{"id":1200,"date":"2013-10-08T11:58:04","date_gmt":"2013-10-08T10:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ginnyang.com\/?p=1200"},"modified":"2014-11-30T01:28:55","modified_gmt":"2014-11-30T01:28:55","slug":"the-forest-floor-partridge-confit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ginnyang.com\/?p=1200","title":{"rendered":"The Forest Floor – Partridge Confit"},"content":{"rendered":"

The second dish from my tasting menu. \u00a0“The Forest floor” is the concept for this dish which consists of confit partridge leg, partridge pate, candied rosemary<\/a>, beetroot jelly<\/a>, a porcini and walnut soil and a moss like side salad. \u00a0I’ve added an additional bit of presentation by serving it on a banana leaf. \u00a0This dish turned out to be one of the favourites of the night or at least it had one of the favourite elements of the night – the partridge pate.<\/p>\n

This is quite a fun dish to make and although there is a lot of work and preparation that goes into each element it is actually quite easy once you know how. \u00a0A Thermomix will make life much easier but it is not essential, an ordinary blender and some additional cooking will be required instead but the end result of the pate will be quite different.<\/p>\n

Doing a confit is an easy way to cook and preserve meat, in the case of a tasting menu like this it is even more useful as you can prepare it weeks in advance and just reheat it and give it a quick fry before serving. A confit will keep in the fridge for up to 3 months, provided the meat is properly sealed by the fat i.e. it is completely covered by the fat. \u00a0So it is important to ensure that you have enough goose fat to cover the partridge. \u00a0It helps to remove the meat from the bones before<\/em> doing the confit, not only because you need less fat but because you will need the bones to make the partridge stock. \u00a0If the bones have been roasted previously, you won’t be able to collect the pan juices for the stock later. \u00a0This is a key point that many people miss when making a stock. \u00a0You can of course make a chicken stock from left over roast chicken bones but the really deep, intense flavours come out when the chicken is first roasted. \u00a0If you use bones that have previously been roasted and just dump them in a stock pot to boil you won’t get the really deep flavour out of it. \u00a0The partridge stock is a key ingredient in the partridge pate and I firmly believe that it would not have been a highlight of the meal without a good stock. \u00a0I will cover stock creation in another article, for this recipe we will be making a simple brown partridge stock.<\/p>\n

I’d like to highlight that this is very much a seasonal dish. \u00a0Partridge hunting season is only September to January (1st Feb) in the UK. \u00a0Outside of these times you could try this with pigeon or possibly guinea fowl. \u00a0I recommend red legged partridge over grey partridge as the flavour is slightly milder and it’s a bigger bird.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"GnY_ForestFloor\"<\/a>
Click to view full size<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ingredients (Serves 8):<\/strong><\/p>\n

4 Red Legged Partridge<\/p>\n

2kg Goose Fat<\/p>\n

“Moss” Salad leaves (Rocket, Curly Chicory, Japanese Greens, Leaf lettuce, Oakleaf)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Soil:<\/strong><\/p>\n

50g Dry Porcini Mushrooms<\/p>\n

100g Walnuts<\/p>\n

1 Shallot<\/p>\n

1 Clove Garlic<\/p>\n

25ml Partridge stock<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Candied Rosemary\u00a0<\/strong>–\u00a0See recipe here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Beetroot Jelly\u00a0<\/strong>–\u00a0See recipe here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Partridge Stock:<\/strong><\/p>\n

4 Partridge Carcass<\/p>\n

1 Carrot<\/p>\n

1 Stick Celery<\/p>\n

1 Clove Garlic<\/span><\/p>\n

2 Shallots<\/p>\n

2 Sprigs Thyme<\/p>\n

1 Sprig Rosemary<\/p>\n

Water<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Partridge Pate:<\/strong><\/p>\n

8 Partridge Breasts<\/p>\n

50ml Double Cream<\/p>\n

75ml Partridge Stock<\/p>\n

25ml Mushroom Stock<\/p>\n

50ml Goose Fat<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Method:<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Partridge Confit:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Preheat your oven to 150C.<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Rub the partridge meat with a clove of garlic and then salt the meat and leave in the fridge.<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0Prepare two oven dishes with half the goose fat each.<\/p>\n

4. \u00a0Once the oven is up to temperature place the goose fat dishes in to melt.<\/p>\n

5. \u00a0When the fat has all melted take the dishes out and place the legs in one and the breasts in the other.<\/p>\n

6. \u00a0Return the dishes to the oven for about an hour and a half.<\/p>\n

7. \u00a0Take the partridge out and allow to cool, ensure that the meat is completely covered by the fat.<\/p>\n

