Duck and Sherry a Divine Pairing and Recipe

I was delighted to find that I had been accepted as one of the top 20 finalists to develop a perfect sherry pairing for #SherryWeek (November 4 - November 10). Sherry is something I fell in love years ago when a Sherry themed bar opened in DC. This love moved onto traveling to Chicago for Sherry Week with friends and attending classes and a grand tasting.

Sherry continues to have an undeserved hatred or ambivalence. Sherry Week and amazing industry professionals continue to try to dis spell the many Sherry myths and misconceptions. Sherry Wine is an amazing resource to beginning or even expanding on one’s Sherry journey.

For my recipe, I worked with my boyfriend/special fella, Alan. He’s been an incredibly supportive partner and part of my wine and travel adventures. We received Don Zoilo 12 year Amontillado Sherry. Amontillado is made from palomino grapes and is unique in that it’s aged both biologically (under a thin veil of flor) as well as oxidative (having the wine exposed to oxidation). The Don Zoilo was a great value with long, lingering acidity, nuttiness around mid palate and completely bone dry finish.

So what to do with such a fun inspiration? We looked at several fruit, vegetable, and meat combinations. We settled on duck because…duck is delicious. The fattiness stands up well to the sherry. Duck is available in local farmer’s markets, meat markets, and many times can be found in local grocery stores. It’s a way to step up your culinary adventure for many without being too overwhelming. We spiced up both figuratively and literally the duck with a glaze (it contains jalapeños - yep that happened). This is definitely a fun recipe that would work out well over a weekend with records playing and a pre-dinner wine glass or perhaps even vermouth in your glass.

Ingredients

Duck
4 duck legs (thighs attached)
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 teaspoons Chinese five spice
2 shallots, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
5 sprigs thyme
Seeds from 1 small pomegranate, for garnish
Roasted Vegetables
2 turnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1- inch cubes
1 yellow onion, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 sprigs fresh tarragon
Salt and pepper to taste
Glaze
3 cups pomegranate juice (from 9-12 pomegranates)
Juice from 2 oranges
4 red chilies, diced (or 1 teaspoon chipotle or other hot red pepper flakes)
¼ cup honey
1 ¼ cup roasted walnuts
1 ½ tablespoon peppercorns
2 tablespoons red wine/sherry vinegar
Rice
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons walnut oil
1 ½ cups long-grain white rice
About 2 ¾ cups water
¼ cup dry white wine
A handful of dried, sweetened cranberries
1/3 cup roasted/toasted chopped walnut pieces
4 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle
¼ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1. Prepare all ingredients. Prick duck leg skin all over. Season duck legs on both sides with salt, pepper, and Chinese five spice. Arrange skin-side up on a rack on a baking sheet and let stand, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
2. Heat oven to 250 degrees. Arrange duck, skin side down, in a roasting pan or Dutch/French oven. Add crushed garlic, thyme, and ½ cup water. Cover and cook until fat is rendered, about 1.5 hours.
3. Turn duck skin side up, cover, and continue to cook until the meat is tender and the bones easily wiggle when pulled (about 1.5 hours longer).
With about an hour left, do the following: a. Add turnips, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, and onion to roasting pan and stir to mix with duck fat. Place tarragon sprigs on top of vegetables and season with salt and pepper. b. Prepare glaze by adding all glaze ingredients to a small pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower heat to medium-high and simmer until reduced by ¾ (roughly 30 minutes). Puree.
4. Take duck out and increase oven to 425 degrees. Place duck, skin side up, on top of the vegetables and roast until skin is crisp and browned, about 20-25 minutes. a. At the same time, also prepare rice by bringing water, white wine, salt, and butter to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add rice and cranberries, cover, reduce heat, and simmer until liquid is absorbed (about 15-20 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in parsley, walnuts, walnut oil, scallions, and pepper.
5. Brush glaze over duck legs, return to oven, and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
6. Serve duck on top of rice; arrange vegetables on the side. Garnish duck with a handful of pomegranate seeds.