Duck breast

Duck breast

Posted by Gary

You can skip the introduction and jump to the recipe if you don’t care to read my views.

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Yummy Lummy. Yummy Lummy is a blog for people who live alone and are keen to cook meals for one. If you’re part of a couple, I hope the recipes are adaptable for you, too.

I also share my opinions on topics others may (or may not) be interested in. With my recent change in diet (SAD→CSIRO TWD→LCHF), the blog’s emphasis is shifting to sharing my opinions on some food and non-food-related topics. Comments are welcome, even if I disagree.

I cite most journal articles or books I’ve read and mentioned. You can see the citations at the bottom of the post.

Dry brined duck breast cooked by sous vide and seared in a frypan served on a bed of red cabbage sautéed in duck fat with an avocado cheek plus a nob of butter.

Introduction

I hope you’ve had a good week.

My mobility is improving. I managed a walk to the Belconnen Owl this week. The first time since the accident. I’ve also got more strength-building exercises to do. I can see my quadriceps becoming more pronounced.

While I’ve been working full-time, I’ve been doing it remotely from home. I’m undertaking a graduated return to the office. Sitting on a proper office chair and using my desktop computer with two large monitors is good.

Owl Statue
Gary’s shadow

Today is Remembrance Day (originally Armistice Day) here in Australia and other Commonwealth (formerly the British Empire) countries and Veterans Day in the USA. Forgetting the service and sacrifice of defence force personnel is never an option.

Something curious

I also noticed something curious about my blogging statistics. It’s uncommon to see a spike like this. I think I know what is behind it. New readers, you are welcome even if you’re here for a single visit.

What have I been watching?

Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG)

In light of Kathleen’s generous gift of Patrick Stewart’s memoir, I am continuing my rewatch of TNG. I’m now into season four. I’m reminded of how much I enjoy the characters of Captain Picard and Dr Crusher.

While Star Trek: Enterprise (nee Enterprise) is my favourite series, TNG built on Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) in a way that opened the Star Trek realm to so many more people.

While I have no interest in Shakespeare, aficionados of TNG will be familiar with S3:E10, “The Defector” and the connection with Shakespeare.

The more I watch TNG, the more I appreciate Stewart’s stage acting experience. It doesn’t give me any desire to attend stage plays or the like. My desires lay elsewhere.

What have I been reading?

If you are over 60 with high cholesterol, you have nothing to fear from it.

Fellow blogger, Katharine from Diabetes Diet recently shared an article, viz., “Lack of an association or an inverse association between low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and mortality in the elderly: a systematic review”. (Ravnskov et al., 2016)

Most people in middle- and high-income economies receive a common message that elevated serum cholesterol is associated with poor health outcomes. Like most messages from so-called communications experts, the information is shortened and simplified for broader appeal. Sadly, this often means the removal of important nuance, context, and detail. As more was learnt about serum cholesterol, attention turned to low-density lipoprotein (LDL). The popular yet mistaken label for LDL is “bad cholesterol”. The result is a poor understanding of the role of LDL in human physiology.

One outcome of this simplification of a complex message is that medicine has turned its focus to lowering serum cholesterol and LDL through the use of medications. These medications are valuable to manufacturers and fund a huge aspect of the pharmaceutical industry. The focus has swung from health and wellness to prescribing drugs for disease.

Needless to say, all registered therapeutic agents undergo regulation for safety, efficacy, and effectiveness; however, all drugs have a side effect profile.

Before taking any medication, patients should be informed and made aware of the drug’s intended and unintended effects.

The key idea from the article is that for older people, a serum cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein greater than the higher value of the population reference range is not associated with death at rates any more than any other factor.

This article is aimed at older sapiens. For younger humans, the interpretation will be different. Like a lot of nutrition epidemiology, nothing can be said in terms of cause and effect.

If you are concerned about your own serum cholesterol and LDL, please speak with your general practitioner. Your general practitioner is the best person to guide you.

What human pathogens are transmitted by wild ducks?

