Cook's Country

-"Cook's Country" is about more than just getting dinner on the table.

We're also fascinated by the people and stories behind the dishes.

We go inside kitchens in every corner of the country to learn how real people cook.

And we look back through time to see how history influences the way we eat today.

We bring that inspiration back to our test kitchen so we can share it with you.

This is "Cook's Country."

Today on "Cook's Country," Bryan and I make slow-roasted ducks with blackberry sauce, Jack shares tips for making a tinned fish board, and Lawman makes a vegetarian bean bourguignon.

That's all right here on "Cook's Country."

-Funding for this program has been provided by the following.

-Monument Grills, offering innovative technology and design for the grilling enthusiast, with a lineup of gas grills designed with durability in mind, including the Eminence 605 with LED touch panels and side and rear infrared burners.

Learn more at MonumentGrills.com.

-Teakhaus -- inspired by a passion for cooking and respect for our planet, each board is handcrafted from sustainably sourced wood designed for every step, from food prep to presentation.

Teakhaus.

-During the holidays and on special occasions, some of us enjoy roast turkey, and others really love baked ham.

But Bryan loves duck.

-I love duck so much.

It's kind of like, you know how you could use every part of the pig?

Duck is the same way.

There's so much fat on this thing.

You know, all the parts could be used in various ways.

First thing's first.

When you're gonna roast a duck, you need to start with the trimming.

There's a tremendous amount of fat on this.

So even right inside here... -Oh, yeah.

-...you have this fat that you could just pull off.

Okay.

So we'll trim all this off.

This little pope's nose, the little tail of the duck, we're gonna take that off, as well.

Okay.

This is all the neck skin.

We're gonna take that off.

So at this point, whenever you start to see the breast meat poke through or just shy of that, that's enough on that side.

Over here, I want to get any of the stuff that's hanging over the cavity.

-Okay.

-So we'll do the same with the second.

So once we've removed enough skin here, we're going to trim the wing flats and the wing tips off, because what happens in the oven, these pieces would just tend to dry out and become leathery.

It doesn't look as nice.

So you can take these off.

Just kind of wiggle a little bit to -- to find the bone, the joint there.

Just kind of pop right through it, and that'll be good for the stock pot.

And again, the same on the other side.

So, we can move our ducks over to a wire rack here.

And now we're gonna salt them.

We want to season the inside of each duck with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt.

And now the exterior of each duck, we're gonna hit with 5 teaspoons of kosher salt.

Alright, so, the ducks are well salted.

Now the next thing is we're gonna throw these in the refrigerator uncovered so the skin gets a little bit dry and some of that moisture evaporates out of the duck.

We're gonna leave them in the fridge for 24 or up to 48 hours.

But I'm gonna wash my hands first.

Alright, Toni, so, our ducks have been salted for a good 24 hours.

And now before we start tying them up and putting them in the roasting pan, we want to make a basting sauce.

So we're going to combine 1 quart of water with 1/2 cup of soy sauce and 1/4 cup of honey.

We're gonna pour this over-top the ducks before they go into the oven, and this is gonna encourage browning and help tighten the skin.

Turn this to high heat and let it come to a quick boil.

Once it comes to a boil, we'll shut it off and apply it to the ducks.

But before we do that, we need to stuff our ducks, and we're gonna stuff them with oranges.

And this is not to encourage flavor, but is to help the duck keep its shape.

Whenever you buy these ducks, sometimes they come with the carcass a little bit more smushed than the others.

So the orange is kind of the great equalizer in helping the duck maintain its shape during cooking.

So each duck gets an orange that's been cut in half, and now we'll spin this around.

We're just gonna tie these legs together.

Put the string underneath both the legs, and then I wrap it twice and then cinch it together.

Okay, and we'll trim the excess.

Now we can transfer our ducks to our roasting "V" rack here.

So, we're gonna put the ducks facing opposite directions.

