Max has been hankering for gizzards for sometime but I haven’t had much luck finding them until a couple of weeks ago.   Gizzards are tough muscle meat and need to be cooked slowly at low temperature until tender.  Here is the recipe I used to make him a salade de gésiers.

Step 1 – Cooking the gizzards in duck fat (Gizzards Confit)

Method:

Put the gizzards into a casserole and cover with duck fat.  Cook on the lowest possible heat for about 2 hours, until tender.

If not using immediately, you can store in a sterilised jar covered with duck fat and refrigerate.

Step 2 – Preparing the salad

Method:

1. Remove the gizzards from the duck fat.  Slice the gizzards thinly.
2. Heat a little duck fat in a frying pan over a medium heat and toss in the hot fat until brown at the edges.  Season with salt & pepper.
3. Add to your salad and drizzle with a dressing.

(recipe source:  Forgotten skills of cooking by Darina Allen)

Related posts:

1. Pan Fried Duck Breast with Blueberry Sauce
2. Grilled Fish with Carrot, Yacon & Seaweed Salad
3. Pomelo Salad with Pork Cracklings

Pan-fried Duck Breast with Blueberry Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 duck breasts
• Himalayan Salt (I used home-made lavender salt)
• 1 tbs vincotto
• 1 tbs red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup gelatinous broth
• 125 gm organic blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced

Method
For the duck

1. Preheat the oven 200 deg C.
2. Score the skin and rub the salt into skin.
3. Heat an ovenproof frying pan over a high heat, add the duck breast, skin-side down and fry for about 2-3 minutes.  Turn them over and seal.  Place into the oven and cook for about 12 minutes (medium rare).
4. Remove from the pan and set aside on a warm plate to rest.

For the sauce

1. Pour off excess fats from the pan and reserve the juices.
2. Return the pan to the stove.  Add the onion slices and fry until soften.  Add the vincotto and stir.
3. Add the vinegar, broth and bring to a boil and reduce.  Add the blueberries to the sauce and cook until reduced and thick.  Season with salt & pepper.
4. To serve, slice the duck and pour the sauce around the plate.  I served the duck with some sauteed spinach with crispy lardons.

Note:  Vincotto (literally translated as ‘cooked wine’), is derived from cooking the ‘musts’ (or pulped grapes) of Negroamaro and Malavasia grapes, which have been left to wither on the vines for 30 days.  After cooking, the grape must is reduced to one-fifth of its original volume and left to age in oak barrels for up to four years. The flavour is uniquely sweet and sour. Vincotto is high in polyphenols, the components in red wine which are beneficial to our health. It is alcohol free and has no colourings or preservatives. (source: cuisine.com.nz)

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1. Chicken in Mushroom, Mustard & Tarragon Sauce
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Chicken in Mushroom, Mustard & Tarragon Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 chicken (cut into 10 pieces)
• 2 tbs tarragon finely chopped + 1 tsp for sauce
• 4 tbs mustard (I used my homemade LF Mustard)
• 250 gm mushrooms (swiss brown), sliced
• 1 tbs kuzu or arrow root (dissolve in a little cold water)
• 1/4 cup organic verjuice or white wine
• 1 cup stock (preferably homemade)
• 2 – 3 tbs creme fraiche
• salt & pepper
• butter

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 C.
2. Rinse chicken and pat dry.
3. Put chicken in a roasting pan. Season with salt & pepper.  Rub 3 tbs mustard all over the chicken.  Add the chopped tarragon. Add a knob of butter and roast for approx. 45 minutes (meat thermometer should register 140C.)
4. In the meantime, saute the mushroom in some butter and put aside.
5. When chicken is cooked, remove from pan and keep warm.
6. Over the stove top, deglaze the pan with verjuice.  Add kuzu and cook over medium heat, whisking for 1 minute. Add stock, stirring constantly.
7. Simmer sauce until slightly thickened, then whisk in creme fraiche, remaining mustard, and salt and pepper to taste.  Add the mushrooms and stir in reserved chopped tarragon.
8. Serve chicken with sauce.

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Gomasio or sesame salt is a japanese condiment which is traditionally made in a suribachi (ceramic mortar,) using a surikogi (wooden pestle) to grind the seeds.  I find the ritual of grinding the seeds and salt quite enjoyable  and  relaxing.   This nutrient rich condiment is wonderful sprinkled on salads, soups, fish & meat, eggs, stir fried vegetables  ……

Ingredients
1 cup sesame seed (black, white, or mixed together)
4-5 tsp sea salt or himalayan salt

Method

1. Roast the salt in a pan.
2. Let the salt cool and then pour it into the suribachi.  Grind into a fine powder.
3. Next roast the sesame seeds in the same pan, on low heat and stir constantly to avoid burning. The seeds must be roasted until they are crisp.
4. Pour the seeds on top of the salt and grind gently, exerting enough pressure to crack the seeds. The oil from seeds will coat the salt.
5. Store the gomasio in a jar and keep in a cool, dry place.

Try different variations by adding garlic flakes, flax seeds, dulse, mustard seeds or herbs such as nettle.

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I love salted duck eggs.  They are basically eggs which have been immersed in a brine for 3 to 4 weeks to preserve them.  Some months back when I spotted some fresh duck eggs for sale at the local farmers’ market, I bought some to make my own salted duck eggs.

To make the brine, you need 1 part of salt to 4 parts of water.  Bring the salt and water to the boil.  Allow to cool.  Immerse the eggs and patiently wait 3 to 4 weeks.   Remove them from the brine and keep them in the fridge  where they will last for a few months.  When ready to use, steam or boil the eggs.   The yolks are most delicious – bright orange, firm and slightly oily.  The whites can be used although it can be quite salty.

