Meat Fest '08: Part 3 - Duck and Fig Pizza

Sunday morning, we awoke to another beautiful day in the Slope and headed back over to Union Market. Huevos rancheros and bellinis were on the menu for brunch but Paul, MB and I hadn't come to any conclusion as to what we should do for dinner. We knew we were going to use the duck, we just weren't sure how we should prepare it.

The bellinis didn't work out quite the way we intended. I guess I should say we didn't end up making bellinis at all. There were a few extra grill-roasted peaches from the night before and I was hoping to puree them and add a little champagne to the mix but no dice; the liquor store was closed. Instead, I ended up pureeing the peaches with a mix of rums - Goslings Dark and Captain Morgan's Spiced - and peach juice and then topped it off with Sprite. The end result? A foamy, sweet brunch cocktail with just a hint of the roasted flavor from the night before. As for the huevos rancheros, we did them on the grill, the same way we did them back in June.

Any ideas for a good name for this rum/peach concoction?

Chefs Mary and Paul

As for dinner, we came up with something on the fly. And by "something" I mean the most decadent meal of all time. It all started as we were tossing ideas around about how to use the duck when we passed Pizza Plus, the joint where we grab dough for our grill pizzas. I half-jokingly said, "What about duck pizza?" and the next thing I knew, we were listing off ingredients that would work with the duck. In the end, we decided on a mix of dates, figs, pecans, black truffles and chevre.

Earlier in the afternoon, I marinated the duck breast in some Stonewall Kitchen Fig & Vidalia Onion Sauce. Once the duck was on the grill, I cut the dates, figs and black truffles while Paul smashed the pecans and MB separated the chevre into small chunks. When the duck was a nice medium rare, I pulled it off the grill, sliced it into bite-sized pieces and tossed it with the date/fig/truffle/pecan mixture and a little black truffle oil. This mix went on top of the dough which I'd coated with more of the Fig & Vidalia Onion sauce. As you can imagine, the meal was extremely rich...but that didn't stop us from having 3 pieces each. We paired the pizza with some Blue Point Summer Ale; weird that the first time I sampled their summer brew was on the last day of summer.

Yum

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Bye-bye Roasting Pan, Hello Grill

Springtime has arrived in Brooklyn

For the past 4 years, I’ve been making due with an older version of this Weber grill. Its small size has been a blessing and a curse. While easy to store, meals have been challenging when we host large gatherings. The accompanying 14.1 oz. propane canister collection was also annoying, even when they weren’t running out in the middle of a meal. But despite it all, the grill has served me well through the years. I’ve ordered a new cooking grate and heat tent so I can use it as a secondary grill for large outdoor gatherings.

My new grill was delivered on Tuesday…to my office. That elicited some fantastic banter with my fellow employees. They’ve come to expect bizarre things from me so it wasn’t altogether shocking but it is a little weird to see a grill next to a cubicle desk.

After watching my friend Ryan cook on a Coleman Roadtrip grill all last summer, I decided to buy their Roadtrip Pro SS model. The 345 sq. inch cooking surface is roughly double what I’m used to and the 20 lb. tank converter I received in the mail today is going to save me a number of sweaty trips to the hardware store over the course of the summer, not to mention start-and-stop meals.

As I fired it up for the first time to burn off any unwanted chemicals, I marveled at the grill’s efficient design. I’m most impressed with the ability to seal the lid. With both burners on high and the cover sealed shut, the easy-to-read thermometer reached well over 700 degrees in just about 15 minutes.

With the sun out and the temps in the mid-to-upper 60’s, Mary Beth and I called some friends for an impromptu Thursday night gathering. After weighing several menu options, I decided to take a page from my sister and brother-in-law’s grilling repertoire and make pizzas. We grabbed dough from our friends at nearby Pizza Plus. It was only $6 for 3 small sized balls of dough which I found remarkably cheap, especially considering the price of grain right now.

If you’ve never put pizza dough directly on a grill, the concept might be a little unnerving. If you try it, make sure your cooking surface is clean and rub the dough with olive oil. My sister uses oil that’s been sautéed with garlic and red pepper flakes; I’ll probably try that the next time around. I also like to salt my crust and add some corn meal for a little grit.

Place the dough on the grill over medium-low heat and close the lid. After a few minutes, the dough will start to take form. You need to check the bottom every once in awhile to make sure you get a nice, golden brown crust. When it reaches the right consistency, flip it over. Now its time for the toppings. I spooned some Buitoni marinara sauce on the crust and topped it with chunks of fresh mozzarella, grated parmesan, mushrooms and hand-ripped basil. Close the lid, let the cheese melt and pull it off whenever the crust reaches the consistency you’re after.

For our first attempt, I rushed to get dough on the grill and didn’t spend enough time working it out to the right thickness. The result was a doughy pizza that every one agreed was decent but not great. As I was cooking the first pie, Mary took her time working out the other two pieces of dough and by our third and final attempt, we nailed both the thickness and the cooking time.

Before the pizza, we served a brie and some guacamole chips with salsa that our friends graciously brought to the party. To drink, we had sangria (2006 Vina Borgia, Brandy, OJ, McIntosh apples, navel oranges, and lemons) and a selection of Brooklyn suds – Lager and East India Pale Ale.

All in all, it was an easy-going way to welcome spring and the grilling season.

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