Best Braised Duck Tamales With Sour Cherry Mojo Recipes

PAN SEARED DUCK BREAST WITH TAMARIND REDUCTION

Steps:

• Heat a Dutch oven. Add the butter; cook the carrots, onion, celery, and garlic for 10 minutes or until caramelized. Add tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes. De-glaze with red wine. Reduce down by half and add duck stock, canela, star anise, and bay leaves. Cook for 30 minutes, or until the sauce is reduced by 2/3. At this point, add the thyme and the tamarind paste. Cook for 5 minutes then strain sauce through a fine mesh sieve.
• Heat a saute pan large enough to hold the two duck breasts. Season the duck breast with salt and pepper. Add it to the pan skin side down, and sear for 3 minutes. Place the pan in a preheated 400 degree oven for 5 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the duck is 145 degrees. Place 2 tablespoons of tamarind sauce on a plate. Slice the duck breasts on a bias and put on the plate, on top of the tamarind sauce.

TAMALES WITH YELLOW MOLE: TAMALES DE AMARILLO MOLE

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl soak the corn husks for 30 minutes.
• In another bowl, add the masa harina and salt and with a whisk, mix well. Slowly add the chicken stock to the masa harina and mix well until a dough-like consistency. Make 10 ping-pong ball size balls of dough.
• In a plastic-lined tortilla press (both sides), press out each ball of dough to form a 5-inch round (about the size of the press). Carefully remove the tortilla, and place a spoonful of amarillo mole sauce, a spoonful of shredded cooked chicken. Fold each side of the tortilla and place in a corn husk length-wise. Secure both ends with a string or part of the husk used as a string, and repeat process.
• Steam for 30 minutes.
• Toast chiles on a griddle. Remove and place in a bowl. Cover with boiling water and let stand for 20 minutes.
• In a hot cast iron pan, roast the onion, garlic, tomatillos, and green tomatoes. Roast until well charred on all sides. Place in a bowl and let cool.
• Meanwhile grind peppercorns and cloves in coffee grinder. When the vegetables are cool enough to handle peel off the charred skin and puree them in a blender with the hoja santa leaves, drained chiles, and spices.
• In hot pot, heat the lard, add the pureed strained sauce, and cook for 5 minutes.
• In a small bowl, add the masa harina and water. Mix until well blended. Add this mixture to the sauce and cook for 5 minutes more, until done.

DUCK TAMALES WITH MOLE SAUCE

Steps:

• To make the mole sauce, cover the ancho chilies with boiling water, and allow to soak until soft. Remove the seeds, and chop the chilies.
• Spear the tomatoes and tomatilloes with a fork and roast over an open flame until the skins begin to blacken. Chop and place in a food processor.
• Roast the garlic by holding it on a fork over the flame until lightly browned. Add to the food processor, along with the duck or veal stock, chilies, oregano, canela or cinnamon, cloves, pepper and allspice. Puree this mixture.
• Transfer the mixture to a saucepan, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Add the chocolate and sugar, and stir just until melted.
• To make the tamales, remove 3 tablespoons of fat from the duck confit, and heat the fat in a skillet. Add the mole sauce to the fat, and cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Melt the confit. Remove duck legs, skin them, and cut the meat off the bones, dicing it into 1/2-inch cubes. Mix with 1/4 cup of mole sauce and set aside.
• Stir warm water into the masa harina. The texture should be malleable, like a very soft dough. In a bowl whip the remaining chilled confit fat with a fork, and beat in the masa harina. Season to taste with a little salt.
• Dry the cornhusks. Flatten them, and spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the masa harina-fat mixture on the smooth inner side of each husk. Distribute the diced confit mixture in a line down the center of each husk. Roll each husk loosely, allowing room for expansion, and fold down the top to make a package. Tie with a strip of cornhusk. If cornhusks are not available, use pieces of cooking parchment.
• Steam the tamales for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, reheat the remaining mole sauce. Allow the tamales to cool slightly, then serve with the mole sauce on the side.

DUCK WITH CHERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Prick skin of duckling well and place breast side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Tie drumsticks together. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 2 to 2-1/2 hours or until juices run clear and a thermometer reads 180°. (Drain fat from pan as it accumulates.) Cover and let stand 20 minutes before carving. , Meanwhile, for sauce, combine preserves and vinegar in a small saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until heated through. Serve with duck. Garnish platter with fruit and kale if desired.

BONIATO MASH WITH MOJO

Steps:

• Place boniatos in a medium saute pan and cover with milk. Cook boniato in milk until tender.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a small saucepan until almost smoking, add garlic, shaking pan constantly and season with salt and pepper. When the garlic turns golden brown, add the lime juice. Set the mojo aside until the boniato is done.
• Drain boniato, and while still hot, puree the boniato through a food mill or mash with a potato masher; add the mojo and season with salt and pepper.

YUCA WITH GARLIC-CITRUS SAUCE: YUCCA CON MOJO

Steps:

• In a pot of boiling water, cook the yucca until tender, but not falling apart and losing its shape, about 10 minutes. Remove the yucca from the water, and dunk into an ice bath to stop the cooking process (shocking) and set aside.
• Meanwhile, make the mojo. In a blender, place half of the red onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro, and lime juice. Start to puree and slowly drizzle in the olive oil. When well pureed, season with salt and pepper and set aside. Julienne the remaining half of the onion.
• Heat 2 inches of oil in a deep cast iron skillet to 375 degrees F. Begin frying the partially cooked yucca until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
• When uniform in color, remove the yucca from the oil and place in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the mojo over the yucca, and garnish with the other half of the red onion.