It’s been a while since I’ve cooked and eaten duck breast. When I searched my photo library, the last entry was from July 2022.
Three and a half years feels like a long time.
What have I been watching?
I recently cancelled some streaming subscriptions to save money. I kept Paramount+ for all the Star Trek and for shows like Tulsa King and Hawaii Five-0.
Did you know?
Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (deceased) are executive producers/developers for Star Trek and Hawaii Five-0! That is awesome. Peter Weller, the actor, also directed episodes of Hawaii Five-0 and Star Trek: Enterprise. He also had a lead acting role in one of the Jar Jar Kelvin Timeline productions of Star Trek (Into Darkness).
Recipe
Ingredients
Duck breast
Avocado
Fig
Sourdough bread
Equipment
Water bath
Precision cooker
Barbecue grill
Instructions
Dry brine the duck breast.
Cook the breast at 58 °C for 70 minutes.
Sear the skin on a hot cast-iron flat top.
Sear the halved fig (cut side down) on a hot cast-iron flat top.
Toast the sourdough on a hot cast-iron flat top in the beef and rendered duck fat.
Mash an avocado cheek with lime juice, then spread it on the toast.
Photographs
Thoughts on the meal
While I don’t eat a lot of poultry these days, I did enjoy this duck breast. It was cooked to a medium rare doneness and was as tender as a piece of eye fillet.
The mashed avocado on the fried sourdough along with the fig would be great for breakfast as well as accompanying the duck breast.
Morning tea
It was a warm morning, so I went to a bakery and bought a slice of lemon and lime cheesecake. It was deliciously refreshing and paired nicely with a cup of coffee.
Several weeks have passed since my previous post. Recently, my meals have predominantly consisted of beef and lamb, with occasional salmon.
I have also appreciated the favourable weather conditions and the opportunity for outdoor cooking. However, in my case, this primarily involves using the cast-iron flat top on my Weber Q+ barbecue.
It’s a long weekend, however, with the current heatwave, I think I’ll spend the gazetted public holiday working in the office. One of the benefits will be uncongested roads and good traffic flow.
What else have I been doing?
Apart from work, with new responsibilities and a larger span of control, I have been finding joy in watching Star Trek on my television.
Rather than rewatching old shows, I have been watching Star Trek: Discovery (ST: DIS), Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (ST: SNW), and Star Trek: Picard (ST: PIC).
Since the original series (ST: TOS), Star Trek, through the vision of Gene Roddenberry, has advanced diversity, equity, and inclusion[i] (DEI) as a key foundation for the stories.
DEI is more evident in the three shows I have recently watched. The creators thrust DEI on viewers, and I know that in online forums, the “in your face” approach has upset many people who prefer subtlety over bluntness. I thought it was fine and not over the top. It reflects the society we know now.
Among these new Star Trek iterations, ST: SNW is the standout success (in my opinion). It was fun, with loads of whimsy and humour. The characters were fantastic and the acting superb. On the other hand, in ST: DIS, I liked the darker, edgier characters for their realism, while most of the characters and their actors were simply annoying. Who would have thought I would enjoy Jason Issacs playing Captain Lorca after his portrayal of Lucius Malfoy in the films adapted from JK Rowling’s Harry Potter book series? Michelle Yeoh is also stellar in her roles. Burnham, Book, and Tilly were the most annoying characters. If they had been “killed off” by the writers, I would not have minded.
The enjoyment with ST: PIC was familiarity with characters and actors from Star Trek: The Next Generation (ST: TNG), plus the addition of characters from other series around that time. I am thinking of Seven of Nine, played by Jeri Ryan from Star Trek: Voyager (ST: VOY) and cameos from other characters from ST: VOY and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (ST: DS9). I particularly enjoyed Commander Worf (played by Michael Dorn) and the change in his character. The humorous quips and his marriage of Klingon warrior philosophy[ii] with pacifism[iii] are welcome changes.
If you grew up with Star Trek and enjoy watching it, I highly recommend these new series. I will also watch Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek Academy at some stage. Of the three series I have just watched, I can see myself happily rewatching ST: SNW and ST: PIC but not ST: DIS.
Do you like Star Trek? Tell me what you think?
Tonight’s meal
Rump steak with spicy blue vein cheese sauce and honey-drizzled fresh fig.
I know I do not eat a lot of fruit, but when in season, I do enjoy some fruits, like Bowen mangoes and figs. I saw some figs in the supermarket yesterday and bought a couple. At $AUD1.50 each, I should have just bought one.
I also do not use many spices these days. My preference is to focus on the flavour of the main primary produce I am eating. The jalapeño-spiced blue-vein cheese was a concession so I could try it.
Rump steak
I cooked the steak in a water bath at 57 °C for 2 hours. I then seared the steak on a hot cast-iron flat top on my barbecue and augmented the sear with a gas torch.
Cheese sauce
I gently mixed butter, cream, cream cheese, and jalapeño-spiced blue-vein cheese in a small saucepan over low heat until it formed a sauce.
