fat!

fat! it's delicious!

especially duck fat. mmm!

and since i had fat from a whole duck...



...i hacked it up...



...threw it in a pan with a lil' water...



...and rendered it down on super low heat for several hours.







up next...duck confit!

from coop to table

back in october i decided to leave the swingin' bachelorette pad and move out to the sticks to be with the boy who has loved me for as long as i can remember. and back in october i said to myself, "self - if you're gonna go out to live in an old farmhouse on two acres you need to go all out." and so we have.

and this week we really went all out and it was fucking delicious.

meet the ducks.



mike found these lil' guys 3 for $10 at the flea market back in may. the ducks eventually made friends with the chickens and we fed them and loved them and raised them all with the thought of duck fat fried potatoes in the back of our heads.

here they are just a few days ago.



pekin ducks are ready to butcher around 8 weeks old. too much longer and they molt and get their pin feathers and from what i've read it's very difficult to pluck them.

i've been trying to mentally prepare for this event for weeks and weeks. i've read and read and read - books, magazines, blogs. but i knew none of them would prepare me for the actual killing.

and i was right.



when mike made the first cut and the duck squirmed - i cried. alot. i have never hunted and i have never raised animals for food before. i've been fishing but this was different. actually killing the duck was difficult. it made me really think about being a carnivore. and i had told myself earlier that if i couldn't do this - kill the ducks and chickens - then i didn't deserve to eat meat.

but i did it. and after the initial shock it was ok. i love eating duck. and i don't want to stop eating duck. and what better duck to eat than my own?

after the throat slitting we dunked the ducks in hot water to loosen up the feathers.



and then we started to pluck. this was insanely time consuming. and it smelled pretty bad too.



mike handled the eviscerating and the butchering. i want to learn and watched and listened intently so when it's time to say goodbye to the cocks i'll be ready. that's right - i said cocks. we were supposed to have six hens but instead we have two hens. and sometime in august we will be saying au revoir to the cocks.







once they were all cleaned up (and after about 30 minutes per bird with some tweezers) one went into the freezer whole and the other was cut up for some good eats.







i'm going to try my hand at confit with the legs and wings (they are rubbed with salt and herbs in the fridge right now!) so i saved every scrap of fat to render down for that.



mmm....duck fat....

and the carcass got bagged up and added to the freezer for some duck stock at a later date.

so for my very first coop to table meal i went with the duck breasts. mmm. i love duck breast. it is such a rich meat. delicious. one of my favorites.

i scored the skin on the breasts and seared them over medium high heat until they were nice and brown.



while the meat was searing i started to saute my green beans. i blanched/shocked these earlier and while they were sauteeing i whipped up mike's favorite butter/lemon/dijon sauce for them.


oh, and well before any of this green beans or duck searing took place i got a potato gratin in the oven.

look at these breasts! luscious!



while the duck rested i started the sauce. i dumped out most of the fat from the pan (don't worry - i saved every drop!) and sauteed a small minced white onion. then i added a lil' chicken stock, some port wine, a lil' honey and some sour cherries. i whisked and whisked while it reduced to a nice glaze.

and here it is - the fruits of our coop!



this. was. awesome.

and i will loudly and proudly toot my own horn on this one.
toot! toot!

mike said i nailed it and it was one of the best meals i have ever made. score!

this whole thing was an incredible experience and i am thrilled that i will be doing it for many, many years to come.

oh, and for good measure - a blueberry cobbler!

is that a spatchcock on the grill,or are you just happy to see me?

i remember loving when we'd have cornish game hens at christmas instead of turkey. each of us got our own lil' bird and i just thought that was the coolest.
and i remember them being pretty darn tasty too.

so when i noticed that one of my favorite local chicken farmers had them available i decided to pick some up.

i didn't want to just roast my cornish hens in the oven for a couple of reasons. 1. it's freakin' hot outside and turning on the oven sucks and 2. grilling is usually a far superior cooking method anyways. i had to do some research and during the course of this research i learned two extremely interesting things.

