Szechuan Duck Breast - Gressingham Foodservice

With crispy braised leg wonton, carrot fondants and plum sauce Recipe courtesy of Simon Dean - NPD Chef.

Ingredients

To make the brine; bring 2L of water with 200g table salt, 2tbsp pink peppercorn and 2tbsp Szechuan pepper to the boil. Chill to fridge temperature.
Remove from heat and make sure completely cool before submerging duck breasts.
Tim off excess fat and sine from the duck breasts.
Score the skin in straight diagonal lines close together.
Place in brine, ensure meat is fully submerged. Leave for 4 hours in the fridge.
Remove the breasts and rinse under cold water and pat dry.
In a medium heat pan place the breasts in skin side down for 2 minutes to render the fat and start to generate colour. When ready, flip over and seal on all sides. Remove to a tray and chill as quickly as possible.
Preheat water bath to 58°C.
Brush the duck breasts with the plum sauce and vac on full with multiple in big bags.
Submerge duck bags in water bath for 90mins. Remove and chill on ice. Store in the fridge for up to three days.

For 4 duck legs (this will make mix for over 20 small wontons) mix wonton ingredients to create soy mix.
Double bag vac legs in soy mix.
Submerge in water bath set to 80C for 12 hours.
Whilst still hot; open and drain legs whist reserving the liquid.
Shred the meat off the bone, removing any cartilage and skin. Chill meat and liquid separately.
Fine dice 1 carrot, 2 shallots, 2 stick celery and half kohlrabi and sweat without colour in a hot pan with a little oil. Chill when cooked.
Mix the duck leg meat with the cooked veg and add some of the reserved soy mix till at preferred texture and seasoning.
To make the wontons; brush the edges of the wonton sheet with a little water and place a small amount of duck mix into the centre. Fold by joining the 4 corners together above the meat. Seal where the edges come together. Store in a lidded container in the fridge to ensure they do not dry out.

Peel large carrots and cut into cylinders about 2cm long.
Using a peeler, remove the shar edge and round-off sides.
Lay in a single layer in a vac bag. Add generous knob of butter, drizzle of sesame oil and a pinch of salt. Vac on full.
Cook in a steamer at 100C till tender 10-20mins. Alternatively boil in the bag till cooked.

Remove the base and separate the leaves.
Wash before use but would not recommend to pre blanch as they are easily over cooked.

Remove stones from plums and roughly chop
Add all ingredients into a pan and cook down slowly, allowing all ingredients to stew and completely break down the plums.
Continue to cook till starting to thicken, 1hr-90mins.
Remove star anise and cinnamon stick then blitz rest of ingredients whist hot till smooth, pass-through chinois/sieve if not completely smooth.

Heat some basic chicken/duck sauce and whisk in the plum sauce. Approx. 1tbsp to 200ml sauce. Add to taste.
Heat a pan on medium heat with a little oil. Add the duck breast skin side down and develop colour on the skin.
Flip the duck over and add two carrot fondants to that pan. Put in a 180C oven for 4-8 mins or until hot throughout.
Whilst the duck is in the oven, deep fry the wonton at 180C for 3-5 mins till crispy and hot to the centre, it may need to be flipped to get even coverage.
At the same time, blanch 3 pak choi leaves for 1 min in boiling water. Remove to a pan and finish with 1/2tsp plum sauce and small knob of butter. Heat and stir to evenly coat the leaves.
Remove the duck from the oven and finish in the pan with a know of butter. Check the colour of the kohlrabi and remove if starting to get too dark.
Rest the duck breast somewhere warm for 2-5 mins.
To plate; Add the carrot fondants and top with chives and crispy onions. All the pak choi and wonton to the plate.
Slice the duck at an angle into six, removing the ends.
Fan the duck slices on top of the pak choi and finish with the sauce.