60 ml Peanut oil
90 g Butter
2 md Onions; minced
2 md Carrots; minced
3 Shallots; minced
2 Garlic
2 g Dried thyme
1 Bay leaf
2 lg Ducks; at least 2 kg each
Salt & pepper
75 cl Chateau Margaux (1 bottle)
1 l White stock
Gelatin
3 Egg whites
450 g Duck livers; cooked in
-butter
225 g Butter; softened
24 Green olives; pitted
1 bn Watercress
350 ml Creme fraiche
Paprika
Wilt the onions, carrots, shallots, garlic, thyme, bay leaf in
45 g butter and 30 mL oil; cook the wingtips, necks, and gizzards
of the birds in this as well.
Season the ducks well with salt and pepper. Truss them. Prick the
skin in several places. Brown quickly in 45 g butter and 30 mL
oil, turning often. Put the ducks into the kettle with the
vegetables. Add the wine and stock to cover. Bring to the boil and
then simmer covered 1 hour.
Remove the ducks and fit them snugly into a nonreactive bowl.
Strain the cooking liquid over and chill overnight.
Next day, remove all fat from the surface.
Remove ducks from bowl. If the cooking liquid has not solidified,
add gelatin. Heat and clarify with egg whites.
"Set aside the more handsome of the ducks."
Take the other duck: carve the breast meat into thin slices and
set aside. Separate the rest of the meat from the bones. Grind the
meat fine with the duck livers and then sieve it. Beat in the
225 g butter until the consistency is that of a mousse of foie
gras. Correct seasoning.
Stuff the whole duck with half this mousse. Using more of this
mousse as a glue, affix some of the sliced meat on top; pipe more
mousse as a decoration for the slices. Put the duck on a serving
platter and chill.
Chill half the clarified stock in the refrigerator in a shallow
dish.
Stuff the olives with mousse and chill.
Decorate the duck with some of the olives. Spoon a bit of the cold
but still liquid stock over. Surround the duck with the rest of
the sliced meat; decorate the meat with pipings of mousse and some
cold stock. Return the platter to the refrigerator.
Cut shapes out of the remaining stock when it has jellied. Garnish
the platter with the rest of the olives, the aspic shapes, and the
watercress.
For sauce: beat the creme fraiche stiff and mix it with the rest
of the cold clarified stock. Color it with paprika and serve it on
the side in a sauceboat.