If we were to put the ducks facing the same direction, you see how close these thighs come to each other?

They're not gonna cook at the same rate, because they're so close, and the heat can't pass through them as these exterior thighs.

So we're gonna flip them around so each of these thighs gets a little bit more heat in the oven as they cook.

Alright, so our soy-honey water mixture is coming to a boil.

I'm just gonna whisk that to make sure it's fully combined.

Now we're just going to ladle this over-top.

We're borrowing the concept from Peking duck.

The hot liquid is poured over-top.

What it does is it tightens the skin up, and so it makes it more round and taut so the heat of the oven really kind of cooks it at a nice, even rate.

You know, you don't get a lot of these peaks and valleys on the skin.

We also have honey in here and soy sauce, which are both gonna encourage a lot of browning.

So, this seems like it's a good amount of liquid to pour over-top, but there is a third reason why we're using so much.

As these ducks start to cook in the oven, they're gonna cook for over three hours at 300 degrees, and then they're gonna get blasted right at the end.

And if we didn't have any liquid in the bottom of the pan, all that duck fat would drip into the bottom of the pan and just cause a whole lot of smoking in your kitchen.

So this will catch all that fat that's dripping off and prevent that smoking.

-Multi-purpose.

-So, we're gonna throw these ducks into a 300-degree oven.

I've adjusted the rack to the lower middle position, and we're gonna let them go for 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 hours until this leg-thigh joint hits 190 to 195 degrees.

Alright, Toni.

Ooh.

-Oh, my.

Look at those.

-That smells wonderful, too.

Do you mind closing that oven door for me?

-I got you.

-And cranking the oven up to 450 degrees?

-Okay.

Gotcha.

-So, we're looking for 190 to 195 degrees in this leg-thigh joint.

We're at 191, so that's perfect.

So that means that our leg-thigh joints are nicely cooked, and they're gonna be tender, you know, rather than tough and chewy.

Alright.

Our oven is up to 450 degrees, and we're gonna throw these ducks back in there.

And that high temperature is really gonna encourage the browning on the skin.

So we'll let that go for 10 to 25 minutes.

Okay.

So, while the duck finishes cooking, we're going to work on our sauce.

And we're gonna do a blackberry sauce.

So, fruit and duck are great partners together.

So, we're going to add 3 cups of blackberries to our saucepan here, 3/4 cup of honey, and then 3/4 cup of sherry vinegar.

This has a really nice tart, oaky flavor to it.

Three sprigs of thyme, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon of kosher salt.

Alright, so we're gonna turn this on to medium-high.

Alright, we'll just give that a little stir to combine.

As this cooks, you know, the blackberries will naturally start to break down.

But we're gonna encourage them along by mashing them with a potato masher.

And what we're looking for at the end of the day is a temperature between 218 and 220 degrees, because at that temperature, this liquid will remain syrupy even once it's cooled.

So that will take about 15 to 20 minutes.

Alright, Toni.

So we're just gonna encourage those berries to mash.

By doing this, we're helping thicken the sauce a little bit.

-Mm-hmm.

-That's still got another 10 minutes or so to go.

But I think the ducks are actually ready, so let's go take a look.

-Alright.

Oh, wow.

-Wow.

Those are gorgeous.

-They are gorgeous, and they smell amazing.

-Toni, look what you did.

-Amazing.

Those are so gorgeous.

-Gorgeous looking duck.

-Almost shellacked.

-Yeah.

The skin is nice and tight.

Very, very well bronzed.

It's looking gorgeous.

These are going to need to rest for another 45 minutes.

And during that time, we can finish up our sauce.

-Okay, let's do it.

-Alright, Toni.

Our sauce has been cooking for about 20 minutes.

We're at 219 degrees, which ensures that we're gonna have a nice, syrupy consistency once it's strained.

So cut the heat off, and we'll pass it through a fine mesh strainer here.