cornish game hens are NOT game birds! did you know that? i didn't. they are just really young chickens - like 5 weeks old or so. a little misleading huh? they kill 'em really young so they're cute and little and have tender white meat. and all those holidays i thought i was easting something exotic. nope. just baby chicken.

the other thing i learned was the term spatchcock.
spatchcock! haha! i had to try it!

so basically spatchcock is really just a much cooler way of saying "butterfly" though i guess it just pertains to poultry. i don't think you can spatchcock shrimp but you can spatchcock cornish hens and chickens. spatchcock! spatchcock! spatchcock!
i just love saying it!

i consulted my book shelf - specifically steven raichlen for some tips and i went to work.



i took my kitchen shears and cut down the length of the hens from the neck to the ass on both sides of the backbone to remove it. then i flipped 'em over and flattened 'em out. some sources suggested removing the breast bone too but these were tiny little birds and i didn't bother. (note - next time i will bother.)



i rubbed 'em down with some olive oil and a blend of salt, cumin, red pepper flakes, oregano and black pepper.

while the birds were relaxing i started a few other things. first of all i made croutons. homemade croutons are one of the finer things in life. if you're not making your own croutons please start. it's easy and so, so, so delicious.

i use whatever bread i have hangin' around and this time i went with a couple of herb rolls i won in a raffle at the farmer's market on saturday. while i cubed up the rolls i melted about 1/4 stick of butter in the microwave. once the butter was melted i stirred in a couple of tablespoons of grated parmesan - you know, "spaghetti cheese" - along with a lil' salt and pepper. i added the cubed rolls to a bowl and poured the buttery mix over top and stirred and tossed. then i baked them in the oven for about 10 minutes or so until golden brown and crusty. mmm....croutons....

i also did some brussel sprouts. no, these are not from our garden BUT we will have some at some point! we planted a whole row for god's sakes!

for the brussels i just halved them and sauteed them in a lil' olive oil and butter and then finished 'em with a nice squeeze of fresh lemon juice. mmm....brussels...



once the brussels were started and the salads were fixed (lettuce & onion from the garden!) i got my spatchcocked birds on the grill. i also took a tip from gin's pseudo-father-in-law and grilled some onions. i selected a couple of smaller ones from the garden, halved them and then tossed them with a lil' olive oil and salt and pepper.

i started the birds skin side down and cooked them for about 10-12 minutes. then i flipped them and cooked them for another 5 minutes or so. by then the onions were finished up too.



here are my birds once they made their way back indoors. mmm!



and here's the whole spread. a delightful sunday feast!

not much to report...

...so i think i'll i'll post a photograph of our new kitten. his name is hank leroy and he is ridiculously cute. he also likes to play in the garden with me.



[insert "crazy cat lady" comments here.]

yankee bar-b-que

i was recently in syracuse, new york for the nerdiest of nerd gatherings - the annual cheiron meeting. a rogue group of historians of the social and behavioral sciences took over the le moyne college campus for the weekend and discussed all kinds of pressing historical issues. and by pressing i mean people discuss their own research projects which can be extremely interesting or downright boring. it's often a crap shoot.

friday night was a free night for the cheironians so we decided to travel into downtown syracuse for dinner. per usual i had done my share of culinary research before heading out and had come across the very highly rated and reviewed dinosaur bar-b-que.

well, of course i was skeptical. bbq in syracuse? there's nothin' but yankees* up there! could they really bbq? the cheironians and i were determined to find out!

dinosaur bar-b-que certainly seemed like the real deal. giant smokers behind an outdoor "bone yard" patio full of picnic tables. smoke and the familiar smells of roasting meat drifting above us as we sipped ice cold beers. and it was packed to the gills. hmm....

in order to fully assess the dinosaur's offerings i went with the sample platter - 1/4 bbq chicken (a whole leg); 1/4 slab of ribs and brisket with two sides. i went with greens and coleslaw. i also got some fried green tomatoes and the platter came with some mighty tasty cornbread.

this stuff was good!

my fellow cheironians and i agreed that dinosaur bar-b-que was the perfect ending to a long day of social science history.

i will have to disagree with this "best in the country" business though. the best bbq in the country certainly doesn't reside in syracuse, new york. you know just as well as i do that the best bbq in the country is in the backwoods of north carolina.

however, the yankees in syracuse aren't doing a bad job at all.


