Post Eagle Newspaper

Tuesday

Nov 12, 2024

67°F, clear sky
New Jersey

Time Now

12:00:00

Polonia’s Autumn Favorites

By The Polish Chef
strybel@interia.pl

DUCK OR GOOSE SOUP (czernina):
Place the cleaned giblets (make sure to cut open the gizzard and remove any semi-digested grain lodged therein!), neck, wings and rump of 1 duck or goose and ¾ lb pork ribs in pot containing 7 c water and cook 1 hr, skimming off scum. Add 1 portion soup greens (2 carrots, parsley root, celery stalk and onion or leek), 3 bay leaves, 3 cloves 4 grains allspice and 10 peppercorns and cook until meat and vegetables are tender. Strain. Remove any meat attached to bones, dice giblets and return to stock. Add ½ c or more pitted prunes, ½ c diced dried apples and ⅓ c raisins and cook until fruit is tender. Remove from flame. Fork-blend or whisk blood of duck or goose (containing several T vinegar to prevent coagulation) with 1 T flour and stir into soup. Simmer briefly. Adjust to taste with a little salt, sugar, vinegar. Serve over egg-noodle squares or other egg noodles, potato dumplings or diced cooked potatoes. Roast the wingless, rumpless duck according to roast duck with apples recipe (below).

ROAST DUCK WITH APPLES (kaczka pieczona z jabłkami):
Wash a 4-5 lb duck and pat dry. Rub inside and out with salt, pepper, marjoram and 1 bud crushed garlic. Let stand in covered roasting pan at room temp 2 hrs. Stuff tightly with unpeeled, cored quarters of tart cooking apples. Sew up duck’s neck and tail openings. Place duck on rack in roasting pan and roast in preheated 450°-500° oven 10-15 min, turning over to sear on all sides. Reduce to 350°-375°, sprinkle with 2 T water, prick with fork to release fat and roast 90 – 120 min or until fork tender. Baste with pan drippings frequently. Since the apple stuffing shrinks considerably, prepare additional apples on the side. Place 2 – 3 additional, peeled apple quarters in a separate baking pan, drench with several T duck pan drippings, sprinkle with marjoram and bake in same oven the last 45 min. Mix separately cooked apples with those with which the duck was stuffed and serve in serving dish.