How do I use my salted duck egg?  I love it as a accompaniment to Thai curries,  added to salad, stir fry,  omelette,  used it in pasta (in place of bottarga) ………

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2. Duck & Mushroom Dumplings
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Country Style Pork Terrine

(adapted from:  Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, With Recipes)

Method

1. Place the ground pork and liver in a large mixing bowl and keep refrigerated until ready to use.
2. Heat lard in a small frying pan over medium-low heat. When hot, add the shallots and sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots/onion begin to caramelise.
3. Add the garlic and remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the brandy and de-glaze the pan, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom with a wooden spoon. Set the mixture aside to cool.
4. Whisk the eggs with the cream. Add the parsley, thyme, salt, black pepper and paprika and whisk again to mix.
5. Remove pork mixture from the fridge and add the cooled shallot mixture to it.
6. Add the egg mixture and  mix until well combined.
7. Refrigerate the pork mixture.
8. Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.
9. Line a terrine dish or loaf pan with the the bacon, leaving enough overhanging to cover the top of the terrine.
10. Spoon the chilled pork mixture into the lined terrine. Place the bay leaves on top and fold over the bacon.
11. Place the terrine in a deep roasting pan. Fill the pan with enough hot water to come halfway up the side of the terrine and bake, uncovered, until cooked, about 1 1/2 hours. The top will be golden and the terrine will have shrunk from the edges of the dish.  (The center of the meat should register about 70 deg C).
12. Remove the terrine dish from the roasting pan.  When terrine is cool, refrigerate for 2 days before eating.  You can leave the fat in the terrine to help the terrine keep,
13. To serve, dip the terrine dish in hot water for about 30 seconds (to melt the fat) and loosen the edges with a small, hot palette knife. Turn the terrine out onto a board and scrape off any excess fat.  Discard any juices in the bottom of the terrine dish. Bring the terrine to room temperature before cutting it into slices.

Note:  In terrine pictured above, I added some blueberry sauce (left over from my pan fried duck breast with blueberry sauce) to the pork mixture.

Livers are nutritious and an excellent source of protein.  Pate or terrine like the one above is a delicious way to add them to your diet. To learn why livers are considered the most important sacred food read this article.

Related posts:

1. Home-Cured Bacon
2. Rillettes – Simple, Rustic and Fattilicious!
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Sunday Lunch – Fresh oysters from the farmers’ market.

Oysters are nutrient dense, rich in  zinc as well as iron, selenium and other trace minerals, vitamin B12, fat-soluble vitamins A & D.    Here is an article written by Sally Fallon on this subject including a few recipes.

I have also used oysters to prepare an Asian style omelette fried in bacon fat but mostly we like them au naturel.

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I use the leftover venison mixture for the meatball to make this eggplant stack, our version of a “hamburger”.

Ingredients

Venison mixture, make into 4 patties

1 large eggplant, cut into 6 round slices

4 slices of mozzarella cheese

lacto-fermented ginger carrots, beets or sauerkraut

Method

1. Preheat the oven grill to medium-high.
2. On the stove-top, heat a grill pan over medium heat, brush eggplants with oil until tender (about 4 minutes on each side)
3. Place patties in a lined baking tray and baked until cook through.  Place a slice of cheese on each pattie and cook until cheese has melted.
4. Assemble the stack by topping an eggplant with a pattie, and a slice of cheese, a spoonful of lacto-fermented vegetables, repeat another layer and finish off with a slice of eggplant on top.

Related posts:

1. Venison Meatballs
2. French Onion Soup (without the tears)
3. Country Style Pork Terrine

I have always eaten venison or deer meat in restaurants but have never cooked it myself.  When I spotted venison for sale at the local market recently, I bought some mince.  I made 2 recipes with it – venison meatballs and an eggplant stack.  As it is quite a lean meat, it will be ideal for jerky or pemmican.  Maybe that’s what I will make the next time I get hold of some venison.

Recipe for Venison Meatballs

Ingredients

• 500gm ground venison
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 small onion, chopped finely
• 1 egg
• 2 tbs flat-leaf parsley, chopped finely
• 1/4 cup bacon rasher, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup almond flour

Method

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and gently mix everything together, then make into small balls.
2. Heat some fat in a pan and saute them until cooked.  Alternatively you can place them in a tray and bake them in the oven at 180C for about 45 minutes

I serve the meatballs with some salad and a roasted eggplant puree.

Related posts:

1. Sourdough Rice Crackers
2. Eggplant Venison Stack
3. Country Style Pork Terrine

When you realise how super easy it is to make your own mustard, you won’t be picking one up from the supermarket shelf again.  Plus you can tailor it to exactly how you like it.   Using the basic recipe from Nourishing Traditions (pg. 104), I made this version.

Recipe for Lacto-Fermented Mustard (adapted from Nourishing Traditions)

Ingredients

1 cup yellow mustard seeds
1/4 cup of pure organic wasabi powder
1/2 cup filtered water
2 tbs whey
2 tsp sea salt
juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp honey (less or more)
1 tsp tumeric powder
2 tbs whole black mustard seeds

Method

1. Soak the yellow mustard seed overnight.  Drain and grind into a paste.
2. Mix in the wasabi powder, tumeric,  whey, sea salt, honey, lemon juice.
3. Add  the water and blend until you obtain the desired consistency.
4. Add the whole black mustard seeds.
5. Place in a jar and cover tightly.
6. Leave it at room temperature for about 3 days and then refrigerate.

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2. Chicken in Mushroom, Mustard & Tarragon Sauce
3. Making lacto fermented drinks with water kefir