napa cabbage

A Creative Take on Duck: Sliders with Fig Ketchup

19 Oct 2011
duck sliders with fig ketchup

Today's journey to Duck Sliders with Fig Ketchup was a group effort. Part of that group includes my brother Grant who paired this recipe with Trimbach Gewurztraminer 2009.

But there is more to the story than that. You see, I have had duck burgers in restaurants. Both times I found fault with the preparation. Let’s face it; duck can be fatty, and rich. I love fatty… and rich too. But a 1/2-pound of fatty and rich on huge buttery brioche bun makes me a little queasy.

The other version of a duck burger I shunned was closer to duck confit on a bun. More like a Sloppy Joe than a proper burger. Had they called it a Dirty Donald or something similar and served it open-faced with poached duck egg I might have dubbed it genius. But alas, they served it with lettuce and tomato. I ended up just feeling sorry for that once proud confit.

So I set off to invent my own. The lessons I learned are two-fold. One: less is more, and Two: burgers have rules, and evidently I can be a fanatic about those rules. One of the rules I fanaticize about is simple. I like burgers to have the proper condiments. Burgers like ketchup. People like burgers with ketchup. My ground duck concoction would have ketchup.

But not just any ole Heinz will do. Duck is a fairly complex flavor, to avoid getting tagged with the "gamey" moniker it's best to augment its assets. I think duck pairs nicely with fruit and spice and sweet. It can stand up to bold acidity too. Ketchup is all those things– fig ketchup is all those things and more.

Sippity Sup Continues »
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Duck Sliders with Fig Ketchup

duck slider with fig ketchup
By jgreghenry Published October 18, 2011
Prep time: 180
Yield:1 (Servings)

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb figs, quartered
  • 0.5 lb diced tomatoes, use roma or other 'paste’ variety
  • 1 t coriander seeds
  • 1 t cumin seeds
  • 0.5 c palm sugar
  • 1 c malt vinegar, plus more to taste
  • 3 T pomegranate molasses, or substitute with honey
  • 0.5 t cayenne pepper, or to taste
  • 1 t thai style chili paste
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 fresh bay leaf
  • 6 boneless duck breast halves, with skin
  • 0.5 c cilantro leaves, loosely packred
  • 0.5 c panko breadcrumbs, as needed
  • 6 scallions
  • 1 t five-spice powder
  • 1 t sriracha sauce
  • 1 pn salt and pepper, as needed
  • 12 filipino pandesal rolls
  • 1 c napa cabbage, shredded

Directions

Make the fig ketchup: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay figs onto a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet. Lay the tomatoes onto a separate parchment lined rimmed baking sheet. Roast them both in the oven until they begin to color, about 15 minutes for figs about 20 minutes for tomatoes.

In a medium sauce pot, toast the coriander and cumin over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the roasted figs and tomatoes, scrapping up as much of the juice and crusty parts as possible, palm sugar, vinegar, pomegranate molasses, cayenne pepper, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf. Raise the heat to high and cook until the mixture reaches a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until it’s thick and jam-like, about 30 minutes. Let cool.

Discard the cinnamon stick and bay leaf. Use a blender or food processor to thoroughly puree the mixture, adding a splash of extra vinegar to achieve the proper consistency if necessary. Taste and adjust acidity with more vinegar to taste. Refrigerate for several hours before using.

Make the duck patties: Remove the skin from the duck breasts, then roughly chop them. Place the duck breasts and 1 of the skins (also chopped) in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 6 or 8 times until well combined and the texture resembles slightly wet, coarsely ground beef.

Transfer the duck mixture to a large bowl. Roughly chop about half of the cilantro. Add 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs, scallions, the chopped cilantro, five-spice powder, sriracha sauce, salt and pepper to the bowl. Next, handling the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it, mix well. You be the judge if you think you need more breadcrumbs, add too many and the burgers will get rubbery, but the meat should hold together when pinched (but just barely). Divide the mixture into 12 equal portions and form the portions into patties to fit the pandesal rolls.

Grill and assemble the sliders: Prepare a medium-hot fire for both direct and indirect cooking in a charcoal grill with a cover, or preheat a gas grill to medium-high.

Brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the direct heat area of the rack, cover, and cook, turning once, just until done, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Watch for flare ups. During the last few minutes of cooking, place the pandesal rolls, cut side down, on the indirect edges of the rack to toast lightly.

To assemble the burgers, place some shredded Napa cabbage, cilantro leaves onto the roll bottoms, place a duck slider on top. Spoon on some of the fig ketchup to taste. Add the roll tops and serve.

Foodie Film Festival: Kimchi-Real Fast Food

13 Nov 2010
kimchi

I am closing my Foodie Film Festival with another classic from my archives. Voting (finally, finally, finally) begins in the Project Food Blog video round on Monday and my entire film festival was designed to keep you interested in food videos during the down time between last challenge and the voting on this challenge.

Today I have the Korean staple kimchi. As this video, hopefully, proves– there is nothing too difficult about making kimchi. It may have an exotic allure, but it comes together quickly and I was really impressed with how well mine turned out!

Like I said this is a re-run. This is not my entry in this competition. Sippity Sup's video entry for Project Food Blog can be seen here. I hope you will watch it and also hope you take the time to view as many of the 47 other video entries as you can. As I am sure the contestants will attest, videos can be a lot of work. A lot of fun, but a lot of work. All that work deserves your support and encouragement. So watch and enjoy every single one. Offer your thoughts. Take the time to vote for ALL the videos you like best. Because, no matter how the voting goes I am hoping some of these bloggers will be excited and empowered to start adding more video to their blogs– making us all winners.

Sippity Sup Continues »
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An American Novice Takes On Kimchi

16 Nov 2009
kimchi in bowl

Sometimes I wanna make silly food videos. There is just no other way to share some jokes or visual references that I find funny. So, occasionally I build whole cooking videos from the seed of a silly idea. Sometimes a particular recipe is called for to make the joke work (like my Brussels sprouts video) so I do that recipe. Other times, most any recipe will support the theme and I just pick something I want to cook. Click here or on screen grab below to watch today's video.

This video recipe started with a serious editorial I read in the L.A. Times by Gregory Rodriguez. He usually writes about cultural issues like race relations, ethnicity, and other complex human qualities detailing what it is to be part of the “New” America.

Well in this particular editorial Mr. Rodriguez stretched his parameters and talked about kimchi, and the Korean national identity. Now, I am not Korean…I’m not even Asian. But, it touched a chord in me. If you’ve read this site before then you know I can be a bit nostalgic about food, tradition, and culture. Mr. Rodriguez hit me in the belly with all three!

Sippity Sup Continues »
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Kimchi

kimchi
By jgreghenry Published November 16, 2009
Prep time: 360
Yield:1 ()

Ingredients:

  • 1 c plus 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 head napa cabbage cut in to quarters length-wise
  • 8 clv garlic, peeled
  • 1.5 inch section ginger root, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 0.25 c asian fish sauce
  • 1 bn green onion, cut into 1-inch sections
  • 1 medium asian radish, grated
  • 1 bn bitter greens (mustard, dandelion etc)
  • 0.25 c authentic korean chili pepper powder
  • 1 t sugar

Directions

1. Dissolve in a bowl 1-cup salt in enough water to cover cabbage quarters. Add cabbage to bowl and set aside 3-4 hours. 2. Combine garlic, ginger, and fish sauce in a blender or mini food processor and puree 3. In a large bowl combine radish, green onion, greens, garlic puree, chili powder, the remaining tbsp salt, and sugar. Toss gently and set aside until cabbage is ready. 4. Remove cabbage from water and shake or squeeze out excess water. Stuff the radish mixture between each cabbage leaf. Work form the large outside leaves in. When all the cabbage is stuffed place then into a bowl and press them down firmly. 5. Let in marinate in the refrigerator 2-3 days the chop into 2-inch chunks and mix well. The kimchi is ready to eat but will improve with some fermentation. After 3 weeks the remaining kimchi should not be eaten raw, but used as an ingredient in hot pots, dumplings, or fried rice.

Notes:

serves 12 or more