Duck L'orange Tempura Sushi Roll

spiffnikhopkins's Note:

A fun play on deconstructed duck L'orange put back in a sushi roll. Inspired by the original approaches Bravo's Top Chef pushes us to explore. Still working on perfecting the technique so please feel free to share critical notes! This is not a quick simple recipe, but designed for the true foodies out there whose passion and love for cooking push them to explore new ideas and approaches to food. The payoff is worth it. The flavors are MARVELOUS!!

• Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 4

Yield: 4.0 rolls

for the orange sauce

• 4 tablespoons spicy mango chutney
• 2 tablespoons preserves (peach, apricot, or orange all options)
• 1 orange, juice of
• 3 tablespoons duck drippings, from pan
• 1/4 cup Grand Marnier

for the duck

• 2 duck breasts (can substitute any part of the duck)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 garlic cloves
• 4 sage leaves

for the tempura batter

• 1 egg
• 1 cup ice cold water
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour or 3/4 cup tempura batter

for the roll

• 2 cups jasmine rice
• 1 drizzle sweet soy sauce (aka Kecap (optional)
• 1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored, sliced into thin sticks
• sesame seed

Directions:

1. Season duck with salt, garlic, and chili powder.
2. Toast sesame seeds and set aside.
3. Puree garlic, sage, and olive oil in food processor using just enough oil to create a paste. This will act as your 'wasabi' when you plate.
4. Cut shallow parallel slits on the skin side of the duck being careful not to cut into the breast itself. This helps render the fat in the cooking process. (A possible refinement is to pound the breasts flat here. This may make the end product easier to roll and cut as a sushi roll although I have yet to try this).
5. Heat a dry pan over high heat. Place breasts skin side down and sear until crispy. Don't move the breasts once placed on a side to sear, to ensure a proper, quality sear.
6. Flip and sear duck on the other side being careful not to cook past rare to med-rare. The duck will be cooked further when tempura battered.
7. Pat dry and let duck rest 10 min on paper towels before slicing as thin as possible (you may not regret having pounded the duck previously!).
8. Break egg into a bowl containing the iced water and whisk until frothy.
9. Add baking soda and flour.
10. Beat until the flour is just mixed together. Do not over beat!
11. Batter should be so thin that the merest wisp clings to the duck when dipped in it--you don't want a lot of batter to stick.
12. If it seems too thick, add a little more iced water, and keep the batter cold.
13. Cook jasmine rice so its nice and sticky.
14. Dip duck in batter and fry in deep fryer at 400 degrees F until golden brown--this should only take a min or 2. Use a slotted spoon to transfer duck onto paper towels. Always fry in small batches.
15. Put ingredients for the L'Orange sauce in pan and heat until alcohol simmers off and sauce thickens, about 6 minutes.
16. To plate spread a thin layer of cooked rice onto sushi mat. Place a layer of duck and apple on the edge of the rice and roll tightly. Sprinkle roll with toasted sesame seeds and cut into sushi pieces. Drizzle kecap decoratively over the roll and on the plate. Serve with L'Orange sauce and mound of sage/garlic 'washabi' for dipping.
17. An easier alternate plating is to serve it as sashimi. This solves the difficulty of both rolling sushi, and getting clean cuts through the roll as the duck can be difficult to slice through without breaking the roll apart. To plate as sashimi mold the rice into thin half inch by one inch rectangles. Cut apple sticks to this size and place on top of the rice followed by a piece of duck which should be just smaller than this.