Fig
I washed the fig and then halved it. I warmed and coloured the cut surface on a hot cast-iron flat top in my barbecue. I drizzled some honey over the fig halves. I do not clean the flat top after each use, and I enjoy the crusty flavours that result from many layers of meat and fat.
Photographs
Thoughts on the meal
Do you like figs? I enjoy eating them. The steak was cooked how I like it, and the spicy jalapeño blue vein cheese sauce added a hot and savoury flavour to the sweetness of the fig and honey.
I thought the meal was nicely balanced. I’d happily eat this again. Given I have another rump steak and another fig, it’s likely to happen again soon. 😉
Now watching
After dinner, I’ll watch some “Tulsa King,” a television show starring Sylvester Stallone. Stallone plays an Italian mafia “capo[iv]” after being released from a 25-year prison term.
[i] Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are interconnected principles that guide efforts to create fair, respectful, and welcoming environments—especially in workplaces, schools, and communities.
[ii] Klingon warrior philosophy, as portrayed in Star Trek, revolves around honour, courage, and an unflinching acceptance of mortality. Strength—both physical and moral—is seen as the core of a meaningful life, and warriors are expected to face challenges directly rather than avoid them. Honour in battle, loyalty to one’s house and comrades, and a willingness to die gloriously rather than live without integrity define the Klingon worldview. It’s a culture that treats conflict not as something to fear, but as the crucible in which character is proven.
[iii] Pacifism is the belief that violence and war are morally wrong and should be avoided in favour of peaceful methods of resolving conflict. At its core, it holds that human life and dignity are best protected through non‑violent action—whether that’s negotiation, protest, civil resistance, or other peaceful strategies. Some pacifists reject all forms of violence, while others allow for limited self‑defence but still see non‑violence as the ethical ideal.
[iv] A mafia capo—short for caporegime or capodecina—is a mid‑level leader in an organised crime family. Think of the structure like a hierarchy, and the capo sits right in the middle.
It is a new year, and I am working in a new agency.
To start a new year, I want a scotch fillet steak on the bone. That is, a bone-in ribeye steak.
Recipe
Sous-vide bone-in ribeye steak with potato gems, fried in beef fat.
Ingredients
Steak (it weighed 950 grams with the bone)
Salt
Pepper
Potato gems
Beef fat
Brussels sprouts
Equipment
Water bath
Precision cooker
Barbecue grill with cast-iron flat top.
Aluminium foil tray
Gas torch
Boning knife
Carving knife
Instructions
Steak
Dry-brine the meat
Vacuum-bag the steak, being careful around the rib bone.
Cook the beef at 57 °C for three hours.
Heat the barbecue grill and cast-iron flat-top.
Dry the steak’s surfaces, then sear it over a hot barbecue grill using a gas torch.
Potato gems
Put sufficient leftover beef fat into an aluminium tray and heat while the barbecue is heating for the steak.
Add the potato gems to the hot beef fat and deep fry until golden.
Brussels sprouts
Halve the Brussels sprouts longitudinally.
Deep-fry in the hot beef fat used for the potato gems.
Serving up
Cut the meat from the rib bone with the boning knife.
Slice the scotch fillet steak with a carving knife.
Arrange the slices of steak onto a dinner plate.
Season the steak with flaky sea salt and freshly cracked black and white peppercorns.
Cut the bone off with a boning knife and dissect the spinalis from the longissimus dorsi.
Slice the muscle bundles and arrange the bone and meat slices on a dinner plate.
Arrange the Brussels sprouts and potato gems on the sliced steak.
Enjoy almost 1 kg of steak.
Photographs
Here are photographs of the meal. It’s a 950-gram steak including the bone.
Thoughts on the meal
This steak meal is a terrific way to start a new year. It was cooked the way I wanted it. The potato gems and Brussels sprouts were crispy and cooked just the way I like them.
Personal note
It will be good to work at a new agency and play a role in helping people, especially the people I work with.
Spent last week with family for Christmas. We ate well. We ate vast amounts of seafood, including oysters, prawns, scallops, squid, Moreton Bay bugs, and fish. On Christmas Day, my nieces also wanted me to cook each of them a fillet steak. Surprised but happy to do it. Took a stainless-steel frypan and a stainless-steel scrubber with me on the flight, which made for a heavy bag. I also ate four servings of Eggs Benedict with bacon. When I weighed in on my return home, there is now a peak in the spreadsheet!
Favourite Christmas meals
My favourite lunch was a Moreton Bay bug and half a dozen large Pacific oysters. I made it luxurious with a pot of melted grass-fed butter.
My favourite dessert was Christmas cake warmed with microwave radiation and served with vanilla ice cream.
I bought a cream bun and had it with a cup of coffee. It was lovely. The cream was light and not too sweet. The strawberry jam was also nice.
Lunch
I made a steak sandwich with some white sourdough bread, which I’d lightly toasted. I also added chunks of butter to some lightly toasted sourdough “croutons.” For contrast, I chomped on a pickled gherkin, too.
