Tag Archives: rosemary

Hobby Farming, Meaty Goodness!

Meat Recipe #12 – Roasting your own Duck

Leave a comment

For years we have been growing our own fruit, vegetables and herbs and really enjoying both the fresh taste and the satisfaction of producing it ourselves.  Well for the first time ever, we have been able to do the same with our poultry as well.

We already had two Muscovy Drakes and our last lot of ducklings produced 3 more.  Having a ratio of 5 drakes to only 13 ducks was going to result in a massive amount of fights, so while we kept one of the new ones to keep expanding the bloodline, the other 2 had to go.

When you wake up to find this many ducks on your doorstep, it might be time to thin the flock

 

Slaughtering and preparing the ducks

With the assistance of a friends parents, we knocked off two of the drakes at the 13 week mark, and subsequently kept one duck apiece.  While this may sound gory, it really wasn’t.  By doing poultry we had raised ourselves, we could be assured that the ducks had had a good life (we free-range) and were killed instantly and humanely. I shant go into too much detail as this is more a recipe piece but in a nutshell this was done by:

*Giving the ducks a big feed of food and water (a last meal as it were), but then not allowing them to eat or drink for the next 24 hours so that there was nothing in their bowel or bladder.

*Holding the duck upside down by its feet, which actually calms it somewhat, then striking it just behind the  back of the head with an axe, yet not beheading.  This not only instantly kills the duck humanely but the allows you to drain the blood.

*Submerging the carcass in very hot (but not boiling) water for several minutes so you can pluck the feathers.

*Gutting the duck.

End result

Our drake came out at a very respectable 2.2kg, filled with beautiful lean meat as we had not purposely fattened him up.

 

Cooking

This being the first time we were eating our own livestock, I wanted to get the cooking exactly right.  Not an easy task since I’ve never roasted a duck before. After looking through various recipies I chose bits and pieces from several I liked and produced a fantastic result!  So enjoy ‘Big Angry Trev’s Roast Duck & Potatoes Recipe’.

Ingredients

*1 x Home Grown Duck

*1 x Lemon

*2 x Oranges

*Sage leaves

*Purple Sage leaves

*Rosemary

*Chinese 5-Spice

*1 dozen medium-sized Potatoes

 

Food Preparation

*Quarter 2 oranges and 1 lemon

*Go pick the two types of sage and some big sprigs of rosemary (or buy beforehand if you don’t have a herb garden)

*Alternating between the different citrus and herbs, stuff the ducks cavity to capacity

*Taking a knife, score the duck both on the breast and underneath, making sure to cut right through the fat but not into the meat.

*Rub a decent amount of Chinese 5-Spice into the scored flesh

*Peel the dozen potatoes, then boil for 10 minutes.  Shake virgoursly inside the pot to roughen the outsides, then set aside.

 

Method

*Preheat the oven to 180 degrees

*Put the duck in breast-side up on a roasting rack with underneath tray

*At the half hour mark, remove the duck, flip over and put back in.

*At the hour mark remove the tray and drain the fat into the saucepan containing the potatoes.  Put back into the oven breast side up

The amount of fat drained from the duck at the hour mark

*Roll the potatoes around in the duck fat, then place in a deep roasting tray on the upper shelf of the oven.

*At the 1.30 mark flip the duck for the last time

*At the 2 hour mark remove both the duck and the potatoes.

Drain the remaining fat from the roasting pan into a Tupperware container and stick in the fridge for future use.

 

Side Dishes

To add a bit of colour to the table, I personally did a lot of orange vegetables, roasting up a ton of carrots, kumura and (ugh) pumpkin. Also to compliment the oriental style in which I was doing the duck, I made up a huge bed of fried rice, full of peas, corn and bacon, topped with some crispy noodles.

 

So there ya go, Big Angry Trev’s Roast Duck & Potatoes recipe!

 

Got any other duck roasting tips, pop them in the comments section below!

 

Related Articles:

*How to save a Premature Duckling

*Meat Recipe #8 – Roast Lamb with Seasoned Vegetables

*Meat Recipe #3 – The Perfect Pork Crackling!

 

 

Meaty Goodness!

Meat Recipe #10 – Duck Egg & Venison Chorizo Omelette

Leave a comment

Like many great recipies, this one came about by accident.  I had forgotten to defrost a brisket and there were no other obvious meals in the house so I gathered up what I could find in order to feed the family.  The result was surprisingly good!

So without further ado, here is now to make a family sized Duck Egg & Venison Chorizo Omelette.

 

Ingredients:

*7 Large Duck Eggs

*300gm Venison Chorizo

*Handful of Mushrooms

*Handful of grated Tasty Cheese

*Handful of fresh Coriander

*1 Red Capsicum

*2 Shallots

*Some freshly picked Rosemary

*Salt & Pepper

*3 Teaspoons of olive oil

 

Preparation

*Chop the mushrooms, capsicum, shallots and chorizo and place into a bowl

*Chop the coriander

*Beat the eggs and mix in some salt and pepper

*Preheat the oven to 250

*Heat the oil to a high temperature in a frypan

 

Method

*Fry the mushrooms, capsicum, shallots and chorizo in the pan until the juices from the chorizo run.  Set aside.

*Throw in the rosemary until it sizzles and starts to curl.

*Lower the heat, then put in the eggs.  Immediately add all the other ingredients. Briefly mix.

*Remove from the stovetop just as the eggs thicken and pour the mixture into a shallow baking dish.  Place in the oven for 10 minutes or until it starts to brown.

