LAQUERED SQUAB WITH LONG BEANS

Laquered Squab with Long Beans image

Provided by Food Network

Number Of Ingredients 23

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Ingredients

2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups champagne vinegar
1 1/2 cups white port
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
6 oranges, zested
12 lemons, zested
3 cinnamon sticks
1 gallon fresh pomegranate juice
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons corn oil
2 ounces ripe plantains, quartered and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 teaspoon butter
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper
2 ounces Chinese long beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4-ounce applewood smoked bacon, thinly sliced and julienned
1 teaspoon shallots, finely chopped
2 tablespoons corn oil
4 squab liver, halved
4 (12-ounce) squab, wingtips removed, trussed with butcher's twine
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons corn oil
1 tablespoon butter

Steps:

For the glaze: Add the sugar to an unheated rondeau. Gently heat the pan, stirring constantly, to create a dry caramel. Stop the cooking process by adding the champagne vinegar. Cook and reduce by half. Add white port, and again reduce by half. Add white wine, and again reduce by half. Add the orange and lemon zest, cinnamon sticks, and pomegranate juice. Cook and reduce by half. Strain. Transfer liquid to a clean saucepot and reduce until it is a syrupy consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
For the vegetables: Heat 2 saute pans, and put 1 tablespoon of corn oil in each. Add the plantains to 1, and toss to coat. Add the butter to the pan, and sprinkle with sugar and a dash each of salt and pepper. Note: If the plantains are extremely ripe, which is ideal, you can omit the sugar: the plantains will contain enough. Continue to cook until the plaintains are golden, then remove them to a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Next, heat the other tablespoon of oil in the other pan and add the long beans. Coat them with the oil. Add the shallots and bacon, and cook all until tender. Add the carmelized plaintains to the pan, toss everything together, and cook for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside.
For the squab liver: In a saute pan, heat corn oil. Pan sear the liver to a rosy hue. Remove from heat.
For the squab: Season the squab with salt and pepper. Heat a small rondeau, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil and heat to the oil's smoking point. Place the squab in the pan, and cook on each side until a golden brown color is achieved. Remove from the pan and allow to rest for 12 minutes. Debone the squab so that you have 2 sections of meat, each consisting of half the breast meat and the meat of 1 leg. Heat a clean rondeau, and add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil. Cook the squab meat until the fat is rendered and the skin is crisp. After 2 minutes, add the butter. When all steam has evaporated and the butter begins to bubble, baste the squab for 3 minutes. Remove from the rondeau and allow to rest. With a kitchen brush, coat the squab with the pomegranate glaze. Plate with warmed vegetables, and garnish with mint.