Time to try a new technique

[DFen911]

Ok folks...the first month of 2011 is almost gone. I think we each need to come up with a new technique that we have never done and do it.

Rules- it must be new like smoking meat, making candy etc. Something you've not done. Pictures! You must post pictures. If you don't how to post see Labs thread

I'll go first. I'm going to cook using a technique called confit (cooked in its own fat) Which I think is now a loose term because I saw a show where they cooked onions confit. They used olive oil.

I hope to find a recipe soon that I can do. While I now know I can find duck, getting duck fat is another issue. I could order it, but the cost is outrageous.

So anyone else want to step up and put on record what you want, and will, try?

[labradors]

It may depend upon the duck you get. With the five-pounders I get, the amount of fat rendered from the breast is not enough to cover the legs completely, in order to make confit. Maybe a larger duck would render enough, or you could just refrigerate the fat rendered from one duck until you cook the next duck and, once you have accumulated enough of the fat, you could make the confit. Of course, don't neglect to use some of the fat for making hash browns (or even French fries).

There are several techniques I'd like to try. Some have been delayed due to cost - some due to other priorities. For now, I'm not sure which I'll choose for Denise's challenge. Stay tuned.

[DFen911]

Man I may have to buckle and get some duck fat because I was also thinking about french fries, fried in duck fat, which has a smoke point of 375 so should be ok

Btw here is a site for all the oils http://www.clovegarden.com/ingred/oilchart.html

[esgunn]

Can I claim smoking? We own a smoker now. We have only smoked a few times before. Now we are learning. Experimenting with sauces, cuts of meat, types of meat, rubs, timing, there is so much to learn.

[cjs]

Denise, I think you will be surprised at how easily you can find duck fat - most large supermarkets have it or have access to it.

What a fun idea this is! I'm going to have to think on this for a while and get some ideas from you all.

[labradors]

The potatoes in the duck fat (either way: fries or hash browns) are phenomenal.

[cjs]

yes, they are - but, I've yet to find anything fried in duck fat not to be phenomenal.

[Harborwitch]

Hmmmmmmmm. I will have to think about this. Duck Confit is so wonderful - makes great tostados. Perhaps a terrine??? I'll think about this. Almost anything in the coach is a challenge - new techniques have to be invented.

[DFen911]

Erin yes your smoker counts, but do a cut of meat you've not done before

[cjs]

Since my wonderful Chef Bui taught us so well for 3 years, I'm going to have to go to my school books and find something he didn't cover!!! Probably something in the area of charcuterie....oh yum!!! Denise, this is frustrating, but gonna be so fun.

I wondered why this idea sounded familiar to me.....here's the thread I started back a while. I couldn't remember what I wanted to try doing in 2011, but I see it's more bread baking, not something I've never done, so scratch that thread...

http://www.forums.cuisineathome.com/ubbt...4&fpart=all

I went thru my school books and finally came up with an idea - from Julia's Mastering the Art of French cooking. This will be a challenge I've never done.

Pate de Canard en Croute
(Boned Stuffed Duck Baked in a Pastry Crust)

I've never boned a duck, so this will be a real challenge. (and, the recipe/method is 7 1/2 pages long. That'll keep me off the streets a while.)

Now that I've put this in writing, I am committed.