Staal Smokehouse Smoked Duck Salad

StarterServes 4

Whether hosting a festive dinner party or looking for an alternative to traditional turkey or goose this month, this salad using delicious smoked duck breast from East Yorkshire based Staal Smokehouse, makes a delicious starter for guests or a hearty lunch option for two in between Christmas and New Year.   Remove the skin from the Smoked Duck Breast and slice the meat. Crisp the skin in a hot oven or under the grill and allow to cool Peel, de-pith and section the oranges, reserving any juice. Chop the crispy duck skin into croutons and arrange the salad onto 4 plates with slices of duck, orange and walnuts. Drizzle over the dressing with the reserved orange juice and finish each with some crispy croutons.

Harome-reared “Loose Birds” Duck with Garden Lemon Thyme Mash and Traditional Yorkshire Sauce

Main courseServes 4

# Confit the duck legs in the duck fat with the star anise and bay leaf in an oven for 2 1/2 hours at 140C. Peel the orange and cut the peel into julienne strips removing all the white. Place in a pan with the red wine, sugar and redcurrant jelly. Juice the left-over orange and add to the pan as well. Reduce until it becomes syrup, and add the duck jus. # Once the duck legs have cooled down, split the thigh and the drumstick, then put onto a baking tray. Boil the potatoes, drain and mash. Reduce 100g of butter and 100ml cream by half and add to the mash. Season. Add the lemon thyme leaves and keep warm. Grill the chipolatas until just cooked and put on the baking tray with the leg and thigh. # Pan-fry the duck breasts until the skin is crispy but still there. Place on the tray and then in a preheated oven at 190C for 5 minutes. # Meanwhile, reheat the mash and put into a piping bag, poach the duck eggs in simmering water with a little white wine vinegar for about 3 minutes, keep warm. Pan-fry the foie gras until it becomes spongy. Pipe 5 turrets of mash around the outside of the plate and 1 in the centre. Place each ingredient on one of the mashed potato turrets, slice and save the duck breast for the centre of the plate, drizzle the Yorkshire sauce around and over the dish ingredients. # Serve immediately.

Andrew Pern’s Game Pie

Serves 8

Cooking time: 11/2 hours plus overnight chilling # Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas mark 3 # To make the pastry, first warm a mixing bowl and sift the flour and salt into it. Make a well in the centre. Heat the lard in the milk and water in a saucepan over a medium heat until just reaching boiling point, then pour into the well in the flour and stir quickly with a wooden spoon until thick. # Continue working by hand to form a smooth dough. Cool slightly, then use the dough to line a greased 20cm tin, keeping some of the dough for the lid separately in a warm place. Put the tin onto a tray. # Line the pie case with the pastry and cut out a disc of pastry for the lid. Cut all of the game breasts into strips lengthways approximately 5mm thick. Season the pork and the game meats. Now layer the pork and breast meats inside the pie case, repeating until all the meats have been used. Brush the rim of the pastry with the egg yolk, cut a small hole in the centre of the pastry lid (through which the jelly will be poured when the pie is cooked), then seal to the base. # Egg wash the lid and cook the pie in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Towards the end of the cooking time for the pie, soak the leaf gelatine in a little cold water, until soft. Then bring the game stock, sloe gin and redcurrant jelly to the boil in a small saucepan, then remove the pan from the heat and add the soaked gelatine, whisking until this is dissolved. Add the juniper berries and allow to cool a little without setting. # After the pie has been removed from the oven, use a funnel to pour the sweet jelly through the hole in the lid, into the pie. Allow to cool, then refrigerate overnight. The jelly will set in a similar way to that in a traditional pork pie. Enjoy!

Honey Roast Duck Confit with Tomato Beans

Main courseServes 4

h4. To make the duck confit # Weigh the duck legs and place on a tray. Sprinkle with 15g salt per kilo, then sprinkle with the thyme, cover with clingfilm and place in fridge overnight # Heat the duck fat to simmering point, add the duck legs and cook slowly for about 1-2 hours, until the meat is almost falling off the bones, leave to cool in the fat # Preheat oven to 180 degrees # Scrape the fat from the duck legs # To serve place in a tray, smear with the honey and roast for about 10 minutes h4. To make the tomato stew # Heat the oil in a pan, gently cook the garlic and spring onion until soft, add the thyme leaves and tomatoes and cook gently for 5 minutes # Add the white wine and beans and cook for a further 2-3 mins # Add parsley and season h4. For the sauce # Heat all the ingredients apart from the butter, boil and simmer until reduced # Stir in the butter, remove from heat h4. To serve # Place the warm stew on plate # Top with the duck confit, spoon the sauce around

North York Moor Wild Duck Salad

StarterServes 4

# Season the duck breasts with salt and pepper and cook (with the skin on) in a hot pan until they have colour on both sides and then cook in a hot oven at 180°C for approximately 5 minutes. # Remove the duck and allow to rest in a warm place.

To caramelise the cherries

# Firstly remove the stones from the cherries. # Heat the sugar in a pan until it turns caramel in colour, then add the cherries and the sloe gin. # Next add the butter and heat the whole mixture together until you are left with a tasty caramel cherry 'stew'.

To assemble the dish

# Arrange the washed salad onto the plate. # Remove the skin from the duck breast and slice thinly, then arrange this on top of the salad. # Finally spoon the cherries and sauce around the meat and serve.