Cooking: Earth and Sky

By Scott Leysath as featured in the September / October issue of DU Magazine

Mushrooms complement the rich flavor of wild duck

What thoughts must have passed through the mind of the first person to eat a mushroom? Maybe he or she just couldn’t resist nibbling on something that emerged from a pile of manure. Today’s mushroom growers are a bit more refined than in centuries past, but much like the sausage factory or slaughterhouse, it’s still best to avoid the mushroom farm if you want to continue enjoying them at home.

Rich, earthy mushrooms are the perfect match for dense, lean wild duck. Smothering a perfectly cooked duck breast with a pile of sautéed mushrooms is always a crowd pleaser. Season your ducks and a pair of large portobello mushrooms with olive oil, salt, and pepper and slap them on the grill. Drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar while cooking and pop the cork on a bottle of big red wine. Dinner is served.

If you aren’t extremely familiar with wild fungi, don’t go foraging in the woods for mushrooms. Stick to the grocery store. Poisonous mushrooms can really mess up a good duck dinner.

Pan-Seared Duck with Mushrooms

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 large ducks, skin on or off
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rings
• 2 cups fresh mushrooms, halved
• 3/4 cup beef broth
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups warm cooked rice

Duck Rub

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons coarse ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning (or DU Savory Herb Seasoning)
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Cooking Instructions

Place ducks, breast side up, on a firm surface. Starting at the breastbone, slice along the bone with a sharp knife, removing the breast but keeping the leg and thigh attached. You should end up with two halves detached from the carcass. (Save the carcass to make a flavorful stock.)

Rub both sides of duck halves liberally with Duck Rub. For added flavor, seal in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 6 hours. The longer you leave the rub on the duck, the better the flavor when cooked.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add duck halves, breast side down, and cook until well browned. Flip over and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove duck from pan and keep warm. Add onion and mushrooms to pan. Cook until onions are translucent. Stir in beef broth, Dijon mustard, and garlic. Simmer until sauce thickens. Return duck to pan to warm through, but not past medium rare.

Spoon sauce along one side of each plate, and mound rice in the center. Slice duck into 1/2-inch-thick slices and fan over sauce. Arrange onions and mushrooms over rice.

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