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Lifestyle

In the Kitchen with Terry Paulding

Terry Paulding
Connection Contributor
July 2008

Cherries are just ducky right now.

You may have noticed that it’s cherry season. In fact, it would be hard to miss as they are featured in every farmers market and store right now, with many varieties vying for your approval.

I love the Bing variety, which are perhaps the best known and most common, arriving in early June and lasting locally into July. Crunchy, sweet and juicy, the dark red fruit is bursting with nutrients. Just eating a handful of fresh cherries is better than most desserts in my opinion, and you can of course bake them in desserts, but to me one of the best uses for cherries is to pair them with grilled duck legs.

I think duck intimidates many people, who have no idea how to cook it. So, here’s my easy lesson, followed by the recipe for duck with cherries. In the interest of fitting this into my allotted space, we’ll discuss breasts another day, and simply focus on the legs right now. They might as well be separate animals, you cook them so differently, and either fresh or frozen duck legs are becoming much easier to find — for example, Berkeley Bowl has them frozen.

The legs get braised for half an hour (more for some varieties, I once got Moulard legs and they took an hour to tenderize) and then finished on the barbecue or in the oven, so that they are tender, juicy and have delectable, crisp skin. The de-fatted braising liquid makes the base for the sauce, too. If you do find yourself with a breast, simply treat it like a good steak — one with all the fat on one side. You score the fat in a diamond pattern, season it, and just before dinner, cook skin-side down until almost done (medium-rare is the best way to eat the breast) and then flip briefly to cook the other side, resulting in crisp virtually fat-free skin. Simply slice and serve.

To cook the legs, poke the fatty parts of the skin (NOT the meat) with a fork, lay them on a bed of diced onion and strew a few cloves of garlic around. Add a cup or so of water, season with salt & pepper, and cook, covered, at a simmer until fork-tender. They will render a great deal of fat. This can be done a day or two before you need them — they will be fine in the fridge. Strain the liquid into a container, refrigerate it, and when the fat is totally congealed, remove it. The remaining broth will be the base for cherry sauce.

Terry Paulding is President of Paulding & Company, a Creative Kitchen, 1410 D 62nd Street in Emeryville. Visit her website at www.pauldingandco.com.