As a part of ITC hotels’ “Celebrity Chef Series” wherein famous chefs, the Michelin Star Chefs are invited to present their exclusive cuisine in India, the hotel has invited me to a session with chef Christopher Koetke CEC CCE HAAC and Chef Manjit Gill, Corporate Chef, ITC Hotels at ITC Maurya, New Delhi, as Chef Koetke, prepares a dish that represents the different facets of a high quality culinary education.
The dish focuses in duck cooked several different ways and paired with the flavors of the upper Midwest of the United States, including maple, wild rice, and a distinctive relish called Chow Chow. At the same time, it combines familiar cuisine with high end global technique This complex dish serves as a vehicle to discuss culinary education essentials such as discipline, passion, technique, seasonality, internationality, local sustainability, business acumen, and artistic principles.
Chef Koetke is Vice President, Kendall College School of Culinary Arts in Chicago and also serves as the global vice president for culinary arts for Laureate International Universities. As such, he spends much time traveling the globe working with chef educators and students. In the capacity, he sees what is needed to prepare the next generation of culinary professionals.
The proof of the pudding is in its eating, and though one does not get the opportunity to taste the ensemble that has been put together, I do shamelessly insist on tasting some components of it. The wild rice is a nutty buttery treat, and the duck is cooked soft and succulent – in fact it is the best duck mouthful I have had in a long time.
Recipe for Duck breast, Chartreuse of Braised Duck, Chowchow topped with Confit gizzards, and Maple Syrup Sauce
Brine for Duck Breast
Makes enough to brine 6-8 duck breasts
3 cups water
¼ cup salt
¼ cup sugar
¾ cup maple syrup
2 cinnamon sticks
5 crushed garlic cloves
2 Tablespoons minced ginger
6-8 duck breasts, boneless and skin-on
- Combine water, salt, sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, garlic, and ginger in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let infuse for 30 minutes, then cool.
- Add duck breasts to the chilled brine and refrigerate. Let brine for only 4-6 hours.
- Remove from brine, dry well, and sauté skin side down on low heat for 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the breasts. Flip over and cook only briefly. When cooked this way, the breasts should be medium on the inside and still have a crispy, rendered skin.
Chowchow
Serves: 8-10
2 green bell peppers, cut into small dice
2 red bell peppers, cut into small dice
16 green tomatoes, cut into small dice
6 stalks of celery, cut into small dice
¼ of a head of green cabbage, cut into small dice
1 1/3 cup cider vinegar
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons pickling spice tied into a sachet
- Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive metal sauce pan. Mix well and cook the mixture over low heat, uncovered, for about 30 minutes.
- Add pickling spice. Cook for about 30 minutes more, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Let cool. Keep refrigerated for up to a week until needed. It can be served cold or lightly heated.
Maple Syrup Sauce
Serves: 4
½ Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon minced shallot
¼ cup maple vinegar
¼ cup maple syrup
½-1cup duck demi-glace
Black pepper and salt to taste
- In a saucepan, sauté shallot in butter until tender.
- Add vinegar and reduce by ¾. Add maple syrup and bring to a boil.
- Add demi-glace and reduce to desired consistency. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Taste for proper sweet and acid balance. Feel free to add a bit more syrup or vinegar depending on your taste.
Braised Duck Leg
Serves: 4
4 duck legs
2 Tablespoons olive oil
½ cup finely diced onion
¼ cup finely diced celery
2 cloves minced garlic
½ teaspoon thyme leaf
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups dark stock (made from chicken, duck, etc)
½ cup red wine
- In a large saucepan, sauté duck legs to brown them in olive oil. Remove and reserve.
- In the same saucepan, sauté the onion and celery adding more olive oil if necessary. When tender (about 5 minutes), add garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add the duck legs, along with thyme, black pepper, stock, and red wine to the saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and simmer for 2 hours or until the legs are very tender.
- Remove the duck legs from the cooking liquid and when cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and shred. Reserve the meat.
- Meanwhile, reduce the cooking liquid over high heat until about 3/4 cup. Strain liquid.
- Combine the shredded meat and the reduced cooking liquid. Season with salt and additional black pepper.
Wild Rice
3/4 cup wild rice
3 Tablespoons butter
½ cup chopped walnuts
Salt and black pepper to taste
- Cover wild rice in lightly salted water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until the rice grains start to break open and the rice is tender (about 45 minutes). If the water reduces during cooking, simply add more. Drain in a colander and reserve.
- When ready to serve, brown butter in a sauté pan over high heat. Add walnuts and cook for another minute, being careful not to burn the butter. Add the wild rice and sauté until it is reheated. Season with salt and black pepper and serve.
Confit Gizzards
Duck gizzards
Well-seasoned rendered duck fat
Several cloves of garlic and several branches of fresh thyme
- Heat the fat until it is just melted. Add the garlic, thyme, and gizzards.
- Cook at a bare simmer for 2-3 hours or until the gizzards are very tender.