them off under the broiler to melt the smoked gouda on top. I also adorned the half pounders with some sauteed shiitake mushrooms, and grilled scallions that were marinated in Fig Balsamic Vinegar. The earthy flavor in the shrooms, combined with the sweet char on the onions accentuated the gaminess of the elk. I didn’t want to mask the flavor of the giant deer with tons of unneeded bread, so I simply slid it into a paper thin pita pocket to serve.

 I marched up the spiral staircase, with a giant platter of elk burgers, slightly chilled Pinot Noir, and tons of napkins. The burgers were jaw numbingly huge, and freshly pink and juicy. There was no way that this treat could pass for beef because the wild flavors were so intense and concentrated. It was by far one of the most interesting, and most delicious burgers I have ever consumed. After all this food, everyone was pretty full, but we brought up one final course to nibble on as the sun dipped behind the Prudential.

Even if we had to remove our belts, we were going to make room for some grilled skirt steak, sliced, and tossed with some Asian Sesame noodles. The cool ocean breeze cut through the humidity, and made it bearable to digest under the stars as we finished off some more wine, and planned a massive hunting trip in the Fall. It’s one thing to be a gatherer, and pick up your own food at the supermarket, but to be a hunter and truly appreciate the flavors of what you catch is something that I really want to experience.

Believe it or not, I made this entire dish using only four ingredients. That’s what’s great about cooking. As long as you have quality, fresh, and flavorful ingredients, you can create an elegant meal with just a little bit of  imagination.

As I’ve done in the past, I take classic dishes such as the Italian’s Veal Saltimbocca alla Romana and put my own modern twist on it. Saltimbocca translates to, “jump in the mouth”, because that’s exactly what all of the flavors do. Classically, it consists of a paper thin, veal cutlet that has a layer of prosciutto and fresh sage leaves, which is then rolled up and cooked in butter.

I decided to use a duck breast instead of the veal because I had a gorgeous bottle of Pinot Noir at home that I was excited to try. Duck and Pinot are one of my favorite combinations, right up there with Brady and Moss, and Godfather 1 and 2. Since duck breasts have a pretty decent sized layer of fat on top, I opted to leave the prosciutto at the deli counter. Besides, the only thing that I can think of that would be better than a paper thin slice of Prosciutto di Parma melting on my tongue, is a piece of crispy duck fat.

Whole Foods didn’t have prepared duck breasts, so I was forced to buy a whole duck and butcher it myself, which I don’t mind because I save the bones and miscellaneous parts for sauces. It’s been a while since I’ve deboned Daffy, but after a few minutes, I managed to produce two beautiful filets.

I scored the top of the skin in a criss-cross pattern, being careful not to puncture the bright purple flesh beneath. Scoring the skin side prevents the fat from curling and separating from the breast meat as it cooks.

I placed the breast, skin side down in a cold sautepan and turn the heat on just so slightly. This was somewhat tricky, because I needed to crisp up the skin without cooking the actual meat. Once the pan gets warm, the fat in the skin starts to release tons of aromatic duck fat juices and actually fries the skin it its own fat. This is the part where I get flustered because the smell of duck fat sends me into a frenzy. Duck fat ranks right above pork fat on my scale of most delicious animal fats (yes, I have a list of those).

After the skin was golden brown, I removed the breast from then pan and threw it into the fridge to stop the cooking. Once it was cool, I suffocated it underneathth a few layers of plastic wrap and pounded it into a paper thin circle.

 I seasoned the breast meat with salt and pepper and layered the freshly snipped sage leaves from my herb garden on top. These were the biggest sage leaves I have ever seen, I don’t know what Siobhan is feeding my pot of herbs but they’re multiplying like Gremlins. I tightly rolled the breasts, crispy skin, and sage up into a tube and secured them with some butchers twine.

 Two ingredients, duck and sage, were set aside and ready to fire, but first I had to make my sauce. Veal Saltimbocca alla Romana is traditionally served with Marsala wine or a lemon caper sauce but since I was using a duck breast, I needed to adjust the flavors a bit. Duck tends to be slightly gamey and of course fatty, hence the amazing layer that protects the breast, so sweeter sauces usually compliment it nicely.

 I chose to make a blueberry compote, which is incredibly simple to do. A compote is a 17th century English dessert that was transformed into a sauce by the French. It is essentially a pot of fresh fruit, sugar, and water that is slowly simmered until it reaches a jam-like consistency. This is exactly how I make homemade cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving. I just tossed some fresh blueberries into a sauce pan, covered it in water, and then dumped about a cup of sugar in to top it off.

