Thanks to Alexander Dumas’ novel “The Three Musketeers,” the best-known folk hero in the Gascony region of France is D’Artagnan, the 17th Century swordsman and patriot. However, another symbol of Gascony has been making a favorable impression beyond the region’s borders. It’s a waddling, overweight duck with a “fat liver” called Moulard.
A cross between the female Pekin (the duck of Long Island and Indiana) and the male Muscovy, the Moulard has inspired a generation of chefs in France and, more recently, here in the United States by providing fresh liver, foie gras, of buttery sweetness with a silken smooth texture. So exceptional is this product that it has overtaken goose as the primary source of the richest gastronomic treat of all.
No one knows more about the Moulard and the various ways to use not only the liver but the whole bird than a pair of modern Gascon musketeers, the father-and-daughter team of Andre and Ariane Daguin. He owned the Hotel de France in Auch, the gastronomic capital of the region, and won a two-star rating in the Michelin Guide. She came to the United States in the mid-1980s and founded a wholesale company, appropriately named D’Artagnan, that sells Gascon imports as well as pates, foie gras and other gourmet foods made in this country.
The Daguins were guests of honor last month during a four-day salute to the French southwest at Bistro 110. The Bistro’s executive chef, Dominique Tougne, is a native of the region. One highlight was a five-course dinner, a “Duel of the Daguins,” for which father and daughter made competing duck and foie gras dishes.
The Daguins, working with chef Tougne, also conducted a workshop on duck cookery at the Levy Restaurants corporate test kitchen on West Huron Street.
Ariane unveiled a pristine dressed Moulard, raised in upstate New York. The Moulard reaches 15 pounds and develops a 1 1/2 pound liver over its 14- to 15-week life cycle, the final two of which involve force feeding. Livers this size that are firm, light-colored and free of bruises receive the top federal grade of A. Smaller livers with grainy texture and some bruises are graded B, while imperfect C grade livers are used by chefs and caterers in pates or to bind sauces.
Although covered with a thick blanket of fat, Ariane explained, the meat of the Moulard is very lean, and the fat itself is high in HDL, the “good” cholesterol. Still, the non-scientific health claim made for foie gras is the unusually long lifespan of Gascons, who consume great quantities of it (along with wine).
How to cook a Moulard? The Daguins demonstrated or described a dozen ways, none of which was similar to the standard roasting technique for whole domestic Pekin ducks. These included:
– Sauteed or roasted breast. Working with a sharp knife, Ariane detached one breast and wing. The breast, called magret, will be sauteed or roasted, with or without its protective layer of fat. If the fat is left on, it is scored with a knife to facilitate rendering as it cooks. Also, seasonings may be inserted between the fat and the meat. The meat is cooked over medium-high heat for 8 minutes on the skin side, turned and cooked an additional 4. After resting off the heat for at least 5 minutes, the magret is cut crosswise on the diagonal into fashionably rare slices.
– The fat is cut into small cubes and cooked until rendered and golden brown. The cracklings are drained on paper towels and served as a garnish for salads, soup, mashed potatoes or eaten as a snack. The rendered fat is used in place of butter or oil to fry or braise (confit) duck legs and vegetables.
– The leg, cut away from the carcass at the joint, can be cooked slowly with herbs, spices and garlic in rendered duck fat, making “confit.” The confit, in turn, may be reheated and served by itself after a week or more, or become part of a stew such as cassoulet or a salad or even a sandwich.
– The legs and wings may be poached in wine and water, deboned, shredded, mixed with liquid duck fat and packed into a terrine. Refrigerate these rillettes, as they are called, for two days and serve as you would pate.
– The duck’s heart, gizzard and kidneys may be cut up and sauteed with or without meat trimmings and served with salad or sauteed mushrooms.
– Thrifty Gascons even cut up the carcass and use it for stock or soup, or roast it briefly and gnaw the bones like we do barbecued ribs.
– The Daguins did not forget the liver. Ariane removed the cream-colored, elongated orb from the cavity, carefully broke it in half, showed how to extract the stringy veins, then fitted one half, liberally seasoned with salt, pepper and Port wine, into a mold. Had time allowed, she would have baked it in a water bath at 180 to 200 degrees for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. The finished terrine would rest briefly out of the oven, be weighted to make it firm, then enclosed in plastic wrap and refrigerated for three to five days before slicing and serving.
Andre, meanwhile, took a path that led to more immediate gratification. He cut the other half of the liver into slices and sauteed them in a hot, dry skillet over medium-high heat for 4 to 6 minutes.
“No spicy-hot or bitter seasoning, no flour on the foie or butter in the pan. They will burn,” he instructed.
He did not burn the liver, not that there was any evidence left to prove it once the audience was invited to taste.
DUCK BREASTS WITH BERRY SAUCE (MAGRET D’ARTAGNAN)
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 12 minutes
Yield: 6-8 servings
This recipe is from Andre and Ariane Daguin.
1 pound fresh mixed berries, such as raspberries, boysenberries, blackberries
3/4 cup port
1/3 cup Armagnac
2 whole duck breasts, about
1 pound each, cut in half
Salt, freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup water
1. Combine 3/4 pound of the berries, port and Armagnac in heavy saucepan. Heat to boil; simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until mixture is reduced by half. Pour through fine sieve, pressing on fruit. Reserve fruit puree.
2. Trim excess fat from breasts. Score skin side of each duck breast with knife, making small diamonds without cutting into meat. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
3. Heat two dry, heavy skillets until very hot. Place two breast halves in each pan, skin sides down. Cook 8 minutes. Turn; lower heat to medium. Cook 4 minutes. Put all breasts in one pan. Keep warm.
4. Pour fat from empty pan; add water. Heat to boil, scraping bottom to loosen any browned bits. Stir in reserved fruit puree. Heat to boil over high heat. Continue cooking until reduced by half. Add remaining berries to sauce; cook only long enough to heat.
5. Carve breast halves on the diagonal into thin slices. Position meat on warmed serving plates. Pour any duck juices into sauce; stir. Spoon over meat.
Nutrition information per serving (based on 8):
Calories ………… 170 Fat ………… 5 g Saturated fat .. 1.5 g
% calories from fat .. 28 Cholesterol .. 85 mg Sodium ……… 65 mg
Carbohydrates ……. 7 g Protein ……. 23 g Fiber ………. 3.9 g
