Your questions answered

Sirs I recently prepared dinner using a Gressingham Guinea Fowl and it was so good I wanted to write and let you know. The recipe I used was Dirk Bogarde's, an actor sadly no longer living. He spent many years living in the south of France and used this recipe, which I found on his website. It is called Chicken Clermont, (named after his house) although he does say Guinea Fowl is good too. Without doubt, I will be buying your delicious Guinea Fowls again. Many thanks. Beverley Lafferty p.s. I purchased the bird from Sainsburys which is not mentioned on your 'Where to buy'

Dear Beverley

Thank you for your feedback and we are very glad to hear you are a fan of our guinea fowl.

Thanks aslo for the tip on the recipe, i certainly will be trying it out and i hope other visitors to our website will now ba able to as well.

Feedback on Duck Breasts with Plumb Sauce. We are not lovers of prepacked foods, but for this product we will make an exeption ! It has to be one the tastiest dishes we have come accross, please, please do not discontinue this excellant dish.

Hi Gillian

Thank you for your feedback. Its great to hear you enjoyed our duck breasts in plum sauce!

All feedback is useful for future product develompents.

We hope you enjoy many more meals from Gressingham foods.

Whenever I pan fry duck breasts I always seem to char the skin, how can I avoid this?

I think the problem here is starting off on too high a heat and not adjusting the heat as the temperature increases. I would recommend starting the duck breasts off on a very low heat, skin side down and when the skin has become a crisp, golden colour turn the breast over and continue to cook to how you like it but preferably not burnt.

I am never quite sure how long to cook duck breasts - I have heard that they should be served pink in the middle. What’s your advice?

In my opinion the breast is always best served pink with a crisp skin. As to how pink you think it should be, I strongly believe this is down to personal taste and if you are not sure then experiment a few times until you find your preference. It is very important to allow the breasts to rest for a few minutes in a warm place before serving. This allows the duck breast to relax and then contract slightly. What then happens is that any of the bloody juices will drain off and then as it contracts it will draw in all the other juices to give extra succulence.

Do you have a foolproof method for cooking duck breasts? I always get mine wrong.

Take the duck breasts and remove the inner fillet. Score the skin by taking a sharp knife and cut diagonally across the skin as closely as you can. You want at least 12 cuts but only just penetrate the flesh. Take a non stick frying pan (this makes it easier – other frying pans are fine.) Sprinkle a little salt on the base of the pan and on a low heat place the breasts skin side down. You do not need oil. Season the flesh. As the breasts are cooking keep checking the skin and turn them over when they are crisp and golden all over. This can take a few minutes. If at any point there is too much fat in the pan then carefully drain off. You can save this for roasting potatoes. Once you have turned them over, place them into a preheated oven 200°C. Leave them to cook for 5 mins – longer if you want them less pink. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for approx 4 mins. Serve with your favourite potatoes and veg.

I am always looking for new sauces to serve at dinner parties I love the zesti orange sauce in Sainsbury’s and sometimes pass it off as my own. can you suggest other good sauces that I can make for my dinner parties other than orange sauces or plum sauces. I like cooking and would like to try new things

For a fruity twist to your duck why not try a citrus dressing combining fresh lime, lemon and orange, or how about apple and sultana, alternatively a combination of blackberries or cranberries with prunes, or for a more authentic chinese sauce why not try soy and seasame. These are fantastic combinations which work really well with duck, and are sure to impress at dinner parties. Its sounds like you really enjoy cooking so why not play around with these combinations and make the sauce exactly to your taste, but if you do get stuck feel free to ask me for a recipe for any of these sauces.

I cook duck regularly by the French method, I remove the legs and continue to cook them for a further 30 minutes after I take the duck from the oven. However, I would like to cook the duck in a more traditional English way similar to the way you cook pork (slowly roasting until well done), but I don't want to end up with breasts dry and legs only just cooked! Can you tell me how I might achieve what I am looking for?

