Take a breather with me. It has been crazy May. But here’s a 1-year throwback for you.
Last May, when ⚡Metallica⚡ shook the mountains of our tiny town, we had the pleasure of meeting their private chef, Mitch. He was absolutely lovely.
👉🏽We wrote all about it here on our blog.
We were so stoked that he came to our farm to get meal fixings for the band, like our own duck breast, whole duck, AND duck confit kit!
To celebrate the anniversary, we did a batch of spring duck yesterday (do you know what I mean when I say “did”?). Off to Never Never Land.
Yes, they are super fresh and super gorgeous if I do say so myself (which I do).
Because now I will forever associate Appalachian May with our brush with Metallica, I wrote a recipe inspired by our visit with Chef Mitch.
I wanted a recipe for something fresh.
Something colorful.
Healthy and true to our locality.
You know, what every heavy metal rocker wants out of a salad.
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Here it is:
Recipe for Hero of the Day Seared Duck Breast Salad with Garlic Scape Dressing
Ingredients
2 Glade Road duck breasts
5 garlic scapes
1 tbs fresh dill, chopped
2 tbs lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 tbs apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp honey
2 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1 bag salad mix
1/2 head radicchio, loosely chopped for salad
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
6 salad radishes, sliced
Instructions
With a sharp knife, gently score duck breast skin in a tight crosshatch pattern, keeping the scores 1/8 inch apart. If you prefer a little fat left on the breasts after cooking, just barely score the skin; to render more fat, score more deeply, taking care not to expose the flesh.
Season duck breasts with salt, heavily on the skin side and lightly on the flesh side.
Place duck breasts, skin side down, in a large, cold sauté pan. Place pan over low to medium-low heat. To keep the edges from curling up, press duck breasts down with the help of a smaller sauté pan or cooking weight. After about 5 minutes, the fat should begin to gently bubble.
If the fat is either silent or spitting, adjust heat accordingly. Maintain the gentle bubble of fat, pouring out excess rendered fat throughout the cooking process, until much of the fat has rendered, skin is golden brown, and duck’s internal temperature is 125°F, about 15 minutes.
Increase heat to medium and further brown skin if needed, about 1 minute, before flipping and cooking on the flesh side. For medium-rare meat, cook until breast registers 130°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 1 to 2 minutes. Continue cooking until duck registers 140°F for medium or 155°F for well-done. Remove duck from pan and set aside to rest.
Reserve the duck fat in a heat-proof glass container for cooking veggies in down the road.
While the duck breast rests, blend the garlic scapes, dill and dressing condiments until smooth and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Thinly slice the seared duck breast and serve over salad veggies with plenty of tasty garlic scape dressing.
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Have I made it yet?
No! I just dreamed it up now.
But I’ve got everything ready to make it tonight and report back on social media.
And with a recipe this simple, there’s no way you (or I) can mess it up.
Fresh duck at the farm stand tomorrow, Friday, 5/22, 9-5:30 & Saturday, 5/23, 10-3.
Remember:
- There is no fresh local organic free-range duck section at Kroger
- We’re only 1.5 miles from Kroger
- We only did 60 ducks this time and won’t have fresh duck again til late October
⚡And Nothing Else Matters.