Went to the Restaurant and Bar Hong Kong 2014 last week to visit friends representing Maple Leaf Farm from the USA. I like trade shows for some reasons, the best thing is I get to talk to product ambassadors (not promoters), it's amazing to learn from these experts, and not to mention the interesting products you get to see, it's always inspiring and eye-opening.
Let's talk about the duck. I am impressed by the efforts the duck company put in producing their poultry products. The proclaimed 'premier product' is more than just a marketing cliché for charging a premium. The White Peking Ducks at Maple Leaf Farm are scientifically raised strictly following a best practice farming guideline that was developed by animal science experts, just to ensure the well-being of the ducks and, of course, the meat quality.
Live well, eat well, be happy ducks
The ducks are raised in quiet, spacious barns where they have room to roam about and have constant access to fresh water and feed. The barns protect the birds from extreme weather conditions, predators and disease, but allow the fresh air needed to keep the ducks healthy.
The farm owns and operates their own feed mills using natural feeds to ensure nutrition for the ducks. They even have a poultry nutritionist on staff who formulates a balanced diet for the ducks from corn, soy, wheat and other essential nutrients.
The taste and recipe
The duck breast of Maple Leaf Farm tastes clean and mild without the irony flavor in duck meat sometimes. At the expo, there was a chef's demonstration showing the 'slow cooked duck breast with pomelo sauce', by Chef Andy Yeung of the private kitchen 一膳軒. Simple recipe, you can do it yourself at home~
Ingredients
1pc Maple Leaf duck breast
1/2 Pomelo
3tbl sp Sugar
A little Corn flour
A little Rice vinegar
The duck breast
1. Seal the duck breast in ziplock bag
2. Slowly heat up water bath to 80°C, put the duck breast in at 40°C, cook for 35 minutes with temperature not exceeding 80°C
3. Take out the duck breast, slice up for serving
The dressing
1. Peel a few slices of pomelo skin, finely chop up
2. Juice half of the pomelo and take out the pulp, bring to cook the chopped skin, together with 250g water, and about 3tbl spoon of sugar
3. Add corn flour to thicken the sauce, and a bit white rice vinegar
4. Drizzle the dressing on top of duck breast sliced and it's ready to serve
There was another event onsite - the Disciples Escoffier Young Talent Trophy where the duck breasts were sponsored as the major ingredient for the contestants to illustrate the traditional Escoffier recipe - Braisé magre de canard à l'orange (braised duck breast with orange).
Escoffier chefs at the judging table (most of them are Michelin star chefs)
Here are some finished dishes by Asian young chefs:
