It’s a bit of a struggle this year. Our garden is giving us a run for our money with it being inconsistent in deciding what it wants to grow. Every year there is usually one or two things that are stubborn. But with the lack of rain in May and the reappearance of rabbits this year we’re not having much luck with the eggplant, tomatillos, parsnips, onions, leeks, and beets!
I have to say though our potatoes are going gangbusters. So far they are the best we’ve ever had. We’re struggling to keep up with adding dirt and straw to the towers as the plants grow. Fingers crossed we’ll get a harvest bigger than what we put in!
A while back when Johnny had the Feed the Piglet blog he sent me a link for a Rhubarb Duck recipe. Unfortunately the link is now private, though you can see latest posts on Kitschnflavours site. So I had to come up with my own recipe. Gasp!
Rhubarb is a perfect pairing with duck with the tartness of the rhubarb and the richness of the duck. Slice 2-3 stalks of rhubarb. Finely chop a handful of fresh thyme and half a sweet onion.
Score the duck skin and season with sea salt and pepper. Heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet and place the duck skin down. You don’t want a high heat for this because you want to render the fat without burning the duck. Once the duck has rendered turn it over to sear the other side.
Because this was a big piece of duck I finished it off in the oven. While the duck cooks add the rhubarb, onion, and thyme to the skillet. Saute to soften the rhubarb and onion. Grate an inch square (2.5 cm sq) of fresh ginger into the skillet.
As the rhubarb cooks down add a cup of chicken stock and bring to a simmer. It was interesting because I didn’t add any citrus to this dish but there was a definite citrus taste to it. Must have come from the rhubarb.
Once the duck is cooked to medium let it rest before slicing. Unfortunately we had a tough piece of bird! I cooked up some mashed potatoes and pan roasted Brussels Sprouts. The kids enjoyed this what with their love of duck and rhubarb. It was mine to screw up! 🙂
I love duck breast with anything. Rhubarb sounds good 🙂
Thanks. 😊. It’s a great pairing. Hand an aha moment when I first heard of it.
Completely forgot about that recipe! And haven’t cooked duck in a long time. I do remember that the pairing of duck (legs) and rhubarb was good. Thanks for the mention. 🙂
Any time! I’ve been planning this pairing for ages and finely got round to it.
I can imagine how good the pairing is. The tartness of the rhubarb would go so well with the duck. Thats a gorgeous meal.
What a unique combination of ingredients. I bet it tasted delicious- even the duck.
We’ve had better pieces of duck in the past. But yes, the flavour was good.
Great idea,using rhubarb…
Thank you! We have a seemingly unending supply in our garden at the moment.
Lovely combination Virginia. Delicious.
Looks yummy! We had terrible trouble with garden rabbits a couple of years ago but have tamed them this year. The technique is a little gross, but it works! Have one of your boys pee in a (disposable!!) cup, then pour the … liquid … around the border of your veggie patch. The rabbits (and deer) will stay far away!
I’ve heard of that trick!
A fabulous meal! In Oklahoma, we’ve had so much rain, that everything is water logged and growth-retarded. ugh.
Send a bit this way!
Virginia, I love duck. Sadly, no one else in the house really does; so, I cook it very seldom. In fact, more so since Baby Lady told me she really didn’t like duck but ate it because I liked it. 😮 She callas every duck Donald. 🙂 Anyway, I had never thought of the combination of rhubarb with duck. Next time Baby Lady is away on business, I’m definitely going to try this. Outstanding! BTW-love the photo of the duck pan frying in the skillet. Nice. 🙂
As for the garden, we have had a similar misadventure this year. I got the garden planted timely which was nice. We got some nice rain and everything sprouted. Then a rabbit hit the garden and ate the tips of ALL the arugula!!!!! Next, we had torrential rains – 15″ in May when the average is 4.2″. Everything was soggy, we realized there really is a river that runs through Dallas and there was no sunlight. 🙁 Of course, my grass looks great. 🙂 Now, things have dried out, the sun has come back out and things are looking better. Of course, more rain is on the way. :/ It’s really hard to complain given we have been in a drought for the last 4 years. We just didn’t need 4 years of rain in 30 days.
Thank you! I’ve been working on my photos trying to raise the quality so to speak. 🙂 Shame you are the only one that likes duck. I wish I could find it more because the kids really love it. I couldn’t believe the rain you got. We have a friend in Austin and she said it was insane.