After about 30 minutes of bubbling, the sugar and water turns into a thick simple syrup and the fresh blueberries pop and start gurgling. It thickens right before your eyes and is not only great with game birds, but vanilla ice cream and toast as well. I finished searing the Saltimbocca in a pan of butter along with the legs that I braised in their own juices for about two hours. The succulent leg meat was falling off the bone and dripping with savory duck fat.

I made sure the center of the roulade was still pink and medium rare because if you overcook duck it gets extremely tough. It seems strange applying temperatures to birds because we’re so used to chicken and salmonella poisoning, but duck can be and should be served medium rare. Not only does it taste better, it is easier to chew. I plated the roulade with a massive blob of the antioxidant-rich, sweetened blueberry compote. The combination of sweet and savory was heavenly.

I popped a bottle of the brand new Lot 20 Reserve Label Pinot Noir from my friends at 90+ Cellars. If you’re not familiar with the company, you’re missing out. Value…value…value is the key word here. 90+ Cellars cold calls distinguished wineries with prestigious reviews and asks if they have any leftover wine. Due to the current economic state, certain wineries have an extra thousand cases of a certain vintage that Restaurant X usually buys, but couldn’t afford it this season. The two parties strike a deal, 90+ Cellars slaps their label on the wine along with a specific lot number, and delivers the savings right on to the consumer. The only catch is, once a certain lot is gone…. it’s gone forever.

I have been waiting in anticipation for Lot 20 to be released, and it’s finally here! Knowing that the actual value of the juice is around $45.00 retail, this bottle for under twenty is going to sell like hot cakes. I opened the wine with my duck Saltimbocca and let me tell you… this baby lived up to the hype. The winemaker has spent the last forty years making Pinot in California so he is no rookie. The Sonoma County fruit is hand picked and aged in oak to give it some extra body and structure. On the nose, the wine gives off aromas of fresh strawberries and cranberries.

On the palate, the wine is velvety and elegant with loads of bing cherry and sexy cinnamon. The finish never ends with smooth tannins and hints of vanilla. This wine is a tease… it starts up voluptuous, sultry, and erotic, but then finishes classy and structured. I couldn’t have met a better match for my duck breast with blueberry compote. The Saltimbocca was jumping in my mouth and the wine made me want to start jumping on the table in excitement.

As I was walking through Whole Foods the other day, I noticed the abundance of fresh cranberries and I immediately thought about Thanksgiving and Fall flavors. I grabbed a bunch of them and decided to base my whole dinner around this one ingredient. Duck is something that for most home cooks seems out of reach or too complicated but in reality it is very simple. The thick layer of fat and skin on the breast can be intimidating but with some rendering and slow pan roasting, you can achieve a crispy skin atop a moist, tender breast in no time.

The texture contrast of the crispy skin and melt-in-your mouth breast meat alone is tantalizing. Whenever I work with duck I always try to pair it with some type of fruit because the gameyness of the bird pairs so well with tart, and fruity flavors. I decided to make a cranberry gastrique which totally reminded me of getting the cranberry sauce going on Thanksgiving morning. A gastrique in its simpliest form is a reduction of vinegar, sugar, and some type of fruit or berry which after some serious simmering creates a thick paste that is sweet, tart, and delicious.

The cranberry gastrique was a perfect compliment to the gamey bird and also the wine that I decided to pair it with. Duck and Pinot Noir is like peanut butter and jelly; it just works. The elegant, ripe raspberry, and cherry flavors in the Pinot bounce off the gamey, rich duck fat but then smooth out when the tender meat melts in your mouth.

Sweet, roasted golden beets tossed with loads of fresh thyme round out the dish and play with the long elegant finish of the Cru Pinot Noir from Monterey, California. I would definitley categorize the Cru Pinot as modern California Pinot style (medium bodied and fruit forward) as opposed to Burgundian (fruit driven but earthy and more balanced). To add a little texture kick to the dish I chopped up some Spanish Marcona almonds and sprinkled them onto the duck breast.

Don’t be afraid of duck and if you do decide to slowly pan roast a duck breast be sure to save the fat!! Duck fat is one of the most prized possessions of a chef. People name four star restaurants in California after Duck Fat. I am planning on saving the fat and slow cooking the legs and other parts of the whole bird “confit” or submerged in duck fat. Stay Tuned….