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Pan-Roasted Baby Breast with Morel, Potato, and Baby Appendage Crepes: Serves 4
Brown Baby Stock Preheat oven to 475º Remove baby breasts and appendages and refrigerate. Quarter the baby carcass. Place the pieces in large roasting pan. Roast for 1 hour. Remove the pan from the oven and pour off and reserve the fat. Add the carcass to a stockpot. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved fat to the roasting pan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are lightly caramelized, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until vegetables are a deep amber color, about 10 minutes. Deglaze the pan with 1/3 cup red wine, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen the browned bits. Pour the contents into the stockpot, covering with water and adding the bouquet garni and peppercorns. Bring the stockpot to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 8 hours, adding extra water if the water level drops below the bones. Strain through a mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth. Freeze any extra stock.
Crepes 1c all-purpose flour
Whisk together the flour, eggs, 1/2 cup milk, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Continue whisking until you have a smooth batter. Add the remaining cup of milk and stir well to combine. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator to chill the batter for at least 30 minutes. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Just before you are ready to make the crepes, whisk in the melted butter. The batter should be the consistency of heavy cream; if it is too thick, add milk slowly while whisking constantly until it is the right texture. Heat a 9-inch non-stick skillet or crepe pan over medium heat. Melt a teaspoon of butter in the pan or spray with vegetable spray and heat the pan u ntil a drop of water "dances" across the surface. Using a ladle or a measuring cup with a lip, pour about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the batter into the pan. Hold the pan with 1 hand and pour the batter in with the other. Swirl the pan while pouring so that the batter covers the pan thinly and evenly for each crepe. Pour off any excess batter. Try not to leave any holes. After the first few crepes you will know exactly how much batter your pan will hold. Cook the crepe over medium-high heat until the edges turn brown, about 15 seconds. Flip the crepe using a small spatula and your fingers. Cook on the second side for another 10 to 15 seconds. The second side will not be as evenly browned as the first side. Remove the pan from the heat and invert it over a warm plate to stack the crepes. Keep warm until ready to use.
Crepe Filling baby legs and arms
Remove the meat from the baby appendages, carefully removing all of the skin, fat, tendons, ligaments, and membranes. You should end up with many morsels of clean leg and arm meat. Set aside the bones (Side Note: the bone marrow makes a tasty treat spread on small toasts topped with fleur de sel). In a large sauté pan over medium heat, heat one tablespoon each of butter and olive oil and cook the potatoes until golden brown, about 20 minutes. While the potatoes are cooking, heat one tablespoon each of butter and olive oil in a medium sauté pan, and cook the mushrooms and shallots until the mushrooms begin to release their liquid, about 10 minutes. Add one tablespoon of butter to a third sauté pan, and sauté the meat on medium high heat for 2 minutes. Add the baby brown stock and reduce until the meat morsels have been glazed, about 10 minutes. Combine all with parsley, salt, and pepper, and keep warm.
Baby Breasts 2 baby breasts, skin
on, cut in half length-wise
Preheat oven to 450º
Pat the baby breasts dry and score the skin side of the breasts. Season with salt and pepper. In a large heavy oven-proof skillet, heat the butter and olive oil over high heat, and sear the baby breasts for 5 minutes until the skin is crisp and most of the fat has rendered off. Turn the breasts and sear for an additional minute. Transfer the skillet to the oven for 4 minutes.
Baby Demi-glace sauce Place the stock in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer until reduced to 1/2 cup. In a saucepan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of the butter and melt. Add the shallot and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute until they have given off their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the red wine and reduce until almost dry, about 1 minute. Add the stock and simmer to heat through. Add the thyme and season with salt and pepper. Finish with the remaining tablespoon butter.
Presentation Fill the warm crepes with the morel, potato, and baby appendage filling and place two on each plate. Put a breast piece diagonally across, leaning on one of the crepes. Spoon the baby demi-glace sauce onto the plate around the breast. Wine Suggestion: A well-aged bottle of red Hermitage from the Northern Rhone would match the earthy, gamy flavors of this dish beautifully.
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