Local produce is great, especially in Northern California. But you know what's even better than local produce sometimes? Mexican produce.

Sometimes, in the winter, after about ten straight days of rain and cold and gloom, you see some beautiful produce in the store that is completely out of season. It shouldn't be seen as cheating to use a great product, occasionally, that wouldn't suit Alice Waters. No one bats an eye when people serve caviar that's caught, processed, and shipped from half a world away. Just about everyone uses San Marzano tomatoes, Japanese miso paste, Vermont maple syrup, Tahitian vanilla beans, Iranian saffron, Ceylon cinammon, Himalayan salt, etc. Is it that much different to use Mexican corn one night to brighten up your winter? What is your opinion?

• Duck confit - Duck legs and thighs, cured for 24 hours with salt, sugar, garlic, then poached sous vide with some added duck fat, 10 hours @ 82.5C (180.5F). Chilled and kept refrigerated (some would feel safe keeping it in a dark place, unrefrigerated, but I don't). Finally, sauteed to warm and crisp skin before serving. You can certainly do duck confit in a pot in an oven, but then you have to use enough duck fat to cover the legs and thighs, and the temperature and time will vary a bit. For sous vide duck confit, Under Pressure recommends 8-12 hours, if memory serves. I've now made duck confit sous vide six or seven times, at various times and temperatures. It's a hell of a lot more convenient than the traditional method. And I've found that the extra temperature control helps keep the final product a bit more juicy. But I've found 8 hours @ 82.5 is definitely not enough, at least for the duck product I'm getting. The difference between 8 hours and 10 hours is huge. 12 hours is great once cooled and left to develop for a week or so, but while it's still hot it's almost tough to keep it from falling apart. So I recommend 10-12 hours @ 82.5C (180.5F).
• Grilled corn - Blanched and shocked, then dried off, brushed with oil, and grilled to char. Then cut off the cob and held until you're ready to pick up.
• Grilled zucchini - Sliced into quarters lengthwise, salted and left to sit for a while, then dried off with paper towels, pressing out more of the liquid. Then brushed with oil and grilled to char. Cut into inch lengths. Just before plating, sauteed the corn and the zucchini over very high heat to warm and get more caramelization.
• Radish sprouts
• Balsamic-duck reduction sauce - Reduction of duck stock, chicken stock, red wine, and balsamic vinegar. Finished by mounting with the confit jelly (but don't add this until the end, and until you've tasted, because confit jelly is quite salty. It's very easy to kill your sauce by reducing something that already has a bunch of salt).

P.S. - I also got a Mexican heirloom tomato, and it was great.

Posted by Barzelay on 2009/02/25 @ 19:11 | Comments (4) |

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