Alright, so our sauce is all set.

We'll add 1/2 teaspoon of sherry vinegar to our sauce just to brighten it up a little bit at the end.

Stir that in, and we're gonna let our sauce cool down to room temperature, because as it cools, it'll start to thicken up to a nice, saucy consistency, almost syrupy.

-Mm-hmm.

-So it'll coat the duck really nicely when we serve it.

So we'll let the duck finish resting for another few minutes and then come back and carve it and start eating.

-Sounds good to me.

-So, it looks good, huh?

-Spectacular.

-Are you ready to start carving?

We're gonna first separate these legs.

We're gonna cut the string here.

And now, the way I like to do it is I like to first remove the leg-thigh joint.

So go through the skin right there.

-Mmm.

-And you just let your knife kind of just fall through it.

And because this is cooked so well, you can kind of just grab on to that thigh bone and just pop it out... -Yeah.

-...and sort of follow along there.

-Looks like you're just following right along the body, right?

-Yeah, absolutely.

-With your knife?

-Pull that off, and we'll do the same on the second side.

Then we're going to remove the drumettes.

So again, just kind of use the weight of the bird.

Pull it up a little bit.

Make a small incision there.

Expose the joint.

Just go right through this leg-thigh joint here.

Put the thigh meat there.

Little leggy.

We're gonna remove the breast now.

So, you can see this little bone that's going down here.

We're gonna cut on either side of that.

And sometimes you want to kind of coax it out with your thumb.

-It looks so tender and juicy.

-It's so tender.

-Mm-hmm.

-And we're just gonna cut each breast into four pieces.

So, we'll put the breast over there.

So, we'll do the second duck here.

This last breast right here in the center.

-Perfect.

-Okay, we did it.

Duck's broken down.

-Amazing.

-Ready to do it?

-I am.

-What can I tempt you with here, little piece of breast, little piece of leg or thigh?

-Yeah, a little piece of breast and a little piece of thigh.

How about that?

-Okay.

-Mmm, thank you.

-And thigh for you.

Can I give you a little bit of our blackberry sauce, which you see is nice and syrupy right now?

-Love that texture.

-Okay.

-Alright.

-Go for the breast first?

-Okay.

-You can see the skin has rendered a good bit, too.

-I do.

-Mmm.

It's so good.

-Oh, my goodness -- And that was before sauce.

-Right.

Ready for sauce?

-Yeah.

-Oh, wow.

-Oh.

The contrast.

-Just -- -Mmm.

I love that little tartness.

It's amazing the way that the blackberry accompanies the duck.

Right?

The tartness of the berries sort of pulls out that fatty, delicious lusciousness in the bird.

It's really great.

-Yeah, and we have other sauce variations on our website.

-Alright.

And it feels so special occasion.

Right?

It could just make your guests feel like you really went to an extra step for them.

-Yeah.

You know, this recipe takes a little time.

It takes a little planning, but the steps aren't hard at all, you know?

And the payoff is so amazing.

-Bryan, this was amazing.

-You're very welcome.

-And if you would like to make these delicious ducks, salt two ducks one to two days to dry out the skin.

Coat with a soy sauce-honey mixture, and finish with a blast of heat.

From "Cook's Country," slow-roasted ducks with blackberry sauce.

I think this might be on my holiday table this year.

-It's definitely one of my new favorites.

-There are very few cases where preserving food for years makes it better, but in the case of tinned fish, I think that might be true.

This all started with Napoleon, who wanted to feed his armies, and they developed technology to take lightly cooked seafood, put it in a can with some brine, seal it, and put it under vacuum pressure to kill the microbes.

And so I'm gonna take you through the world of making a "sea-cuterie" board.

See what I did there?

Not charcuterie.

And explain how I put together this board and think about the contrasting flavors, and then what I do with some of these things individually in my cooking.

Now, let's start with the basics, anchovies, and these are our two favorite brands, Merro and Ortiz.