*you may be thinking to yourself, "wait a minute! aren't you a yankee yourself ms. erratic epicurean?" yes. yes i am. but i know good bbq when i taste it!

recent developments

i came home from work on tuesday to find my partner in pork out in the yard alongside a beautiful new raised flower bed.

we had been talking about building a raised bed for some time and the plan was to fill it with herbs but i noticed he had planted flowers. what the heck? i can't use marigolds in the kitchen!

so i went over for a closer look.



HOLY SHIT!

i turned around and he was down on one knee and everything!

i sobbed. i sweated profusely. i nearly vomited and i got so dizzy i had to sit down on the edge of the new flower bed. and i said yes.

flyin' by the seat of my sandwich!

with a very limited budget i schlepped on out to my local marc's for some groceries. old mother hubbard no more!

hmmm....what did i want for dinner? i walked through the produce section (with its somewhat limited options) and came upon the cheese case. mmmm....boursin cheese. that's it!

when i got home i sauteed some sliced onions, mushrooms and red pepper in a lil' olive oil and butter until they were brown and soft. i also sauteed some spinach in a lil' olive oil and butter till it was nice and wilted.

while the veggies were cooking i worked on my sides and toasted my ciabatta rolls.

side number one - cousin regina's ranch potatoes. so simple. so, so delicious. i just cubed up a couple of potatoes and tossed them with a lil' olive oil and a half packet of ranch dip mix and roasted 'em on a cookie sheet.

side number two - roasted cauliflower with lemon dijon sauce. i came across this recipe in the bon appetit cookbook my gma got me for christmas and it has become a house favorite. the sauce is also killer on broccoli and green beans and really just about anything.

i chopped up the cauliflower and roasted in the oven for just about 10 minutes or so while i made the sauce. for the sauce i melted a half stick of butter over low heat and then added in the juice of two lemons and a few good squeezes of dijon mustard. you just whisk this together and voila! kick ass lemon dijon sauce. i poured the sauce over the cauliflower and then put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes or so. mmmm.

once my rolls were done baking (underbaked by just a couple of minutes) i took them out and cut them in half. then i put them under the broiler - cut side up - for just a minute so they'd get brown and toasty.

i shmeared both sides with a lil' boursin cheese and then started stacking on my spinach and veggies. along with the sides i also enjoyed a nice glass of zinfandel. not bad for a monday night (and a meatless monday at that!)




and now for a farm update.



here is the garden so far though we are looking to expand it this weekend to put in a few more things. so far we have lettuces, leeks, onions, radishes, peas, tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes, peppers (red, yellow, green, poblano, jalapeno, chili), kale, collard greens, cabbages, brussel sprouts (a whole row!), cauliflower, broccoli, squash (butternut, acorn, crook neck) and watermelon. whew!



and the poultry. three barred rocks, three delawares, two leg horns, two pekin ducks and one mallard. the mallard (peepers) is a pet and we're hoping to keep the two leg horns as long as they lay eggs (which hasn't started yet - hopefully in a few more weeks) but the rest....well the rest will end up on the dinner table come fall.

i've never butchered anything before although when i was a kid i used to hold the legs of rabbits while my dad skinned them. it's going to be an adventure. i've checked out countless library books and read numerous internet forums but i don't think any of it is going to prepare me for actually killing a chicken.

i am nervous.

BUT - i have come to the conclusion that if i can't do it, if i can't kill these chickens, then i don't deserve to eat chicken at all. or any meat for that matter. i have become very serious about knowing where my food comes from - reading labels, buying locally and only buying meat from farmers (which is difficult and expensive) but i am committed.

and eating the fruits of my labor (or the poultry of my coop as it were) is important to me. stay tuned. i'm sure i'll share all the bloody details.