8. \u00a0Place in the fridge for at least 2 days.<\/p>\n

9. \u00a0To serve the confit legs, preheat the oven to 180C and place the dish in the oven until the fat starts to loosen off enough to remove the legs.<\/p>\n

10. \u00a0Give the legs a quick fry with some of the goose fat just until they start to turn crisp.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Partridge Stock:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Drizzle a little oil over the partridge and sprinkle with salt.<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Roast the partridge carcass in the oven for about 2 hours at 160C.<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0Remove the partridge from the oven and reserve all the juices.<\/p>\n

4. \u00a0In a cast iron pot or stock pot, fry the shallots with a little bit of oil until they begin to soften.<\/p>\n

5. \u00a0Dice carrots and celery and add to the pot, continue to fry until the carrots soften.<\/p>\n

6. \u00a0Add the garlic, partridge and juices and fry for a couple of minutes.<\/p>\n

7. \u00a0Add water to the pot until it just covers the partridge. \u00a0Cover the pot with a lid, reduce the heat to a simmer and let it simmer for about 3 hours.<\/p>\n

8. \u00a0If the stock reduces too much you can add a little water. \u00a0Check for seasoning and adjust as necessary.<\/p>\n

9. \u00a0Check the stock every 30mins or so, skim off any scum that forms on the top of the stock.<\/p>\n

10. \u00a0Allow the stock to cool and then store in the fridge until required.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Porcini and Walnut Soil:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Rehydrate Porcini mushrooms in hot water for 20-30mins, stirring occasionally.<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Drain the mushrooms and reserve the water for a stock.<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0Dice and fry the shallot and garlic.<\/p>\n

4. \u00a0Blitz all the dry ingredients together into a rough mix – not too fine as you don’t want a paste.<\/p>\n

5. \u00a0Add in the hot stock, give it a good mix and keep warm.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Partridge Pate:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Remove Partridge breasts from confit, taking some goose fat.<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Reheat Partridge stock in a small pan, but do not boil.<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0Fry shallots and garlic in a small frying pan with a little bit of oil (use groundnut, grapeseed or other neutral oil).<\/p>\n

4. \u00a0Blitz breasts, goose fat, shallot and garlic with the stock until they form a paste – TMX SP6 \/ 1min<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

5. \u00a0Gradually add cream while blitzing.<\/p>\n

6. \u00a0Continue to add mushroom & partridge stock until desired consistency is obtained – TMX 50C \/ SP3 \/ 3mins.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Plating:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Trim a banana leaf to the shape of the plate.<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Lay down a tablespoon of the soil and flatten it slightly with the back of the spoon.<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0Next place some of the salad leaves next to the soil.<\/p>\n

4. \u00a0Place two sprigs of candied rosemary<\/a> crossed over, opposite the salad.<\/p>\n

5. \u00a0Cut the beetroot jelly<\/a> into small cubes and place three of them around the rosemary.<\/p>\n

6. \u00a0Using a chef’s ring, place a round of the partridge pate opposite the soil (between the salad and rosemary).<\/p>\n

7. \u00a0Finally lay a partridge leg on top of the soil and serve.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"GnY_ForestPlate\"<\/a>
Click to view full size<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tips:<\/strong><\/p>\n

– \u00a0If the partridge pate becomes too wet, add some flour and continue to heat and mix until it thickens.<\/span><\/p>\n

– \u00a0The rosemary is more for presentation than eating, you can’t eat the woody stalks (unless you like chewing on wood?) but the ends give a nice sweet menthol flavour.<\/p>\n

– \u00a0You can (and should) be quite generous with the cubes of jelly, the dish is quite dry in texture and the jelly provides some much-needed moisture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The second dish from my tasting menu. \u00a0“The Forest floor” is the concept for this dish which consists of confit partridge leg, partridge pate, candied rosemary, beetroot jelly, a porcini and walnut soil and a moss like side salad. \u00a0I’ve added an additional bit of presentation by serving it on a banana leaf. \u00a0This dish turned out to be one of the favourites of the night or at least it had one of the favourite[…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"The Forest Floor - Partridge Confit http:\/\/wp.me\/p1PTCG-jm","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[37,5,38,19],"tags":[77,78,74,67,75,76,48,65,81],"class_list":["post-1200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-main","category-recipes","category-starter","category-west","tag-confit","tag-creative","tag-game","tag-jelly","tag-partridge","tag-pate","tag-salty","tag-savoury","tag-thermomix"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ginnyang.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/ForestFloor1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1PTCG-jm","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ginnyang.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ginnyang.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ginnyang.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ginnyang.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ginnyang.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1200"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/ginnyang.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1200\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1423,"href":"https:\/\/ginnyang.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1200\/revisions\/1423"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ginnyang.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ginnyang.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ginnyang.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ginnyang.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}