Labrador Tea Woodcock with Foie Gras and Puffed Wild Rice

Name: Labrador Tea Woodcock with Foie Gras and Puffed Wild Rice
Prep time: 1 h 30 min
Cook time: 6 h
Total time: 7 h 30 min
Yield: 2 to 3 servings
Cuisine: Boreal
Ingredients: 4 unit Whole woodcock 1 to 2 woodcocks per person; 2 unit Foie gras escalopes fresh or slowly thawed; 250 g Grey oyster mushrooms cut into 2-3 cm pieces; 250 g Black oyster mushrooms cut into 2-3 cm pieces; 100 g Prosciutto thin slices, finely chopped; 3 unit Grey shallots finely minced; 1 unit Garlic clove minced; 500 ml White wine dry, half a bottle (keep the other half to drink); 500 ml Partridge or woodcock stock homemade preferred; 1 unit Bouquet garni thyme, bay leaf, parsley, tied together; 250 ml Wild rice 1 cup, uncooked; Frying oil for puffing, about 500 ml; 15 ml Soy sauce 1 tablespoon; 7 ml Mirin 1 1/2 teaspoons; 15 ml Dried mushroom powder 1 tablespoon, homemade (see step); Birch syrup a drizzle, to taste; 8 unit Dried Labrador tea leaves, 3 to 4 per sous-vide bag; 10 ml Dried linden leaves a pinch per sous-vide bag; 100 g Butter distributed across the bags; 400 ml Mirepoix leek, carrot, celery in brunoise; 250 ml Wild game bird stock migratory bird stock (goose, snow goose, duck); 250 ml White wine to deglaze the carcasses; 30 g Butter to finish the sauce by mounting; 10 ml Sweet gale (seeds) 2 teaspoons, from Gourmet Sauvage; 5 ml Ground dune pepper 1 teaspoon; 30 ml St-Lawrence fleur de sel 2 tablespoons, base of the blend; Duck fat for the daube and for searing; Butter for basting

The boreal forest, on a plate.

Prep1 h 30

Cook6 h

Yield2 to 3 servings

DifficultyAdvanced

theuplandcook.com/en/recipes/woodcock-labrador-tea

Ingredients

Main bird

4 — Whole woodcock (1 to 2 woodcocks per person)
2 — Foie gras escalopes (fresh or slowly thawed)

Mushroom daube

250 g — Grey oyster mushrooms (cut into 2-3 cm pieces)
250 g — Black oyster mushrooms (cut into 2-3 cm pieces)
100 g — Prosciutto (thin slices, finely chopped)
3 — Grey shallots (finely minced)
1 — Garlic clove (minced)
500 ml — White wine (dry, half a bottle (keep the other half to drink))
500 ml — Partridge or woodcock stock (homemade preferred)
1 — Bouquet garni (thyme, bay leaf, parsley, tied together)

Puffed wild rice

250 ml — Wild rice (1 cup, uncooked)
Frying oil (for puffing, about 500 ml)

Rice dressing

15 ml — Soy sauce (1 tablespoon)
7 ml — Mirin (1 1/2 teaspoons)
15 ml — Dried mushroom powder (1 tablespoon, homemade (see step))
Birch syrup (a drizzle, to taste)

Sous-vide woodcock

8 — Dried Labrador tea (leaves, 3 to 4 per sous-vide bag)
10 ml — Dried linden leaves (a pinch per sous-vide bag)
100 g — Butter (distributed across the bags)

Sauce

400 ml — Mirepoix (leek, carrot, celery in brunoise)
250 ml — Wild game bird stock (migratory bird stock (goose, snow goose, duck))
250 ml — White wine (to deglaze the carcasses)
30 g — Butter (to finish the sauce by mounting)

Boreal aromatic salt

10 ml — Sweet gale (seeds) (2 teaspoons, from Gourmet Sauvage)
5 ml — Ground dune pepper (1 teaspoon)
30 ml — St-Lawrence fleur de sel (2 tablespoons, base of the blend)

Fats

Duck fat (for the daube and for searing)
Butter (for basting)

