Duck....Two Ways

So as you may have heard, or may not have heard, Becky and I enjoyed an incredible dinner at Barbacoa last week.  The cornerstone of this meal was my main entree, "Duck Two Ways".  This was my first real experience with fine dining, and it impacted me so much I had to write about it.  On the menu, it's described as...

Duck Two Ways

Duck Two Ways: Crispy honey roast duck fanned breast and confit of leg and thigh served with cranberry sherry and sweet potato risotto.

What attracted me to this dish was the risotto; a dish I've never had.  I've had duck twice before. Once when my brother-in-law was successful in his hunt, and second at a little place called Va de Vi, ironically WITH my brother.  Both times it was good, however the Va de Vi experience was better because the dish was called "Duck confit (con-feet)" which is basically a duck poached in duck fat.  (I would like to say, there are several great things in this world when it comes to culinary gold, it's duck fat.)  So seeing 'duck' and 'confit' in the same sentence ignited my salivary glands.  Strangely, the confit wasn't the best part of this dish.

About ducks:  Duck meat is considered to be a "white" meat, like chicken, even though the meat is considerably darker than it's poultry counter-parts.  This is because ducks are more active than chickens who spend more time sitting and walking.  Ducks get up and fly around, avoiding my brother-in-law during hunting season, using up more oxygen.  The extra oxygen in the body of the duck gives their meat a darker red color.  This darker color gives their meat a stronger richer flavor.  This distinct flavor and taste allows the duck meat to be cooked with fruits or other sweet and spicy ingredients to get a delicious and exotic tasting meal.

Risotto, a type of rice dish I see cooks screw up all the time on Hell's Kitchen.  Under-cooked, over-cooked, not enough salt, too much salt, it seems like a really difficult dish to make.  Wikipedia defines it simply as "rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency".  The risotto in this dish was more firm than creamy.  However, the addition of small cubes of sweet potato added a mild sweetness that made it a delicious foundation for the duck to sit upon.  Additional cubes of sweet potato were scattered on the plate for presentation purposes.


A cranberry sherry was drizzled over the whole plate.  How this was made and what was in it is a big mystery to me, and I don't care because it brought the whole thing together.  Each bite was required to have a little bit of everything on it.  


These flavors all worked together so well that each bite caused your eyes to roll to the back of your head while your body just slumps and all your senses focus on that fantastic collaboration of flavors playing the anvil chorus in your mouth. At a price of $25, I would say each bite is well worth it.  As the flavor matches the presentation, this is a dish I would definitely order again.  I can't wait to go back to Barbacoa and try another creation.


www.barbacoa-boise.com/

-Brian

Note: I'm not a food critic, and I'm not a writer, I just love food