Taz Sarhane’s mallard with pine nut sauce and boulangère potatoes

This recipe by Taz Sarhane, head chef of Michelin-starred Cycene, pairs the gamey flavour of wild duck with a nutty sauce, creating a toasted, warm dish. Paired with crisp boulangère potatoes, this is a hearty meal to be enjoyed by all. For a wine pairing, Sarhane recommends the Markus Altenburger, Blaufrankisch, 2018.

Ingredients (serves 4)

For the duck jus

• 250g chicken feet/wings
• 150g chicken carcass or necks
• 250g duck bones
• 100g onion
• 100g carrots
• ½ bulb garlic
• 1-2 stalks of celery
• 100g leeks

For the duck and boulangère potatoes

• 1 whole mallard
• 100g clarified butter
• 400g King Edward potatoes
• 250ml chicken stock
• 2–3 juniper berries
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• zest of ½ a lemon
• 1–2 sprigs thyme

For the pine nut sauce

• 15g pine nuts (roughly 1 tbsp)
• 2 tbsp freshly pressed apple juice
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp apple cider brandy
• just under 1 tsp Banyuls vinegar
• 1 tsp cocoa bean shoyu or white soy sauce
• 2 tsp honey
• small pinch of toasted fennel seeds (around ⅛ tsp or to taste)

Method

• To make the duck jus: preheat the oven to 200°C. Roast the chicken wings, chicken carcass and duck bones on a tray until golden brown – about 45–60 minutes –turning occasionally. At the same time, roast the vegetables in a large pan or tray with a little oil until caramelised – about 30–40 minutes. Transfer all roasted ingredients to a large pot. Add the chicken feet. Cover with cold water. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, uncovered, for 4–6 hours, occasionally skimming off any scum or fat. Strain through a fine sieve. Return the strained liquid to the pot and reduce over medium heat until about 300–400ml of concentrated jus remains.
• Remove the legs from the mallard, and confit them (slow-cook at 92°C) in half of the clarified butter.
• Meanwhile, thinly slice the potatoes, and toss in the remaining clarified butter. Season with juniper, garlic, lemon and thyme.
• When the duck legs are cooked, shred the meat and put it in the base of a cast-iron skillet. Layer the potato slices on top. Pour on the chicken stock, then place the skillet in the oven to bake for 45 minutes at 170°C.
• Take the mallard out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature.
• For the sauce, make brown butter by heating the butter in a warmed frying pan over a low heat, swirling the pan. It will bubble into a white foam then brown specks will appear on the base of the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes until deep golden colour with a nutty fragrance. Leave to cool. In a pan, combine the pine nuts, 4 tbsp of the duck jus and the apple juice. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes, until the pine nuts are very soft. Pour into a blender and blend while adding the brown butter.
• Add the apple cider brandy, vinegar, soy sauce and honey, and blend. Add the fennel seeds, leave to infuse for 20 minutes, then pass through a fine sieve. The sauce should now be smooth and glossy.
• Now, cook your mallard. My preferred method would be to barbecue it over cherry and applewood, but you can also cook it in a hot pan. Make sure you constantly rotate the bird for an evenly crisp skin. This should take around 5–10 minutes.
• Test the temperature with a skewer, it should be just warm. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.
• The potatoes should now be ready to remove from the oven.
• Brush the duck with clarified butter from the confit, season, then carve. Serve with the pine-nut sauce and boulangère potatoes, accompanied by roasted carrots or kale.

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