The Great Wild Duck Off
Nov 9th, 2009 | By Hank | Category: Out & About | Comments | 25 Comments |I’ve watched Iron Chef for years, and am a big fan of Top Chef. I spend much of my time watching those shows second-guessing the contestants’ decisions — “Why would you put foam on the plate 15 minutes out? Beef with THAT?! — classic armchair quarterbacking.
Now I get a chance to put my money where my mouth is. On Thursday I will head down to one of the swankiest restaurants in town and challenge the executive chef there to a duel: Three dishes, mano a mano. Secret ingredient? Wild ducks.
It’s not like I wandered in unannounced or anything, and I know Chef Michael Tuohy fairly well, and have eaten his food at Grange many times. The folks who run the hotel and restaurant asked me if I’d like to do this — the event is the big splash for a new deal they’re starting in which hunters bring in their ducks and geese (and pheasants and quail, probably) a couple days ahead of time, and then Tuohy creates a meal for them. It sounds exciting, like a Western version of the kind of meals made famous by Sacramento’s most venerable restaurant, Frank Fat’s.
I provide the wild ducks for the competition, as I am the hunter in the bunch. And Michael and I scotched the one-hour rule, as we both prefer long-cooking methods and would rather put great dishes in front of the judges, not hastily prepared ones. Still, everything will be made that day, even the stocks and confits.
Judging will be at 3 p.m. to see who’s cuisine reigns supreme — and this is where I am nervous. Why not be nervous about the whole event? Well, I am pretty certain I can put together three excellent dishes for the judges, and if Michael has three better dishes, than so be it. It is the judges I am most nervous about.
Or rather one judge in particular: Darrell Corti of the Corti Bros. supermarket on Folsom Blvd. Corti and I have spoken several times over the years (I’ve interviewed him for several magazine articles I’ve written) and his reputation as an expert on all things food and wine is international; he is far more than the simple grocer he says he is. Corti’s level of knowledge and expertise is what I aspire to someday, but for now I really, really want to make good food for him.
Because if Corti doesn’t like it, I’ll hear about it. An anecdote rings in my head. Corti judges the wines made by area home winemakers from time to time, and there is a story — apocryphal or no, I’m not sure — that on one particular wine, he swirled it around, smelled it and took a sip. “I think you should let this wine be what it wants to be,” he said. “And what this wine wants to be is… vinegar.” Ouch.
Wish me luck with Darrell and the other judges, Rick Kushman and Niesha Lofing of the Sacramento Bee, and Bob McLandress of the California Waterfowl Association, which will get 10 percent of the night’s proceeds. (Bob, incidentally, is the only one of the judges to have ever eaten my food. He came to our house last year for one of our Duck Hunters’ Dinners.)
Proceeds from the night? What do I mean? Yep. After Tuohy and I whip up our dishes for the judges, we join forces for a public menu (done with domestic ducks from Liberty Farms in Sonoma) featuring a five-course, fixed-price duck extravaganza.
- Duck charcuterie plate, with duck ‘prosciutto,’ rillettes, confit and a very special duck sausage.
- A mixed green salad with warm duck fat and lemon vinaigrette, with Tuohy’s pickled plums and, well, maybe some more confit…
- My duck sugo with homemade tagliatelle noodles, which will also be a little different…
- Tuohy’s cassoulet, filled with all the good things in life!
- Grange Pastry Chef Elaine Baker’s pear tart, with just a li’l duck fat in the pastry crust.
We’ll be serving from 5:30 p.m. until 10 p.m. At $65 a head, the dinner ain’t cheap, but 10 percent goes to the CWA, and Michael and I will do our best to make sure you enjoy everything. I will be on the house all during service, basically doing whatever Chef tells me to do — it is his restaurant, after all…
So if any of you live close enough to Sacramento to come down Thursday night, I would love to see you. You get a chance to eat some great food, I get a chance to meet you in person, and the California Waterfowl Association gets some more money to preserve habitat for ducks, geese and other wetlands critters.
You can make reservations either online here, or by calling 916 492 4450.
