No. 1922

Duck with Cepes

Canard aux Cepes

Put a good clean, trussed duck into a saucepan with melted fat pork and two minced onions, fry, season and moisten with two to three gills of gravy (No. 404), then cook smothered, turning it over. When three-quarters cooked, add two to three dozen small fresh and peeled cepes free of stalks; finish cooking together with the duck, and when done, drain off the latter to untruss and dress on a dish with the cepes grouped around. Strain the gravy stock, thicken it with a little tomato sauce (No. 549) and pour it over the duck and garnishing, then serve.

← No. 1921 Roast Duck Duck & Goose No. 1923 Duck with Cherries →

For the Modern Kitchen

Ranhofer writes for a brigade with stockpots already simmering; the whole dish is a covered braise, and the mushrooms go in only at the end so they keep their texture. Everything else is a matter of translating the pantry references.

GillsA gill is half a cup, so two to three gills is 1 to 1½ cups of liquid. That is enough to braise, not to poach — the duck should sit in shallow liquid, not swim.
"Gravy (No. 404)"In The Epicurean this is a brown stock-based gravy rather than a flour-thickened sauce. A good dark unsalted veal or chicken stock, reduced by a third, does the same work; season lightly, since it reduces further with the duck.
"Melted fat pork"Rendered fresh pork fat or lard. Salt pork will work but account for the salt when you season. Duck fat is a defensible substitute and no one will complain.
"Cook smothered"Lidded, on low heat, with the duck turned so each side sits in the liquid. On a modern stove that is the barest simmer, or a covered pot in a low oven; roughly 1¼ to 1½ hours for a bird of about 5 lb.
CèpesBoletus edulis, sold as porcini. Two to three dozen small ones is about 1 to 1½ lb. Dried porcini are not a substitute here — they are meant to be whole and firm; large fresh caps, quartered, are closer than reconstituted ones. Add them only for the last 20 to 30 minutes, as directed, or they collapse.
StalksCèpe stems are often tunnelled by insects, which may be part of the reason for taking them off. Trim, halve any doubtful one lengthwise to check, and pare the base.
The duckProbably a Rouen or a Long Island bird, likely around 5 lb. A braised duck is cooked through, not pink; expect the legs to give easily and the breast to be well done, which is the point of the method.
Finishing the sauceStrain, skim the fat hard — a braised duck throws off a great deal — then reduce and stir in a spoonful or two of tomato sauce for colour and acidity, not to make it a tomato sauce. It should coat, not cloak.
YieldOne duck serves three, four at a stretch once the mushrooms are counted.

A Little History

Charles Ranhofer ran the kitchens at Delmonico's in New York and published The Epicurean in 1894 as a complete record of that repertoire, cross-referenced by number so that a cook could chase a sauce back through the book. The dish itself is thoroughly French rather than American: cèpes are the great autumn mushroom of the southwest of France, and duck cooked with them is a Périgord and Bordelais habit, arriving in New York with the classically trained chefs who staffed its luxury restaurants. Note the placement in the book, between roast duck and duck with cherries — Ranhofer is running through the standard garnishes a house of that rank was expected to offer on demand. The instruction to braise rather than roast reflects the older, tougher domestic ducks of the period as much as any question of flavour, though the mushrooms give up their liquor into the gravy and make a fair argument for the method on their own.