I was reading about ducks this week and thinking about ducks as vectors for human disease.

Ducks

Wild ducks can transmit several pathogens to humans through direct contact, contaminated water, or undercooked or contaminated meat consumption. Some of the notable pathogens transmitted by wild ducks include:

1. Avian Influenza Virus (AIV):

Transmission Route: Direct contact with infected birds or their droppings, contaminated water, or surfaces.

Potential Impact: AIV can cause severe respiratory illness in humans and has the potential for pandemic outbreaks.

2. Campylobacter spp.:

Transmission Route: Consumption of undercooked duck meat, especially contaminated with Campylobacter bacteria.

Potential Impact: Human Campylobacteriosis can lead to gastroenteritis with symptoms like diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and fever.

3. Salmonella spp.:

Transmission Route: Consumption of contaminated duck meat or eggs and direct contact with infected birds or their environment.

Potential Impact: Salmonellosis infection can cause gastroenteritis with symptoms similar to Campylobacteriosis. Severe cases may lead to more serious complications.

4. Cryptosporidium spp.:

Transmission Route: Contaminated water sources, including those frequented by wild ducks, can lead to Cryptosporidium infection in humans.

Potential Impact: Cryptosporidiosis causes gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, and dehydration, particularly in immunocompromised individuals.

5. Escherichia coli (E. coli):

Transmission Route: Consumption of contaminated duck meat or water, especially in settings with poor hygiene.

Potential Impact: Certain strains of E. coli can cause food poisoning with symptoms like diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and vomiting.

It’s important to note that the transmission of these pathogens can be mitigated through proper cooking practices, good hygiene, and avoiding direct contact with wild ducks or their habitats.

Australians are unlikely to give up meat and become vegetarian to help the environment.

I read a media article published on Monday focusing on a survey conducted by a pair of academics from La Trobe University who asked 700 Facebook account holders about their beliefs on climate change, meat consumption, and the effect of meat consumption on the environment. (Rattenbury & Ruby, 2023)

It seems most respondents, who were all residents of Australia, didn’t believe reducing meat consumption affected climate change.

It reminded me of Jayne Buxton’s arguments in her book, “The Great Plant-based Con: Why Eating a Plant-Only Diet Won’t Improve Your Health or Save the Planet”. (Buxton, 2022)

I don’t think this response is because Australians aren’t concerned for planetary health. Quite the contrary. I think Australians know that intensive farming practices damage the soil and the land. Intensive farming also kills many animals, mostly insects and small mammals, which are ecologically valuable species. Regenerative farming practices that allow primary production on non-arable land help the soil and the land and supply nutrient-dense food for the community. It makes for good land care and carbon dioxide sequestration.

What have I been listening to?

Making It So: A Memoir by Sir Patrick Stewart

I completed the book during the week. (Stewart, 2023)

I loved listening to Stewart’s reflections on his time making Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series and movies and his recent work in making Star Trek: Picard.

Stewart also described his three marriages and other romantic relationships and how those relationships influenced his attitudes. I particularly enjoyed the end, where he tied his emotional maturity to the final scenes, he had planned for Star Trek: Picard.

Thanks, Kathleen, my love, for this beautiful gift.

It was a glorious 32 °C today and sunny. I enjoyed getting some bennies on my patella ORIF scar.

Recipe

It’s been a while since I’ve cooked any poultry. Given a choice, I think I’d eat beef and lamb most days. I don’t really need variety to keep me happy. However, since I was reading about ducks, I thought I would cook duck breasts this weekend.

