Lapsang Souchong Smoked Duck...Lapsang Souchong Smoked Duck Breast with Kumquat-Five Spice Jus & Sunchoke Velouté

A refined haute cuisine presentation pairing pine-smoked Moulard duck breast with a tart kumquat reduction, velvety roasted sunchoke purée, and vibrant scallion oil.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   Blanch the scallion greens in boiling salted water for 15 seconds, shock immediately in ice water, then squeeze completely dry. Blend with grapeseed oil on high speed for 3 minutes until warm, strain through a coffee filter overnight to yield emerald-green scallion oil.

2. 02

   In a small saucepan, sweat the sliced sunchokes in 15g butter until translucent. Add dashi and cream, simmering covered until fork-tender (approx. 15 minutes). Transfer to a high-speed blender and blend until mirror-smooth, seasoning with sea salt. Keep warm.

3. 03

   Line a wok with a double layer of heavy aluminum foil. Add Lapsang Souchong tea, jasmine rice, brown sugar, and crushed star anise. Place a wire rack over the mixture and set duck breasts on the rack, skin side up. Cover tightly with foil and a lid; heat over medium-high until aromatic white smoke develops, then smoke over low heat for 7 minutes. Remove duck from heat.

4. 04

   Place the smoked duck breasts skin-side down in a cold dry cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Slowly render the fat for 10-12 minutes until the skin is shatteringly crisp and deep mahogany. Flip, baste with pan juices for 2 minutes until an internal temperature of 54°C (medium-rare) is reached. Rest on a warm rack for 8 minutes.

5. 05

   Discard excess fat from the skillet. Deglaze with Shaoxing wine over high heat, scraping up fond. Add the duck stock, five-spice powder, and sliced kumquats; reduce by two-thirds until glossy. Remove from heat and mount with remaining 30g cold butter to create a lacquered jus.

6. 06

   To plate: Draw a precise swoosh of silky sunchoke velouté across warmed slate or ceramic plates. Carve each duck breast into 4 thick, clean slices and fan beside the purée. Spoon kumquat jus over the meat, break the velouté with droplets of vibrant scallion oil, and garnish with micro red shiso.