#TasteofThursday Smoked Duck Breast recipe – Chef Castro Boateng

Smoked Duck Breast
Poached Rhubarb, Miners Lettuce, Salmon Berry & White Balsamic Dressing

serves 10

Duck

4 Duck Breasts
½ tsp Black pepper
2 oranges (zest)
1 ½ Cup Curing Salt
1 cup brown Sugar
1 tbsp Cinnamon Powder
3 Star Anise (broken into pieces)
½ tbsp. Ginger Powder
¼ tsp cloves
4 sprigs of Thyme
4 cups Hickory wood chips
2 cups cold water
¼ cup maple syrup

Remove any excess fat from duck breast, then score the duck skin with a knife. Turn the duck on to it’s skin side, remove any silver skin.

Zest the oranges using a micro plan over the duck breast.

Mix the remaining ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Pour half the salt & sugar mixture into the bottom of a shallow pan. Place the duck on top of the mixture with the skin side up, add the remaining salt & sugar mixture on top of the duck. Cover the duck with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge for 24 hours to cure.

The next day soak half of the wood chips in cold water for an hour, then drain the water off, mix the wet wood chips with the dry chips and place it in a smoker. Start the smoker.

Remove the duck from the salt & sugar mixture, using running cold water, wash the cure off the duck. Use paper towel to dry the duck. Brush the duck with the maple syrup then place the duck in the smoker, smoke the duck on low heat (200*f-250*f for 2 hours) leave the duck in the smoker for a minimum of an hour.

Poached Rhubarb

2 stalks rhubarb
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
2 lemons (juice & zest)
6 sprigs thyme
¼ cup white balsamic

Wash & peel rhubarb, cut rhubarb into inch long pieces, set aside.

Mix the remaining ingredients into a saucepan, reduce the liquid by half, remove the thyme, lower the heat, then place the rhubarb into the liquid. Poach the rhubarb until tender. Remove rhubarb from the liquid, then reduce the liquid until it becomes syrupy, allow it to cool. Store the rhubarb in the syrup

Salmon berry dressing

2 cups salmon berries (washed)
¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
s/p to taste
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup olive oil

Place 1 ½ cups of berries, vinegar and s/p in a blender then combine vegetable and olive oil together, slowly start adding the oil to the berries while bending, until emulsified. Strain the dressing to remove the seeds

To serve
Wash the Miners lettuce, season the lettuce with s/p. Slice the duck as thinly as possible, place the duck on the plate, top with the lettuce, add the remaining rhubarb, garnish with the remaining salmon berries, drizzle with dressing

Castro Boateng, Fine Catering & Private Chef, was born in the West African country Ghana, the land of the gold coast. Immigrating to Toronto when he was nine years old, he and his younger brother were raised by his father who taught respect, family values and a good work ethic – encouraging them to strive for their dreams and goals. At a young age Castro had to overcome many obstacles but he was determined and become an Executive Chef before he was 30. After graduating from culinary school in Toronto, Boateng worked under European Master Chefs Stewart Cameron and Colin Watson at the prestigious Turnberry Resort, Scotland. He then worked at The Fairmont Southampton Princess in Bermuda where the successful New Port dining room became the first Caribbean restaurant to receive the five diamond award. Returning to Canada, Castro has been Chef de Cuisine of Eden, the five diamond restaurant at the Rimrock Resort Hotel in Banff Alberta, and Executive Chef at the Aerie Resort in Victoria B.C. Castro now lives in Victoria with his wife Charlotte and two young sons Kaeden & Noah.