Equipment

  • Precision cooker
  • Water bath
  • Frypan
  • Gas torch

Ingredients

  • Duck breasts
  • Iodised cooking salt to season the duck breasts.
Duck breasts ready to dry brine
Duck breasts seared before sous vide
Duck breasts seared and vacuum bagged and ready for the water bath

Instructions

  1. Score the skin of the breasts with a knife.
  2. Season the skin and flesh of the breast with salt.
  3. Allow the meat to dry brine, uncovered in the refrigerator overnight.
  4. Sear the skin in a hot frypan. I do not always sear meat before cooking it in a water bath. I wanted to try a pre-water bath searing phase.
  5. Place the breasts into a vacuum bag.
  6. Cook the breasts at 57 °C for 2 hours. This will ensure a medium cook and sufficient time and temperature for pasteurisation.
  7. Remove the meat from the bag and dry the skin with a paper towel.
  8. Sear the skin in a hot frypan and finish with a gas torch if necessary.  
  9. Serve the duck with vegetables or eat them alone. If you’re following a meat-only, just the meat will be more than sufficient to satisfy your hunger. If you’re low-carbohydrate, healthy-fat eating, the meat and some plant-based “real foods” like avocado, leafy green leaves, olives, and tomatoes are a good combination. Potato mash would go well with the duck if you’re not concerned with carbohydrates. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, this duck won’t be suitable.
  10. Always give thanks to the Lord.
  11. Eat with whatever implements you prefer. Eating with your fingers is okay, in my opinion. For this meal, I used a knife and fork. I could have used chopsticks. 🥢
Dry brined duck breast cooked by sous vide and seared in a frypan.
Dry brined duck breast cooked by sous vide and seared in a frypan served on a bed of red cabbage sautéed in duck fat with an avocado cheek plus a nob of butter.
Dry brined duck breast cooked by sous vide and seared in a frypan served on a bed of red cabbage sautéed in duck fat with an avocado cheek plus a nob of butter.
Dry brined duck breast cooked by sous vide and seared in a frypan served on a bed of red cabbage sautéed in duck fat with an avocado cheek plus a nob of butter.

Thoughts on the meal

Duck breasts are not like chicken breasts. The meat is darker and usually more tender. Sous vide duck breast ensures a consistent result. I like the flavour and the texture of duck meat. Given a preference, I’d prefer duck thigh, but I rarely see duck legs at the supermarket. I’m curious about buying a duck thigh, putting it into a vacuum bag with ample olive oil and cooking it in a water bath to simulate a confit duck thigh.

If you don’t have a precision cooker and water bath, duck breasts can be easily cooked in a frypan. With care and attention, a suitable result is achievable.

Disclaimer and comments

This post and other posts on this blog are not medical or health advice. I’m sharing my personal experiences from my lived experience. My opinions remain mine.

For health advice, see your regular medical practitioner. For diet advice, consult with appropriately registered professionals.

References

Buxton, J. (2022). The great plant-based con: Why eating a plants-only diet won’t improve your health or save the planet. Piatkus.

Rattenbury, A., & Ruby, M. B. (2023). Perceptions of the Benefits and Barriers to Vegetarian Diets and the Environmental Impact of Meat-Eating. Sustainability, 15(21), 15522. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115522

Ravnskov, U., Diamond, D. M., Hama, R., Hamazaki, T., Hammarskjöld, B., Hynes, N., Kendrick, M., Langsjoen, P. H., Malhotra, A., Mascitelli, L., McCully, K. S., Ogushi, Y., Okuyama, H., Rosch, P. J., Schersten, T., Sultan, S., & Sundberg, R. (2016). Lack of an association or an inverse association between low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and mortality in the elderly: A systematic review. BMJ Open, 6(6), e010401. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010401

Stewart, P. (2023). Making it so: A memoir. Simon & Schuster Australia.

Legend

BMI = Body mass index.

CGM = Continuous glucose monitoring.

CSIRO TWD = Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Total Wellbeing Diet.

LCHF = low-carbohydrate healthy-fat eating.

Red meat = is the meat of mammals, including pork.

SAD = Standard Australian diet (rich in carbohydrates, poor in healthy fats, and heaving in processed and ultra-processed products).  

T2DM = Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

TOS = Star Trek: The Original Series

TNG = Star Trek: The Next Generation

Air fryer duck breast

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

I recently replaced my toaster oven with an air fryer. I thought I’d try duck breast for my first meal in the appliance.

