With torched sprouts and witlof and pea shoots

First time cooking duck

by Apprehensive_Cloud43

11 Comments

  1. overall i dig the presentation. maybe a bit too much demi but not really any harm in that. brussels maybe look a little dry but that may not be the case

    one thing i would do personally is to dip the endive in a light vinaigrette just before plating. sherry or champagne with honey as a sweetener would go nicely. a really solid emulsion or some xantham gum to make sure it sticks to the leaves

    edit: could play with some turmeric in the puree to brighten it up a bit, but that could quickly go into babies diarrhea territory

  2. BostonFartMachine

    I don’t really get the endive in the dish. I would dress it tho, so there is shine. Shows up better in pictures. Same for the sprouts tbh. They could get a harder sear for sure – like in rendered duck fat. Which in this example could have been rendered more? Cook on the meat looks real nice, but you can go for a long time on med-low skin side before flipping. Render more fat, lay in the sprouts once you have a nice puddle. Yum.

    Lastly, flakey sea salt on the duck never hurts.

  3. markusdied

    i’d turn the endive into a green oil before i’d put the whole leaf on the plate like that, with all due respect! this has great potential

  4. TwoPintsYouPrick

    Even the sly angle away we can still see that duck was seared under a warm desk lamp.

  5. Old-Marionberry1203

    lucks great, but you gotta trim those sprouts.

  6. D-ouble-D-utch

    Why endive and 2 leaves? You need to render that breast a lot more.

  7. Great start and probably was delicious, but I would do some things differently. The duck fat could be a bit more rendered. Glazing the skin while resting is always a good option. Rather than torching I would give the sprout a hard fry, more maillard and less of a raw taste to them. Dress the endives, the sheen makes them pop more and the acidity and sweetness works great with the little bitterness of the endive. Lose the micro greens, look unnecessary in my opinion. Put a little bit of purple carrot or something like that into the purée for colour. A little goes a long way, but it even would work with the sweetness of the chestnut. And maybe mix red and green endives.

    Looks great for a meal cooked at home. Hope you could share that with someone

  8. livinginaradio

    If you’re in the northern hemisphere, this dish is not seasonally appropriate. There’s so much else to work with right now. Brassicas and chestnuts and chicories are not it. Otherwise… what everyone else said.

  9. Panoramix007

    In plating you have to be cohesive, just because looks pretty is not congruent.
    When cooking is always better to respect seasonality.
    A dish with duck, chestnuts and brussel sprouts at the end of June is not only not congruent is not sustainable.
    Is great that you try and do things, is the only way to progress but i would choose ingredients more accordingly with the seasons

  10. medium-rare-steaks

    Render the fat more. Don’t sauce on the protein. Line it up a little, don’t “shingle.” Puree needs to be smoother, probably more butter will help. Brussels seem like an afterthought. Overall, B-. Not bad for a first go.

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