First I’m going to show you how to clean a pigeon. Then I’m going to confit the legs and the breasts were going to cook on the carcass. I’m serving that with a delicious poultry sauce, a hay cream and a Christmas tree pommes soufflé.
Duck sauce
Ingredients
- 5 kg duck carcasses
- 1/3 celeriac
- 1 leek
- 1 big carrot
- 3 celery sticks
- 2 onions
- 1 bulb of garlic
- 6 sprigs thyme
- 4 bay leaves
- 2 g coriander seeds
- 3 g black peppercorns
- 50 to 100 g cold butter cubes
Instructions
- Toast the duck carcasses on an oven rack with an oven tray underneath. Do this at 200 degrees Celsius for 50 minutes. Then transfer the carcasses into a big pot and cover it completely with water. Bring this to a boil on a medium heat. When a white foam starts to form remove it with a small ladle.
- Meanwhile take one big celeriac and clean it. Now cut the celeriac in big cubes and keep two third in your fridge for later. Then trim the end of the leek, cut it in half and wash it to remove any dirt or bugs. Now cut it. Then cut the carrot in half and cut it in big pieces. Do this as well with the celery sticks. Then finally cut the onions in half and clean them. Now chop them.
- Once the water in the pot is boiling add the chopped vegetables. Then cut the garlic in half and add it to the pot together with the thyme, the bay leaves, the coriander seeds and the black peppercorns. Now make sure everything is covered with water and let it simmer on a low heat for at least 8 hours.
- After that drain the liquid on a colander and let it drain for at least half an hour, this so you don’t waste a single drop of broth. Then reduce the broth for 80% or until the desired flavor is reached. Meanwhile use a ladle to remove any fat or white foam that floats on top.
- When that’s done while stirring bind the sauce with around 50 to 100 grams of cold cubes of butter. Then pass it through a fine sieve and taste the sauce for seasoning. If the sauce is to fat add a touch of white wine vinegar to balance it out.
Hay cream
Ingredients
- 2/3 celeriac
- 10 g organic hay
- 1 liter vegetable broth
- 250 g cream 35% fat
- 3 g salt
Instructions
- Clean the celeriac and cut it in big cubes. Then bind the hay together with some cooking rope. Do this so you don’t need spend ages removing the hay once the cream needs to be blended. Then transfer it into a pan and also add the cleaned & chopped celeriac. Cover it with the vegetable broth, the cream and the salt.
- Now take a piece of parchment paper and keep on folding it in half on the same corner for four to five times. Put the point in the middle of the pan and then cut the remaining parchment paper off on the edge of the pan. Then also remove the point. Now fold it open and lay it on the celeriac. Let this simmer till the celeriac is cooked. If you don’t put the parchment paper on top the liquid will be vaporized before the celeriac is cooked. Once 90% of the liquid is gone remove the parchment paper and the hay.
- Transfer it into a blender and blend it till smooth. Once it’s smooth add a touch of Xanthan powder and blend it for another minute. This will prevent the cream from splitting. You can keep the cream for a day of three in your fridge and in your freezer for a couple of months.
The pommes soufflé
Ingredients
- 1 big waxy potato
- egg white
- potato starch
Instructions
- First peel the big waxy potato. Now cut it in thin slices that are around 1 millimeter on the mandolin.
- Lay the slices in 4 rows in your worktop and dust a layer of potato starch on two rows. Now brush all the potato starch off.
- Brush a super thin layer of egg white on the other two rows. Then place the two slices on top of each other with the potato starch side facing the egg white side.
- Now cut the slices with a small round cutter. Then remove the trimmings and transfer the rounds on the side of a tray. Now be sure that you have some hot oil that’s 170 °C ready.
- Throw a couple of the potato slices in the oil and directly start basing it to ensure that the potato will soufflé.
- Once there nice and golden take them out of the oil and lay them on a clean kitchen paper. Season with some salt and keep them dry and covered for later.
The pigeon
Ingredients
- 4 pigeons
- 200 g duck fat
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- One pigeon is for two persons. First remove the claws and the wings. Keep all the trimmings in your freezer for the next time you’re making a sauce.
- Then make a small incision at the top on both legs. Now break the joints and remove the legs. Then make an incision just below the breast, brake it open and cut it off. Now cut the wings off on the second joint and then finally cut the neck off as well.
- Then take the legs and use the back of your knife to scrape the bone clean on the skinless side. Now pull the bone off the meat and cut it off. Transfer them on a tray and season with salt and black pepper. Then cover a small bowl with some cooking rope and cut it with a scissor in the middle. Place the cooking rope on your cutting board and then place the pigeon legs with the skin side down on top. Now roll this up and bind the legs with the rope.
- Then pour 200 grams of duck fat into a saucepan. This is the fat I removed from the sauce. Add the pigeon legs together with the thyme and the bay leaf.
- Now let it simmer at 90 °C for around 90 minutes.
- Once that’s done remove them from the fat and use a small knife to trim the thin side of the leg. Cut it all around and then scrape it off. Then cut the joint off with a scissor. After that also remove the cooking rope and then toast the legs all around with a blowtorch.
How to finish the dish
Instructions
- First season the pigeons all around with salt. Then add a drizzle of oil to a hot pan and pan fry the pigeons on the breast side till golden brown.
- Once golden place them with the breasts up and add a knot of butter. Also add a couple sprigs of thyme and let the butter caramelize. Then base the pigeons for around 30 seconds to a minute.
- After that place them on some hay and bake them at 110 °C for around 15 minutes. The hay will give a beautiful flavor and it’s also a great way to show your guests the pigeon before serving it.
- Now you can press the breasts to see if it’s cooked. Before it went in the oven it didn’t give a lot of resistance. Now you really should feel some tension. Feel before and after to notice the difference. Then let it rest for at least 10 to 15 minutes in a warm environment. I use my heat draw.
- Now use a sharp knife to cut the breast from the bone. Just follow the bone and take your time. Then use the tip of your knife to scrape any fat away that’s placed between the meat and skin.
- Then take the hot hay cream and use a round cutter to make a circle on a plate. Also use the cream to place the pommes souffles on top of each other to make a potato Christmas tree.
- Now place the pigeon breast on the other side and pipe a nice dot of the cream next to it. Put the hot pigeon leg on the cream and decorate the plate with some winter purslane. Then finish it with the delicious sauce!