*Remove from oven. Serve.

 

 

And that’s it!  An unlikely combination of ingredients which nonetheless adds up to a delicious meal that all your family will enjoy!

 

Related Articles:

Meat Recipe #6 – Chimichangas

Meat Recipe #7 – Tunnbrödsrulle

Meaty Goodness!

Meat Recipe #9 – Marinated Lamb Cutlets

Leave a comment

I love lamb but I’ve been cooking it for years with pretty much the same recipe.  Whether roast or chop I’ve always coated it with a mixture of garlic, rosemary and oil.  While this has been great on a roast, it has never been a stand-out flavoring for lamb done in the pan or on the grill.

As the Househusband I am always looking to change things up a bit in the kitchen, to keep the wage-earning wife happy, and tonight I was tackling lamb cutlets.  Through a bit of ingenuity and a couple of helpful suggestions I was able to adapt an older recipe into something unbelievably good!  When I mixed up the marinade and applied it to the cutlets, the smell was that good I was tempted to eat them raw! Thankfully I restrained myself and thus am still alive to share this recipe with you.

 

Marinade Ingredients

  • ¼ of a cup of olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons of rosemary, finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons of minced garlic
  • A splash of orange juice
  • A splash of white wine vinegar

 

Marinade Method

  • Grab some rosemary out of the garden, strip the leaves off the main stalk and chop up, put in a large shallow bowl.
  • Either crush a couple of garlic cloves, or if you don’t have any in the garden a couple of teaspoons of minced garlic will suffice. Add to the rosemary.
  • Throw in a splash of orange juice and a splash of white wine vinegar.
  • Add about a quarter cup of olive oil and mix vigorously.
  • Take your cutlets (7 to 9 of them) and dip both sides in the mix.  Place in a separate bowl and stick it in the fridge for 20 minutes – no need to cover with plastic wrap.

Cooking Method

  • After marinading for 20 minutes remove cutlets from fridge.
  • Heat up a grill or grill-pan to high and add the cutlets. Sear them on a high temperature for 45 seconds on either side to seal all the juices in and adhere the marinade to the meat.
  • Turn the heat right down and cook on low for four to five minutes on each side. Viola!

 

And that’s it – simple and easy!  I was dubious about using the orange juice in particular but my word it works!  The zest of the juice and the bite of the vinegar manage to tone down the sometimes overpowering flavours of the rosemary and the garlic; all combined really compliments the taste of the lamb unbelievably well.  As you can see from the pic below I did these with some traditional veggies such as potatoes, carrots, broccoli and peas.  However from the taste I think that a leafy salad with some red onion, red capsicum and balsamic vinegar would suit this dish perfectly.  Enjoy!

 

Got anything to add?  Would love to read it in the comments section below!

 

Related Posts:

Meat Recipe #8 – Road Lamb with Seasoned Vegetables

Meat Recipe #5 – Mum’s Oven-cooked T-Bone Steak & Onions with Mushroom Gravy

Meat Recipe #4 – His & Hers Bangers and Mash

 

 

Meaty Goodness!

Meat Recipe #8 – Roast Lamb with Seasoned Vegetables

Leave a comment

Who doesn’t love a big roast eh?  Well, vegetarians I guess, and people with eating disorders, those in a coma etc… well, lots of people.  But lots more people love a roast, especially in winter!

Be still your beating taste buds

So here is a simple recipe for Roast Lamb with Vegetables that is certain to fill your tum.  All the ingredients will be seasoned in various themes of yummy goodness but I’ve even made that easy too.  Just follow the below instructions below and eat hearty!

 

Ingredients:

  • 1.5kg roasting lamb
  • 4 medium potatoes
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 large carrot
  • Frozen peas
  • Olive oil
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Minced garlic
  • Rosemary
  • Mild Paprika
  • Honey
  • Balsamic Vinegar

 

Preparation:

  • Peel & quarter the potatoes and the onion
  • Peel the large carrot and cut into sticks
  • Take a mixing bowl and fill the bottom with a mixture of olive oil, salt and pepper
  • Put the oven on to preheat to 180 degrees

 

Seasoning:

  • One by one take each of the ingredients (the lamb, potatoes, carrots & onion) and roll them around in the mixture of oil, salt and pepper. Sit each to one side.
  • Mix up some minced garlic and rosemary and rub generously all over the lamb.
  • Roll potatoes in mild paprika
  • Roll carrots in honey and place in fridge
  • Pour balsamic vinegar in a small bowl and put onions in to soak. Place in fridge.

 

Method:

  • Place lamb in roasting tray that allows circulation of heat all around the lamb. Set timer for 90 minutes.
  • At the 45 minute mark put the potatoes on an oven tray and place in oven
  • At the 60 minute mark put the carrots on a separate tray and place in oven (otherwise all the honey that slides off will contaminate your potatoes and obscure the paprika seasoning)
  • At the 70 minute mark place the onion in next to the potatoes.
  • At the 80 minute mark put some peas on to boil

 

Serving

  • Cut the lamb into nice slices or chunks (depending on your culinary audience) using an electric knife and place on plate.
  • Divvy up the vegetables, providing some butter
  • You can provide gravy if you like, though with all the seasoning it shouldn’t be necessary
  • Enjoy!

 

And there ya go.  A roast recipe to warm the cockles of you and your families gullets this winter.  Happy eating!

Got your own roast lamb recipe?  Would love to read it in the comments section below!