[i] A cured pork shoulder hock is a cut of pork taken from the he pig’s foreleg (the hock), that has been preserved and flavoured through curing—typically with salt, sugar, and sometimes spices. It’s known for its flavour and gelatinous texture, often used to add depth to soups, stews, beans, and braised dishes.
[ii]Speck is a type of cured, lightly smoked ham from the South Tyrol region of northern Italy. It’s made from pork leg, seasoned with spices like juniper and bay leaves, then smoked and aged in mountain air, giving it a distinctive savory, smoky flavour.
[iii] In Australian slang, “mornos” means morning tea—a mid-morning break, usually around 10–11 am, where people pause for a snack, a cuppa, or a chat. When working with ADF colleagues, the word “mornos” is commonly used.
I had a meeting this week with a former work colleague in Tasmania. Brussels sprouts came up in the conversation. I didn’t like them as a child, even when Mum cooked with bacon.
These days, though, I like them, especially when parboiled and finished in beef fat on a cast-iron pan. Crispy Brussels sprouts are now a favourite vegetable.
Barbecue “emergency”
During the week, I had some meetings that would extend late into the evening, so I carefully orchestrated the evening meal to fit within a short break.
I had my meat ready and was about to ignite the barbecue. I opened the bottle valve, then opened the barbecue valve and pressed the electric ignition switch. I saw and heard sparks, but saw no flames! The tank had gas. I disconnected the hoses and the regulator and reconnected them to reset the regulator. Still no flame. I removed the grill plates and checked the burners for blockages. Nup, the burners were clean, and all the holes were open. I deduced it was the regulator[i]. It had to be. It was too late in the evening, and I didn’t have time to drive to the hardware store. I had to cook my meat inside on the stove top. I’m sure it would have tasted better cooked on the barbecue.
The next morning, I drove to the hardware store before work and bought a new regulator. After installing it, I rejoiced at the sight and sound of a gas flame erupting from the burner tubing.
I use the barbecue nearly every night to cook meat. If the problem had been more difficult, I would have been unhappy.
Tonight’s meal needed the barbecue to work.
Recipe
Slow-cooked beef short ribs with Brussels sprouts fried in beef fat, served with blue-vein cheese and mustard sauce.
Cook the beef short ribs with salt and water in the slow cooker. Cook on low heat for 8 hours.
Cut the Brussels sprouts in half (longitudinally).
Parboil the Brussels sprouts for 5 minutes.
Drain the Brussels sprouts, lay them cut side down on a plate, and then place the plate in the freezer.
Remove the ribs and keep one aside.
Dry the surface with absorbent paper.
Heat the barbecue, which contains a shallow cast-iron plate with beef fat from previous cooking sessions.
Place the frozen Brussels sprouts on the cast-iron plate, cut side down.
Heat some butter in a small saucepan, then slowly add the cream, cream cheese, and mustard. Crumble in the blue vein cheese and keep stirring until a sauce forms.
Place the sequestered beef short rib on a hot grill plate to sear the surface.
Add to the searing with a gas torch.
Transfer the beef short rib and Brussels sprouts to a dinner plate.
Drizzle the blue vein cheese and mustard sauce over the meat and Brussels sprouts.
Use a sharp, non-serrated dinner knife to avoid tearing the meat. You want to cut cleanly against the grain. Perfectly cooked meat won’t squash between the knife and bone. The meat will come away from the bone easily and have a bit of “bounce” when pressed.
Thoughts on the meal
The meat was tender and combined well with the crispy Brussels sprouts and the creamy, pungent sauce.
The meat came away from the bone easily but wasn’t mushy. I cut the meat with a sharp knife. It cut easily into bite-sized portions and then combined with sauce and Brussels sprouts for a bite with incredible flavour and mouthfeel.
I will definitely cook this again.
Photographs
This is a gallery of images. Select one and then scroll through them.
Questions
How often do you cook with a barbecue?
Have you ever had a barbecue “emergency?”
Do you like Brussels sprouts? How do you want them cooked?
[i] A barbecue gas regulator is a compact device attached to your LPG cylinder that reduces high cylinder pressure to a safe, steady flow for cooking. In Australia, the standard is 2.75 kPa, with modern LCC27 fittings offering improved safety. Regulators are typically sold with hoses (PVC or braided) and may include gauges for monitoring gas levels. They are essential for safe and reliable barbecue operation. I bought the cheapest one I could find. It didn’t come with a gauge.
[ii] Beef short ribs are a richly marbled cut taken from the chuck, plate, or rib areas, prized for their deep flavour and tenderness when slow-cooked.
[iii]Brussels sprouts are small, leafy green vegetables that resemble miniature cabbages, belonging to the Brassica oleracea species. They are cultivated for their edible buds.
[iv]Blue vein cheese (often called blue cheese) is a type of cheese made from cow’s, sheep’s, or goat’s milk that is ripened with cultures of the fungal mould Penicillium roqueforti, giving it distinctive blue, green, or grey veins throughout its body and a strong, pungent flavour.
