Braised Duck Skin Sausages with Cauliflower-Horseradish Puree

Name: Braised Duck Skin Sausages with Cauliflower-Horseradish Puree
Yield: serves 4
Ingredients: 5 dried morel mushrooms; 1/4 cup brandy; 6 whole duck legs; 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme; 3/4 teaspoon grated or minced tangerine or orange zest; 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper; 3 cups chicken broth (page 5); Duck fat or peanut or canola oil; 1 1/2 pounds cauliflower; 2/3 cup heavy cream; 1 tablespoon freshly grated horseradish or unseasoned prepared horseradish; 1 teaspoon kosher salt

January 24, 2012

Duck was frequently on my menu when I was chef in the earliest days at what was to become the internationally acclaimed Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley, California. I purchased the ducks whole, with heads and feet still on, in San Francisco’s Chinatown. It was always a chore to find a place to park, but I was intent on fresh-is-best even back then, plus the people and markets provided a wonderful ethnographic adventure close to home. Searching for something to do with the many necks left from cutting up the ducks, I created this duck sausage using the necks as casing. I made a broth from the bones and other trimmed bits and braised the sausages in it. Serendipity! The lengthy braising softens the skin casing almost to butter, moistening the sausages as they cook and producing a rich sauce for dressing the sausages when they are served. For this book, I have adapted the recipe to call for whole duck legs (drumstick and thigh combinations): easier to get and equally fabulous.

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