Chips and Dip

SAVORY

Apr 1

Smoked Duck Breast, Duck Confit, Lemon Goat Cheese, and Oolong Tea

Chef Jorel Pierce of Euclid Hall | Denver, CO
Yield: 12 servings

“Building this dish is the epitome of what it means to be a chef. Our sous chef had rubbed duck breasts with Chinese five-spice, and, the day before, we had served lemon goat cheese at a party. We took the leftovers from each, and just tried things out in the kitchen. We landed on this incredible chips and dip, which will stay unchanged on the menu forever.” – Jorel Pierce

INGREDIENTS

Duck Confit:
8 duck legs
½ cup salt
2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
12 sprigs thyme
6 cloves garlic, sliced
2 quarts duck fat, melted

Tea-Smoked Duck Breast:
2 duck breasts
Chinese five-spice powder
Salt
Oolong tea leaves

Lemon Goat Cheese:
2 cups Haystack Mountain goat cheese, softened
½ cup skim milk
Zest of 3 lemons
Juice of 2 lemons
Salt
Black pepper

To Assemble and Serve:
¼ cup shaved shallots
1 tablespoon picked thyme
House Kennebec potato chips
Picked baby dill
Extra virgin olive oil
Fleur de sel

METHOD

For the Duck Confit:
Place duck legs on sheet tray set with wire racks and generously cover with salt and black pepper. Spread thyme sprigs and garlic across legs to evenly coat. Cure in the walk-in overnight. The next day, heat oven to 300°F. Remove duck legs from cure, rinse, and pat dry. Place legs into a hotel pan and cover with duck fat. Cover pan with foil and cook 4 to 5 hours, until meat is tender. Pull meat from the bones, discarding skin and bones and reserving the fat. Spread meat onto a sheet tray, cool at room temperature 1 hour, and then refrigerate overnight. The next day, transfer meat to quart containers.

For the Tea-Smoked Duck Breast:
Rub duck with Chinese five-spice powder and salt. Place on a sheet tray and cure overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, prepare a cold smoker with hard wood chips and oolong tea leaves. Smoke duck breasts 20 minutes. Remove from smoker. In a pan over high heat, render the skin crisp, flip, and cook on other side until breast is rare. Place on a sheet tray, cool 1 hour, and then fully freeze.

For the Lemon Goat Cheese:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle, combine goat cheese, milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper; chill.

To Assemble and Serve:
In a sauté pan on medium flame, heat some reserved duck fat and warm ⅓ cup duck confit. Add 1 teaspoon shallots and ¼ teaspoon thyme and season with salt and pepper. On a meat slicer, shave 2 ounces tea-smoked duck breast. Spread a large dollop of the lemon goat cheese on a plate. Stack Kennebec potato chips onto the cheese to create a nest. Spoon warm duck confit into the crater of the chip nest and top with a mound of shaved tea-smoked duck breast. Garnish with dill, a drizzle of olive oil, and fleur de sel.

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