Hi!
My family has decided against turkey this year but wants to still have some bird for the day. I was thinking about a goose and duck breast – kinda duo dish. Is this a good idea? Any tips? And what kind of sauce or gravy would compliment both goose and duck? Any other suggestions will be great too. Thanks!
2 Responses for "Thanksgiving Options"
If you’re not an experienced cook, then goose wouldn’t be the right choice for you. If you want something really different for Thanksgiving — even though it involves turkey and chicken, it has the addition of duck — try a turducken, a traditional Cajun Thanksgiving treat. It’s a boneless chicken, stuffed inside a boneless duck inside a mostly boned turkey. Each bird is separated by a layer of Cajun style stuffing that can be with andouille sausage or seafood. There are any number of places that sell turducken on the internet and they’ll ship directly to you in time for your Thanksgiving dinner. That’s what my family and I have been doing for the past seven years. I made all the traditional sides, but I let those very talented folks down in Louisiana do the entree.
Simon,
I think duck breasts are your best bet. I am not a big fan of goose – primarily because it is challenging to achieve a tender juicy meat AND a crispy skin. But I love duck! A better poultry duo for your Thanksgiving meal might be duck breast and split Cornish Hens. For hens, split in half before cooking, brush with butter – they’ll cook in about 30 minutes. For your ducks, consider pan-roasting which is my favorite preparation.
Ingredients
4 duck breasts (will serve 6)
salt and pepper
five-spice powder
1 Tbsp oil
Method
You’ll need a medium-sized roasting pan with a flat rack.
Heat oven and roasting pan (without the rack) to 350 degrees.
Using a very sharp knife, cut a cross-hatch pattern in the skin of the breasts – being careful not to gut through to the skin. Duck is a greasy bird that can smoke up your kitchen like goose. Although duck breasts are also greasy – it’s not as troublesome as a whole bird and scoring the skin allows a lot of the fat to render and thus not smoke as badly.
Season both sides of the breast with salt, pepper, and five-spice powder.
Add oil to a heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
Brown two breasts skin-side down – about 3 minutes. Flip and repeat for other side. Transfer to rack in roasting pan skin-side up. Repeat for other two breasts.
Roast for about 20 minutes for medium (until breasts reach 150 degrees internal temperature as measured with a meat thermometer) or 30 minutes for well done (160 degrees internal temperature). Tent with foil and rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
This Cranberry Coulis is a perfect sauce for the duck: http://seriouslygood.kdweeks.com/2007/11/smoked-turkey-with-cranberry-coulis.html
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