I love them.

This is, you know, the bacon of the sea, and it needs to be on my board.

Other basics, tuna packed in olive oil, and I've got the Ortiz and the Tonnino brands here.

Again, these are our favorites in this kitchen.

They have won our tastings.

It needs to be packed in extra virgin olive oil.

Next up, in the front here, I've got mackerel, and I've got trout.

And any place that you could be using the tuna, you could be using mackerel or trout.

Now, over here, I've got sardines.

Again, this is a classic choice.

I love not only to put it on my board, but to put it with white wine and a little bit of butter and create a Sardinian pasta sauce with sardines.

Ah, it's so wonderful and delicious.

Now, let's say we want to branch out.

Those might be considered the basics.

How about octopus in garlic sauce?

And as you're thinking about these interesting additions, the kind of more unusual items, think about the texture of the seafood, as well as what's the packing liquids?

Now, over here, I have these beautiful mussels.

Look how gorgeous they are.

Now, these are in escabeche.

That's a vinegar-based sauce, so it's really bright and puckery.

Next to them, razor clams.

Now, these are just in brine.

It's really nice and salty.

It has an incredible chewy texture and really sort of complements some of the softer things that are on the table.

And then, up here, we've got pink salmon, and this is in extra virgin olive oil.

Now, you're thinking, "Okay, what are the vessels that we're gonna be putting all of this on?"

And you can go sort of classic, like we've got crostini here.

But I love these Portuguese crackers.

They're very plain, but they're sturdy, and they're thin, and they allow the seafood to shine.

And then if you want something a little unusual, potato chips are actually kind of a nice vehicle for some of the fish here on the table, because they're salty, and they're kind of fatty.

Speaking of fatty, so it's nice to add some richness, as well.

And salted butter is surprisingly good with seafood.

Or you can add these beautiful jammy eggs, again, to add a little bit of fat and richness if you're making a meal of this.

Now, you're gonna need acidity, because there's a lot of big flavors here, and you're going to want to clean your palate.

So cornichon, that's a favorite choice, just sliced in half.

I love pickled jalapeos because they give me spice and acidity.

Now, you could go sort of classic.

Lemon is always a good choice.

And then you need freshness, 'cause there's a lot of big flavors here, and I want some grassiness.

So watercress, fresh dill.

We could have arugula, sliced radishes.

Again, they give you a little heat, as well as freshness.

So there you have it.

It started with Napoleon, but you can make it so much better at home.

-Cooking something in the style of bourguignon means braising it in red wine, often a Pinot noir.

Now, beef bourguignon is a classic.

It's finished with mushrooms and pearl onions.

But today, Lawman's gonna show us an equally festive, vegetarian version of beans bourguignon.

-That's right, Julia.

We wanted a vegetarian version of the French classic that was good for our vegetarian friends and family for Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, for any celebratory holiday.

-I love it.

-So we're gonna start with 1 1/2 pounds of portobello mushroom caps.

-Okay, so, portobellos, that's a meaty mushroom.

-Exactly.

They're nice and beefy.

They're gonna be a great swap for the beef.

So we already started prepping some of them.

-Mm-hmm.

-And we've cut them into 1-inch pieces.

We're keeping the ribs intact, because they're gonna help with the color and flavor of the stew.

I'm just gonna put those aside.

-Mm-hmm.

-And here I have 1/2 ounce of porcini mushrooms that have been rinsed and patted dry.

And we're just gonna mince these up.

This is gonna add a nice concentrated, intense mushroom flavor.

-Mm-hmm.

-Now, adding to the heartiness of this dish, some dried Christmas Lima beans.

-These are cool-looking.

-They have, like, a -- I guess a calico texture to them... -Uh-huh.

-...or a fudge ripple, if you will.

-[ Laughs ] I like the fudge ripple.

-They're very fun and festive.

-Mm-hmm.

