Episode 95: Offal

Roasted Sweetbreads with Bacon and Truffle Sauce
Duck Liver Mousse with cranberries and Port
Veal Kidneys in Calvados
Duck or Chicken Gizzard Confit

ROASTED SWEETBREADS WITH BACON AND TRUFFLE SAUCE
Preparation is medium

1 ½ pounds sweetbreads (750 grams)
Vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
1 ½ cups mirepoix (12 ounces)
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs thyme
4 sprigs parsley
4 cups veal or chicken stock (1 litre)
8 slices bacon, cut into lardons
2 cups veal stock
1 ounce butter
Truffle oil
Whole black truffle

Preparation time is 2 days

Soak the sweetbreads in water for at least 6 hours, changing the water every couple of hours.

Drain the sweetbreads and fill a pot with water, add a large pinch of salt. Slide the sweetbreads gently in to the water and simmer for two minutes. Drain them, place them in ice water to cool and drain again.

Trim any fat or membranes from the sweetbreads and put them on a towel-lined baking sheet. Cover with another towel and put another baking sheet on top with some light weights. The sweetbreads should compress to about 3 centimetres thick. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy saucepan. Season the sweetbreads with salt and pepper and drop them in to sauté until golden brown. Add the herbs, the mirepoix and chicken or veal stock and poach them, at a simmer, for 5 minutes. Remove the sweetbreads from the poaching liquid.

If using immediately, cut the sweetbreads into 3 centimetre thick slices. Add the bacon pieces to a frying pan and sauté until the fat begins to render. Season the sweetbread slices and add them to the frying lardons. Cook for a minute and baste the tops with any extra fat. Move the frying pan to the oven to bake for 10 to 15 minutes, turning them after about half the cooking time.

Meanwhile, put the veal stock on to reduce. Simmer until a cupful remains. Stir in the butter and add a few drops of truffle oil.

Serve the sweetbreads with the truffle sauce poured around, slices of truffle on top and decorated with chives.

Yield: 6 servings.
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DUCK LIVER MOUSSE WITH CRANBERRIES AND PORT
Preparation is easy

1 kilogram duck or chicken livers (2 pounds)
500 grams butter (1 pound)
Port to taste
180 grams dried cranberries (6 ounces)
15 grams salt (1 tablespoon)
5 grams pepper (1 teaspoon)
500 millilitres cream (2 cups)
3 tablespoons honey (45 grams)
2 duck breast fillets

Preparation time is 30 minutes, 3 hours to chill
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit

Put the cranberries to soak in ½ cup of port.

Clean the livers carefully, picking out any veins and impurities. Drop them in the blender. Puree, add the cream, whiz and then add the softened butter. Be careful not to over whip the mixture at this point as the butter will separate with any heat from the blender. Next, drain the port from the cranberries and add it according to taste, along with the honey, salt and pepper. Press the mixture through a fine sieve.

Remove the fat from the duck breast fillets. Season the fillets with salt and pepper. Melt a small quantity of the fat in a cast iron skillet over a medium-high heat and when it is hot, drop the breasts in. Pan fry until browned on the outside and still pink in the middle, about 4 minutes depending on their thickness. Remove the duck breasts from the heat and dice.

Now butter your ramekins and put a round of parchment paper in the bottom of each one. Pour in some of the liver mix, filling about one third of the ramekin. Then drop in a few pieces of diced duck breast, some cranberries and fill the ramekin to the top with liver mix. Cover the top of the ramekins with plastic wrap and put them in a baking dish. Fill the baking dish 2/3 full with hot water and bake the mousses in the oven for 12 to 14 minutes. Remove them from the oven, chill and serve with toast points.

Yield: 6 servings.
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VEAL KIDNEYS IN CALVADOS
Preparation is easy

2 veal kidneys
Salt and pepper
30 grams butter (1 ounce)
2 shallots, finely diced
45 millilitres calvados (3 tablespoons)
75 millilitres 35% cream (1/3 cup)
15 millilitres Dijon mustard (1 tablespoon)
30 grams chervil (2 ounces)

Preparation time is 30 minutes

Clean the kidneys, removing all fat and sinews. Cut them down the middle and then into 2-centimetre pieces. Season the pieces with salt and pepper.

Put half the butter into a pan over a high heat. As soon as the butter begins to foam, add the kidneys. Leave them to brown and turn after about 2 minutes. After 5 minutes, lift the kidneys on to a plate and keep them warm.

Put the shallots into the pan with the calvados and scrape any brown pieces from the bottom of the casserole. Be careful not to overheat the casserole so that the calvados bursts in to flames. Add the cream and allow to simmer for a couple of minutes, beating all the while.

Pass the sauce through a fine sieve. Add the Dijon mustard and stir well. Return the sauce to the heat, add the kidneys. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add the chervil. Serve on warm plates with plain boiled potatoes with parsley.

Yield: 2 servings.
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DUCK OR CHICKEN GIZZARD CONFIT
Preparation is moderate

500 grams of duck or chicken gizzard (1 pound)
1.5 litres of duck fat liquid (1.5 quarts)
1 garlic bulb
50 grams organic thyme, cleaned and stemmed, chopped (1 ½ ounces)
Black pepper and kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Preparation time is 15 minutes, cooking time is 1 hour

Cut the garlic bulb in half and put it in a small mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, put the cleaned gizzard and rub in some salt, then rub it with the garlic followed by the thyme. Let the gizzards sit in the refrigerator for approximately 3 hours. After this time take them out of the fridge and the marinade and rinse under cold water.

In a heavy-bottomed pan over a medium-high heat with a slick of duck fat, roast the gizzards for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, in another saucepan gently heat the remaining duck fat over a medium heat. Slide the gizzards into the duck fat and move the pan to the oven to cook for 2 hours.

Lift the gizzards from the fat with a slotted spoon and drain any excess fat on paper towels. Slice the gizzards and use them for canapés, garnish on rice or even as a spread on toast.

Yield: 6 servings
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Recipe courtesy of Chef Georges Laurier, Executive Chef & owner of Laurier Sur Montcalm in Hull, Quebec.