I have been testing a few ideas and I think this is the best one:

Take the whole duck and rub with softened butter and seasoning (plus any other herbs etc that you may want).

Place onto a rack.

Take a deep baking tray and half fill with water or stock.

Place rack on top of tray and put into a preheated oven at 220°C, 425°F, Gas Mark 7.

Cook for 20 mins and then lower heat to 140°C, 275°F, Gas Mark 1.

Cook for 2 and a half to 3 hours or until meat is tender. This will vary according to duck size.

The key to succulence is this, after about 45 mins of cooking start to baste the duck with the stock juices. Continue to do this at 20 minute intervals until the last half hour when you need to do it at 10 minute intervals. If the tray at anytime looks dangerously close to spilling over just drain off some of the juices and use that directly.

Alternatively a less labour intensive way is to cook the duck upside down for 40 minutes of the standard cook time given on the packaging, this exposes the legs to a more intense heat that the breasts and can help to give succulent breasts whilst also ensuring the legs are cooked.

I want to barbecue my duck. Can you recommend a good marinade?

Here are a couple of ideas to get you started,

A really quick and simple marinade that is excellent with duck is olive oil, crushed garlic, black pepper and a teaspoon of ground cumin. Mix this according to your taste and to the amount of duck you are planning to cook. Place the duck portions into the marinade and leave to marinade in a refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Alternatively a honey and mustard glaze will always go down well with duck,

Mix together 1 teaspoon of clear honey, 1 teaspoon of wholegrain mustard, 1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon in a small bowl. Spread this glaze all over the duck and then cook on a cooler spot of the Barbeque. (This recipe is based on two portions of duck)

Or for a more traditional Chinese taste use a combination of salt, sugar, soy and five spice.

What is the best way to grill duck breasts?

I would start by scoring the skin – maybe 5 or 6 times and remove the inner fillet. Pan fry skin side down gently for a approx 3–4 minutes and then flip over and cook for 1 minute. Transfer to a grill pan and place under the grill on a medium heat. Try to avoid having the duck too near to the heat. Leave under the grill skin side up for a few minutes and flip over for 2 mins. Remove from heat and allow to rest for 3’4 mins and then serve. This will cook the breasts medium rare so adjust your cooking times according to your preference. If you wish to use only the grill then you simply place the breast skin side up under the grill once you have scored the skin and removed inner fillet as before. Cook for approx 10 minutes skin side up and then turn over and cook for about 4 minutes the other side. Rest as before then serve. Happy cooking.

Hi Vernon, My fiancée and I fancy a change this Christmas and though about duck but have never cooked it before can you help us?

An excellent idea to have duck for Christmas and also a huge advantage with the following recipe is you will spend a lot less time in the kitchen than you would if you had turkey.

Duck breast with an apple,cherry and cinnamon sauce.

Ingredients:

2 Gressingham Duck breasts – available in Sainsbury’s and leading local butchers

For the sauce....

2 teaspoons butter

2 teaspoons caster sugar

1 apple, peeled cored and chopped into square pieces

100 ml red wine

250g cherries – fresh or frozen – stones removed

100ml water

Half teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cloves

6 crushed peppercorns

pinch nutmeg

Prepare the sauce first...

Melt the butter and sugar together and then add the diced apple for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the red wine and boil for a couple of minutes. Add all the other ingredients and simmer for 2 mins.. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly. You can prepare this sauce a day in advance if you wish and reheat gently.

Cooking the duck

Pre heat oven 200°C, Gas Mark 6.

Score the breasts lightly with a sharp knife. Try not to penetrate the flesh but don’t worry if you do. Place the breasts skin side down in a frying pan on low heat – preferably a non stick. You do not need oil. keep checking the skin until it is golden brown and then flip over. Cook for further 1 min then place into pre heated oven for 6 mins. Remove and allow to rest in a warm place for 5 mins then serve. If you need to reheat your sauce this is a good time to do it. Serve with your favourite roast potatoes and vegetables. Gorgeous – enjoy the difference!