-So, here, I have 8 ounces of those beans that have been brined.

To brine these beans, we mix 2 quarts of water with 1 1/2 tablespoons of table salt.

We've put them in the brine for a minimum of 8 hours, up to 24 hours, and they sit at room temperature.

Brining helps with even cooking, a creamier texture, and tender skins.

So, I have 7 cups of water here.

Just gonna add the beans.

So, we're going to cook these beans separate from the rest of the stew.

Because there's wine in the dish... -Mm-hmm.

-...it has a very acidic environment, and that acid causes the beans to cook slowly and unevenly.

So this way, cooking it separately, we have total control over the beans, and we found that this is the best way for the best results.

-Okay.

-And we want to bring it up to a simmer over medium-low heat.

And we're only gonna cover this partway.

Since we're cooking it for 20 to 30 minutes, having it partway, the water's not gonna bubble over, and it's not gonna evaporate.

-Makes sense.

-It's been 20 minutes.

It's time to check the beans.

-Mm-hmm.

-So what I'm gonna do, fish one of them out.

And I want to press it so that it gives a little bit but doesn't smash all the way.

To finish cooking, we're gonna add 1 1/2 teaspoons of table salt and cover the pot off heat and let it sit for 15 minutes.

This is gonna have the beans gradually finish cooking.

-Okay.

-Nice and gentle.

Alright, Julia.

Now it's time to cook the mushrooms.

So we're gonna start with 1/4 cup of water and 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.

So, we're gonna bring the heat up to medium-high, and we want to get the water 'til it's simmering.

And what's gonna happen is the water is gonna turn into steam.

The steam, once we add the mushrooms, is gonna have the mushrooms cook very quickly.

-Mm-hmm.

-They're gonna release their water, collapse, and then the water is gonna evaporate.

All that mushroom juice is going to evaporate.

And what's left is the oil, which is gonna keep the mushrooms from sticking to the pot.

And it's gonna help brown the mushrooms, creating some nice, flavorful fond.

-Wow, that's really clever.

-Thank you.

So now that it's come to a simmer... -Mm-hmm.

-...we're gonna add our mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon of table salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper.

Give it a good stir.

Then we're gonna put the lid on.

Create that steam.

And it's gonna go for about five minutes until the liquid releases and the mushrooms collapse.

-Okay.

-It's been five minutes.

-I'm eager to see what's under the lid.

Wow.

-I'm just gonna give it a stir.

You can see all the juice.

Now we're gonna let that cook off for about 6 to 8 minutes.

-Okay.

-So, Julia, it's been six minutes, and the liquid has evaporated, and the pot is nice and dry.

We have all that nice fond on the bottom.

-Mm-hmm.

-Now we're gonna add two carrots that have been peeled and minced and one large shallot that's been minced.

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.

Gonna give it a stir.

And we're gonna cook this until the vegetables are just starting to brown, about 3 to 4 minutes.

So, the carrots and the shallots have browned.

We're gonna add our porcinis.

Four minced garlic cloves.

2 teaspoons of minced fresh thyme.

And we're just gonna stir that and cook this for about 30 seconds until it's fragrant.

-Mm-hmm.

-We're gonna add 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour.

-Mm-hmm.

-This is gonna help thicken the stew.

And we're gonna cook that for about 30 seconds.

Next, we're gonna add some red wine.

-Mm-hmm.

-Can't have a bourguignon without the red wine.

-No, you can't.

-We're adding 1 cup.

So, this is gonna help deglaze the pan, get all those nice, flavorful brown bits incorporated into the rest of the ingredients.

Now I'm gonna add 2 tablespoons of white miso paste.

And I have 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of tomato paste.

Now, this dish is not shy on flavor, and these particular ingredients are gonna add that umami to this stew.

-Mm-hmm.

-So, because we've developed all this flavor, normally in a stew like this, you would add some beef broth, chicken broth.

