Ballotines de Caneton

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Sharp boning knife
• •6-quart narrow stockpot
• •Wide 4-quart saucepan
• •7-cup or larger food processor
• •Fine-mesh drum sieve or sturdy kitchen sieve
• •Flexible bowl scraper
• •Digital kitchen scale
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •8 butter-muslin squares, about 10 by 12 inches (25 by 30 cm)
• •Kitchen string
• •Wire rack set over a sheet pan

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare duck and stock

   Ask the butcher to remove the duckling's skin in one piece and return the chopped carcass, wings, and neck. Strip every scrap of meat from the bones, weigh out 1 cup (240 ml / 170 g) for the forcemeat, and reserve the remainder for another meal. Put the carcass and cold water in a narrow stockpot, bring them up slowly, and skim before the liquid reaches a simmer. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and bouquet garni, then cook at the barest tremble for 75 minutes. Strain without pressing the solids. You should have about 6 cups (1.4 L / 1.4 kg) of clean, lightly concentrated duck stock; keep it unsalted because part of it will be reduced.

2. 2

   Sauté and chill mushrooms

   Melt 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) of the butter in a small pan. Sauté the mushrooms over lively heat until their water has evaporated and they smell deeply mushroomy, but stop before their edges become hard. Spread them on a cold plate and refrigerate until completely chilled. Warm mushrooms would soften the pork fat and weaken the forcemeat before it ever reaches the pot.

3. 3

   Work the cold farce

   Chill the food-processor bowl and blade, then add the duck meat, veal, pork fat, ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 3.5 g) salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Process in short pulses until finely chopped. Add the chilled A. Bread Panada (No. 190) and egg yolk, then process only until the farce fine, the silky forcemeat, becomes cohesive and slightly springy. Force it through a fine-mesh sieve with a flexible scraper, then fold in the chilled gratin foie-gras forcemeat from Gratins (No. 268) and the mushrooms. If the mixture begins to smear or shine with loose fat, stop immediately and set the bowl over ice for 15 minutes before continuing. Ça se rattrape while everything is still cold.

   Pounding by hand was work for several cooks. The processor replaces that labor, but not the cold temperature or the final pass through the sieve; those are part of the dish.
4. 4

   Test and portion

   Poach a teaspoonful of farce in gently simmering water until cooked through. Cut it open: it should be smooth, moist, and free of visible beads of fat. Taste for pepper and nutmeg, remembering that the reduced glaze will bring additional salt. Weigh the remaining farce into eight equal portions of about 2 oz (57 g) each, shape them into short, neat ovals, and chill for 30 minutes.

5. 5

   Wrap the ballotines

   Scrape excess fat from the inner surface of the duck skin without thinning it, then cut eight pieces large enough to enclose the portions, about 5 by 6 inches (13 by 15 cm). Place each piece outer-side down, set a portion of farce across the center, and roll so the skin overlaps underneath. Patch any small tear from the inner side with a skin trimming; the muslin will hold it in place. Wrap each ballotine snugly in butter muslin and tie both ends with kitchen string. Keep the parcels chilled while the stock heats.

6. 6

   Poach at a tremble

   Heat enough duck stock to cover the ballotines in a wide saucepan, holding it between 176 and 185°F (80 and 85°C). Lower in the wrapped parcels and keep them submerged with a small heatproof plate if necessary. Poach for 25 to 30 minutes, turning once, until the center of each reaches 160°F (71°C). The liquid must never roll. If it boils and the skin begins to swell, pull the pan from the heat, add a ladleful of cold stock, and lower the burner before continuing. If a parcel splits, lift it out, wrap it in fresh muslin, and return it gently. Ça se rattrape.

   A rolling pot is not faster. It drives expanding fat and moisture against the skin until the wrapper splits, taking the careful shape with it.
7. 7

   Glaze the turnips

   While the ballotines poach, put the turnips in a sauté pan with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter, the sugar, a pinch of the remaining salt, and enough reserved duck stock to come halfway up their sides. Cover with a round of parchment and simmer gently until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the parchment and roll the turnips through the reducing liquid until they are glossy and evenly coated. If the glaze catches before the turnips are tender, add another spoonful of stock and continue.

8. 8

   Reduce and glaze

   Lift the cooked ballotines onto a tray and rest them for 5 minutes. Strain 2 cups (475 ml / 475 g) of the poaching stock into a wide pan, bring it to a full boil, and reduce it to about ⅓ cup (80 ml / 85 g), skimming away excess fat, until it coats a spoon in a glossy film. Take it off the heat and whisk in the final 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter. Remove the muslin, set the ballotines on a rack, and brush them generously with the reduction. Pass them beneath a fully heated broiler, the home salamander, for 45 to 90 seconds, just until the glaze sets to a lacquer. Watch without wandering; its work happens quickly.

9. 9

   Arrange and serve

   Arrange the eight glazed ballotines in a circle on a warm platter and spoon the glazed turnips into the center, exactly as the dish intends. Brush over a final thin coat of duck glaze and serve the remaining reduction in a small warm sauceboat. Two ballotines make a generous serving. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Give the butcher precise instructions: keep the skin in one piece, return every bone, the wings, and the neck, and do not discard the trimmings. Technique first, always, but good intact skin saves a great deal of patchwork.
• •Fresh pork back fat, not bacon and not rendered lard. It provides clean richness and structure without smoke or cure, both of which would change the source's forcemeat.
• •The gratin foie-gras forcemeat from Gratins (No. 268) is not interchangeable with liver pâté. Pâté brings its own salt, spice, and often alcohol, while this component is part of the measured farce.
• •A drum sieve makes the finest forcemeat, but a sturdy fine-mesh kitchen sieve and flexible bowl scraper do the work honestly. Keep both cold before you begin.
• •Pour a red Burgundy or a cru Beaujolais with the ballotines. Both have enough freshness for the foie gras and butter, while the duck and mushroom flavors remain clearly themselves.

Advance Preparation

• •The duck can be boned and the carcass stock prepared one day ahead. Chill the strained stock promptly and lift off the firm surface fat before reheating.
• •The A. Bread Panada (No. 190) and gratin foie-gras forcemeat from Gratins (No. 268) can be prepared ahead and kept thoroughly chilled until the farce is mixed.
• •The shaped and muslin-wrapped raw ballotines can be refrigerated for up to 12 hours. Keep them below 40°F (4°C) and poach them directly from the cold.
• •For a fully make-ahead service, poach the ballotines up to 2 days ahead, cool them quickly while still wrapped, and refrigerate. Rewarm them in duck stock held near 176°F (80°C) for 10 to 12 minutes, then unwrap and glaze at the last moment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 420g)