Hope to see you there! And wish me luck — I’ll need it!
Whup ‘im, Hank.
By the way, your name lends itself well to that last sentence. Not as well as “Earl”, but still good.
This event is so cool on so many levels — the duck dinner, the celebrity judges, the CWA fundraiser, and the general celebration of the Sacramento’s Valley’s place as the epicenter of the Pacific flyway and the rich waterfowling tradition here.
I’m also glad to learn the Grange is joining the ranks of Frank Fats and Simon’s on 16th street as another great spot hunters can take their game, friends and family for fabulous game dinners.
Here’s a question for the Iron Chefs. Can you all do take out Thursday? We’ve got young kids so a midweek dinner out is not a possibility. But we’d love to order take out to support the event, stop by and say hi and enjoy the fabulous food at home.
Not sure if we can make it or not, Hank, but you know you’ve got us rooting for ya!
Gosh, I wish I could make it !!! I looks like so much fun!
Good luck! I’m sure you’ll serve delicious food… and that’s what it’s really all about.
It looks like so much fun… not “I looks like so much fun”
whoops…
SportingDays: Nope, no takeout. Sorry!
Phillip: C’mon! You can make the drive — after all, the restaurant is downstair from a hotel, so you can crash there.
Bring the hurt! My money is on you. Will come if possible. Flying solo with the little guy that night and we are both a little sick at the moment. Dont want to spread the germs so we will have to play it by ear.
Hank, David and I would so be there, but we have to pour wine for a gig that’s been scheduled for months. In other words, we have to work… I have had your cookin’ and it won’t be about luck, but will be a great competition! I’m sorry to miss the great eats!
Damn! If I could jump on a plane I’d be there in a heartbeat! I love duck, in any form; my money’s on you to win it Hank!
Thanks for the shout-out, Hank. I’m going to use duck fat with something else in the dessert, but it’s a surprise!
Hey, son of mine, either way you win! You can’t loose! What a great experience to have! Your contributions will be super! Wish I could be there to join in the fun and eatings.
Love and Blessings,
Mum
oops! should be lose!
Tom: I will, most defiantly, “bring the hurt.” Will probably play Pantera really loud in the prep kitchen to get myself psyched up.
Sorry you can’t make it Chris and David, but you’ll be at our next Duck Hunter’s Dinner in January!
Tina: What’s a little plane fare? Sheesh!
…and thanks, Mom! Love you, too!
Dang, man… If we didn’t live in Minnesooota we’d be der… ya shooor ya betcha!
Good luck, have fun! – Bob & Lisa
How I wish I had some extra cash for a great fundraiser and how I wish I didn’t have to teach that night! It sounds like it’s going to be so much fun! You don’t need luck; you’ll be great.
Do these ducks have any idea how lucky they are? It’s like they won the waterfowler’s lottery. Start to finish, nerves aside, sounds like a ton of fun for both the kitchen and dinner guests. Hooray for the Grange and lucky for us, Sacto!
This whole copying Fats (and Simons by-the-way) must be catching on. There are 20 of us heading to Pearl on the River this Friday where we are going to give Jeff and Chef Matthew Jones a spin at the ole’ wild duck and pheasant department. I’ll be writing about that adventure next week. Maybe I should mention the CWA 10% donation piece as well!
Hi — discovered you while trying to discover whether it’s really possible to hang a goose for three weeks and subsequently eat it as dictated in a new game cook book I just gave my husband for his birthday. He’s also a hunter, and trained as a chef before entering academia. Predictably, we think your blog is GREAT!
OK, airfare from Philly to Sacramento, round trip, $398.00; hotel for one night, figure $100.00; car rental, about $50.00. That $65.00 dinner would end up costing over $600.00. I’m sure your food would be worth it, but my other half might disagree!
Hank,
Use the woodies and let Michael have a merganser or two. JK. All the best! Sounds like a great event.
Good Luck, Hank!
Good luck and God bless.
So how’d it go?
Hank, it wasn’t the drive there so much as the fact that I’ve gotta be at Oakland Airport at 0500. Gotta time these things better.
You’ll win, hands down.
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