Delicate and succulent, Challans Duck is the jewel of French Cuisine and this dish of two servings nobly celebrates the perfection of its label rouge provenance. It is a signature of ours and is always evolving. Wonderfully meaty and tender it is full of aromatic flavour. The yuzu cuts through with a citrusy freshness, the star anise gastrique brings a rich earthiness and the mooli adds a light peppery punch to deliver the epitome of luxury on a plate.
First serving
Soya glaze*
900g soya sauce (Kikkoman)
900g lemon juice
30 strips of lemon zest
100ml Xérès vinegar
350g treacle
Place all the ingredients in a pan, bring to the boil and set aside to infuse for 1 hour. Reheat and simmer on a low heat until the liquid is reduced to a light syrup consistency. Cool to room temperature then strain through a chinois and chill.
*Makes enough for more than one serving. Glaze can be refrigerated for several weeks.
Star anise gastrique*
200g brown sugar
110g Xérès vinegar
110g soya sauce
50g ` duck jus
2g star anise
6g coriander seed
12g lemon grass
4g fresh ginger
1 strip of orange zest
1 strip of lemon zest
Place the sugar in a pan over a low heat and caramelise, deglazing with the soya sauce and 100ml of the Xérès vinegar. Reduce by a half. Add the duck jus and reduce by a half again. Place the dry ingredients along with zest and ginger into a bowl and crush gently with end of a rolling pin to release flavours. Stir into the pan and set aside to infuse for 1 hour. Bring to a simmer and reduce to a syrupy consistency. Refresh with remaining 10ml of the Xérès vinegar. Leave to cool, pass through a
chinois and store in a squeeze bottle with a fine nozzle. Refrigerate until required.
*Makes enough for ten servings. Again, the gastrique can be refrigerated for several weeks.
Yuzu jam
70g yuzu juice
200g water
30g sugar
2g agar-agar
Place all ingredients into a pan and bring to the boil for 1 minute. Pour onto a silicone mat, spread to 0.5cm thick and refrigerate until set. Cut into 0.5cm cubes and reserve.
Duck preparation (2kg bird)
Remove the neck, feet, wings, innards and breast bone and use a blow torch to singe the skin. Steam for 12 minutes in a Rational oven. Chill and reserve until ¾ of an hour before service. To roast, brush with soya glaze and place in a preheated oven 185°C/365°F for 24 minutes. Remove, leave to rest for 5 minutes then re-glaze. Turn upside-down and rest for a further 15 minutes.
Glazed mooli
1 mooli radish
Black and white sesame seeds
Mooli cooking liquor
100ml orange juice
100ml white chicken stock (see pantry basics)
Pinch saffron
Pinch turmeric
Knob butter
Peel the mooli, cut into 1.5 inch rounds and use an apple corer to create 6 tubes. Place all the liquor ingredients and the mooli tubes in a pan and cook for 4-5 minutes. Remove the mooli and reduce the liquor by a half. Glaze the mooli, finishing with the knob of butter and a sprinkle of sesame seeds before plating up.
Assembly & plating up (per portion)
Take the reserved star anise gastrique and create a swirl design on each plate. Remove the breasts from the duck, trimming away any excess fat. Place a duck breast at the centre of each plate, garnish with the glazed mooli tubes and finish by dotting the plate with yuzu jam.
Second serving
Spice water for vinaigrette
500ml water
10g ginger
10g cinnamon
10g curry
10g coriander powder
10g cumin
10g nutmeg
10g star anise
10g turmeric
Place the spices in a pan and warm gently to release the oils. Add the water and simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside overnight to allow the spices sink to the bottom of the pan. Next morning, skim off the water and reserve.
Challans duck legs
2 duck legs
Pinch columbo spice
2 tsp Xérès vinegar
1 tsp honey
Remove excess fat from the duck legs and dice the meat into 2cm cubes. Sauté in a pan until golden crisp while taking care not to dry out the meat. Remove from the pan. Add the teaspoon of honey to the pan and caramelize. Return the meat to the pan and season with columbo spice and salt. Deglaze with Xérès vinegar.
Spice water vinaigrette
220g honey
220ml Xérès vinegar
200ml olive oil
100ml reserved spice water
Pinch salt
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and reserve.
Assembly & plating up (per portion)
Finishing requirements
10 1.5mm slices of mooli, sliced with a kitchen mandolin
1 teaspoon chopped dill
salt to season
Place the mooli slices in a small bowl and dress with spice water vinaigrette. Add the chopped dill and season. Arrange five rings of mooli at the base of each dish, place the crispy duck leg on top and garnish with a crisp mesclun salad.
Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud is a two Michelin star restaurant in Dublin city centre beside the 5 star Merrion Hotel. The cuisine is contemporary Irish with French classical roots and it is acclaimed both nationally and internationally.
Since first opening its doors in 1981, the team has been dedicated to the pursuit of excellence and delivering impeccable dining experiences. We look forward to welcoming you.
Contact Details
21 Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2, D02 KF79, Ireland
+353 (0)1 676 4192
info@restaurantpatrickguilbaud.ie