Steps

01Make the mushroom daube (day before)
Melt 2 spoonfuls of duck fat in a cast-iron Dutch oven over low heat. Sweat the minced grey shallots for 3 to 4 minutes without browning. Add the chopped grey and black oyster mushrooms and cook on low for 5 to 10 minutes to release their water. Stir in the minced garlic and continue 5 minutes. Add the chopped prosciutto and cook another 2 to 3 minutes.
02Reduce and simmer the daube
Pour in 500 ml of dry white wine and add the bouquet garni. Reduce by half over very low heat, about 20 minutes. Add the partridge or woodcock stock. Cook slowly on very low heat for 4 to 5 hours, uncovered. At the end, the mixture should be nearly dry — no running liquid, just confit mushrooms holding all the flavor. Refrigerate for the next day.
03Puff the wild rice (also day before)
In a tall saucepan, heat the vegetable oil until it's almost smoking (about 200°C / 400°F). Pour the wild rice in small batches, 2 spoonfuls at a time. The grains will puff and float in seconds. Quickly lift with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Let cool, then store in an airtight container in a dry place.
04Make the boreal aromatic salt
In a mortar, grind the sweet gale seeds and dune pepper together until you get a coarse powder. Mix with the St-Lawrence fleur de sel. Reserve in a small jar — this salt finishes the plate at service.
05Make the dried mushroom powder
In a food processor, pulverize dried mushrooms of your choice (porcini, morels, shiitake, or a mix) into a fine powder. Sift if needed. Reserve — this powder is used in the rice dressing and as a finishing touch.
06Prep the woodcock
Pluck and gut the woodcock. Set giblets aside for the sauce. Quickly sear each whole woodcock in butter in a hot skillet for 1 to 2 minutes — just to fix the juices and color the skin. Then remove the legs and breasts with a knife. Keep the carcasses for the sauce.
07Sous-vide the legs (2 h 30 at 65°C)
Place the legs in a sous-vide bag with a knob of butter, 3 to 4 Labrador tea leaves and a pinch of dried linden leaves. Seal. Cook in a thermostat-controlled bath at 65°C (149°F) for 2 hours 30 minutes. The legs, being tougher, need a longer cook at slightly higher temperature than the breasts.
08Sous-vide the breasts (20 min at 62°C)
Prepare a second sous-vide bag with the breasts, a knob of butter, 3 to 4 Labrador tea leaves and a pinch of linden. Seal. Twenty minutes before service, drop the bags into a 62°C (144°F) bath. The breasts should stay pink, almost rare at the center — that's what makes woodcock so delicate.
09Make the carcass sauce
While the woodcock cooks, brown the crushed carcasses and reserved giblets in butter in a Dutch oven over high heat, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the leek, carrot and celery mirepoix and cook 5 to 10 minutes. Deglaze with 250 ml of white wine and scrape the bottom. Add the migratory bird stock and let simmer 30 to 45 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve, then reduce by three quarters over high heat. Off the heat, mount with butter cubes to make it glossy and coating.
10Dress the puffed rice
Just before service, make the dressing: combine 15 ml soy sauce, 7.5 ml mirin, 15 ml dried mushroom powder, 2 to 3 ground sweet gale seeds, a drizzle of birch syrup and a pinch of salt. Whisk well. Add to the puffed rice and toss gently with a fork to coat each grain without breaking it.
11Sear the foie gras
In a very hot skillet with no added fat, place the foie gras escalopes. Sear 45 seconds per side until a golden crust forms. The center should stay melting. Salt immediately at the exit with the boreal aromatic salt. Reserve on paper towels.
12Caramelize the skin with a torch
Pull the legs and breasts from their sous-vide bags. Pat dry gently. Hit the skin with a torch for 20 to 30 seconds until golden and crisp. No torch? A very hot skillet with a touch of butter works — 20 seconds skin-side only.
13Plate the dish
On each warm plate, place a generous spoonful of puffed rice in the center, using a cookie cutter for a clean presentation. Top with a spoonful of reheated mushroom daube. Lay the caramelized woodcock legs and breasts on top, with the foie gras escalope beside. Drizzle with sauce. Finish with the boreal aromatic salt and a touch of dried mushroom powder.

Gastronomic plate with caramelized woodcock, puffed wild rice, mushroom daube, seared foie gras, reduced sauce and boreal aromatic salt