Or since this is a vegetarian dish, you'd add vegetable broth.

-Mm-hmm.

-But because we've developed all that flavor, I'm adding 5 cups of water.

-Nice.

-And last but not least, two bay leaves.

We want to bring this to a boil over high heat.

We want the sauce to thicken and reduce to a consistency of heavy cream.

That will take about 20 to 25 minutes.

So, it's been about 25 minutes.

The sauce has thickened.

-Looks beautiful.

-Luxurious.

-[ Laughs ] -Now, here are our perfectly cooked beans that we've drained.

They're nice and tender.

-Oh, yeah.

-And I'm gonna add them to the pot.

We're also gonna add 1 cup of thawed pearl onions.

-Mm-hmm.

That's a classic addition to a bourguignon.

-And 2 tablespoons of red wine.

Stir everything.

Make sure everything's incorporated.

Now we're gonna cover them, and we want to cook this for another 15 minutes so that the onions and the beans can warm through and absorb all that great flavor that we've created.

-Okay.

-It's been 15 minutes.

-Ohh.

What a beautiful-looking stew.

-It smells great.

-Mm-hmm.

-Now we're gonna take out our bay leaves.

-It's time to say goodbye.

-Thank you for your service.

Last but not least, 1/4 cup of minced fresh parsley.

This is gonna add some fresh flavor and a pop of color.

Ready to eat?

-I am.

-So, I have a nice, little surprise here.

We're gonna serve it over some polenta.

-Mmm.

That is a lovely idea.

-So it's gonna be very hearty and filling.

-Mm-hmm.

Mmm.

It does smell good.

And, you know, from a distance, it almost looks like beef bourguignon, because those mushrooms really look like little pieces of beef.

-They do.

-But it's vegetarian.

Alright, I'm going for one of these Christmas beans first.

Mmm.

Perfectly cooked.

And those beans are nice and creamy.

-That's what I was gonna say.

Nice and creamy.

The skin is nice and tender.

-Mm-hmm.

I'm just gonna go for a little bit of the sauce here.

Mmm.

There is a lot of flavor.

There's miso and soy and porcini.

All that really boosts the flavor.

-Exactly.

Tomato paste.

-Mm-hmm.

I could definitely see serving this at a holiday when you had some vegetarians around the table, because I think meat eaters and vegetarians alike would fall in love with this.

Lawman, awesome.

Thank you.

-You're welcome.

-If you want to make this fantastic vegetarian stew, brine Christmas beans and cook them separately.

Cook 1 1/2 pounds of portobello mushrooms in a Dutch oven with water and oil, and punch up the stew's flavor with powerhouse ingredients, including miso, soy, and porcini.

From "Cook's Country," a terrific recipe for bean bourguignon.

You can get this recipe and all the recipes from this season, along with select episodes and our product reviews, at our website, CooksCountry.com/TV.

This really is holiday-worthy, especially with the polenta.

Mmm.

-Let us help with dinner tonight.

Visit our website anytime for the newest season's rigorously tested recipes, full episodes, ingredient advice, and equipment reviews.

CooksCountry.com/TV.

-"The Complete Cook's Country TV Show Cookbook" brings together every recipe, tasting, and test from 18 seasons of the beloved TV show, with trusted equipment recommendations and insights from the entire cast.

This book is your guide to the very best in regional cooking.

The cost is $24.99, $15 off the cover price of $40.

To order, head to our online shop at CooksCountry.com/book.

-Funding for this program has been provided by the following.

-Monument Grills, offering innovative technology and design for the grilling enthusiast, with a lineup of gas grills designed with durability in mind, including the Eminence 605 with LED touch panels and side and rear infrared burners.

Learn more at MonumentGrills.com.

-Teakhaus -- inspired by a passion for cooking and respect for our planet, each board is handcrafted from sustainably sourced wood designed for every step, from food prep to presentation.

Teakhaus.