Cucinare l'anatra è relativamente semplice. Basta poco per rovinarla ma, se non si fallisce, è un ingrediente speciale anche da solo. Per questo motivo ho deciso di dedicare la prima entrata di questo blog alla sua preparazione, tanto temuta ed amata. Personalmente, non seguo indicazioni precise sui tempi di cottura perché preferisco monitorare la carne toccandola e osservandola Se prendete l'abitudine di toccare (sì, con le dita. Pulite.) la carne cercando di notare la consistenza più o meno rigida che prende mano a mano che cuoce; con un po' di tempo riuscirete a distinguerne la cottura al solo tatto. Le regole che seguo quando lavoro l'anatra sono poche ma essenziali. Oltre quella che vale per tutte le carni - ovvero di tirarle fuori dal frigo almeno una ventina/trentina (dipende poi dallo spessore) di minuti prima di cuocerle in modo tale che, raggiunta la temperatura ambiente, la carne possa cuocere in modo uniforme. L’anatra si cuoce ponendola dal verso della pelle su una padella fredda, senza aggiunta di grassi. La pelle, al crescere della temperatura della padella, rilascerà il suo grasso. Per cui, non preoccupatevi, non si incollerà al fondo della padella ma si staccherà da sola al momento giusto. A fiamma viva ma non troppo – se no bruciate la pelle quasi subito e basta – e raggiunto un bel colorito croccante (circa 5 minuti) girate. Una volta pronta, lasciatela riposare. Quest’ultimo passaggio è fondamentale e no, non si fredderà. Fatelo.
Cooking duck is relatively simple. It doesn’t take much to ruin it but, if you don’t fail, it’s a pretty special ingredient on its own. Personally I don’t follow a precise cooking time because I prefer to check for its doneness by touching the meat (I’m sure you’ve heard of the hand-test, which is much better than cutting the meat and letting all the juices out) throughout the cooking process – and by just really keeping an eye on it. As it cooks, the meat will take on a more rigid texture. I only follow a few rules, the first one applies to any kind of meat and requires you to take the meat out of the fridge at least 20/30 minutes before cooking it, allowing it to reach room temperature and cook more evenly. More precisely, duck breasts are cooked skin side down on a cold pan. This will allow the fat in the skin to melt slowly as the pan heats (rather than just burning it right away). Don’t worry about it sticking to the pan because as it cooks through, the breast will unstick on its own. So on a nice flame (but not too high), check for a beautiful crunchy color (more or less 5 min.) and then flip it and let it finish cooking. Once it’s ready, let it rest – this is important, people! And no, it will not get cold.
Cooking duck is relatively simple. It doesn’t take much to ruin it but, if you don’t fail, it’s a pretty special ingredient on its own. Personally I don’t follow a precise cooking time because I prefer to check for its doneness by touching the meat (I’m sure you’ve heard of the hand-test, which is much better than cutting the meat and letting all the juices out) throughout the cooking process – and by just really keeping an eye on it. As it cooks, the meat will take on a more rigid texture. I only follow a few rules, the first one applies to any kind of meat and requires you to take the meat out of the fridge at least 20/30 minutes before cooking it, allowing it to reach room temperature and cook more evenly. More precisely, duck breasts are cooked skin side down on a cold pan. This will allow the fat in the skin to melt slowly as the pan heats (rather than just burning it right away). Don’t worry about it sticking to the pan because as it cooks through, the breast will unstick on its own. So on a nice flame (but not too high), check for a beautiful crunchy color (more or less 5 min.) and then flip it and let it finish cooking. Once it’s ready, let it rest – this is important, people! And no, it will not get cold.