Recipe

Equipment

  • Air fryer
  • Microwave radiation oven

Ingredients

  • Duck breast
  • Salt – iodised cooking salt.
  • Pepper – freshly ground.
  • Garlic powder
  • French onion soup Buderim ginger marmalade reduction sauce
  • Brown rice
  • Leftover pressure cooker cooked carrot

Instructions

Duck

  1. The day before cooking the duck, dry brine the duck.
  2. Season the breast with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
  3. Place the breast on some paper towel on a plate and then refrigerate it uncovered overnight.
  4. The next day before cooking, cut some hash marks in through the skin and fat to help the fat render more evenly when cooking.
  5. Take some of the French onion soup Buderim ginger marmalade reduction sauce out of the refrigerator and heat it using microwave radiation.
  6. Cook at 200 °C (400 °F) for 10 minutes in the air fryer and then remove the rack.
  7. Brush some sauce onto the skin and cook at 200 °C for 5 minutes.
  8. Remove the duck from the oven and allow the oven to cool down. Cleaning cool metal is safer.
  9. Slice the duck with a sharp knife.

Rice

  1. Cook the rice according to the instructions on the packaging. Yes, I use microwave radiation rice because I’m a lazy man.
  2. Fluff the cooked rice in a bowl to remove clumps.

Carrot

  1. Brush the carrot pieces with some of the sauce.
  2. Add the leftover carrot pieces to the rack with the duck when it returns for its final five minutes at 200 °C.

Plating up

  1. Place the rice on the dinner plate and place the duck breast on it.
  2. Add the carrot and then spoon over the warmed sauce.
  3. Give thanks to the Lord.
  4. Eat with a fork or chopsticks.

Thoughts on the meal

I typically cook duck breast in a heated water bath and then sear the skin. The air fryer is a quick and easy method. I’ll cook as I see fit. One of the advantages of sous vide is that I can cook meals well in advance to accommodate my work schedule. Pulling out a cooked bag of meat and enjoying it without too much fuss is easy.

For people who do not have a similar work schedule, I can see how the air fryer would be a great option.

Photographs

Dry brined duck breast
Dry brined duck breast
Dry brined duck breast
Air fryer duck breast
Air fryer duck breast
Air fryer duck breast with brown rice and carrot drizzled with French onion soup and Buderim ginger marmalade reduction sauce
Air fryer duck breast with brown rice and carrot drizzled with French onion soup and Buderim ginger marmalade reduction sauce
Air fryer duck breast with brown rice and carrot drizzled with French onion soup and Buderim ginger marmalade reduction sauce
Air fryer duck breast with brown rice and carrot drizzled with French onion soup and Buderim ginger marmalade reduction sauce
Air fryer duck breast with brown rice and carrot drizzled with French onion soup and Buderim ginger marmalade reduction sauce
Air fryer duck breast with brown rice and carrot drizzled with French onion soup and Buderim ginger marmalade reduction sauce

Duck breast and slaw

Posted by Gary

Avoid the palaver and jump to the recipe.

Dear Reader, 

I hope you have enjoyed your week. If you haven’t, I hope the coming week is better. 

I had a disrupted week. A few matters developed into problems requiring more intense attention. As a result, I redirected my focus. I exercised less and got off target with my health goals. It’s the weekend, so I’m eating better and moving more. 

A few weeks ago, I started listening to a new book series while exercising at night. 

The book series is called “Monroe Doctrine“. It combines cyber warfare, biological warfare, and conventional war-fighting with aggression, starting with the People’s Republic of China. The scenarios involve advanced artificial intelligence, deep fakes, synthetic biology and gain of function, plus upgraded conventional weapon platforms. Without spoiling the plot, it is contemporary and takes advantage of COVID-19 as a plot device. 

The Monroe Doctrine is a fundamental set of principles espoused by President James Monroe in the mid-1800s. 

Canberra is experiencing a warm few days, which is odd because by the middle of March, for as long as I can remember, Autumn’s cool would have already established itself. I’m not complaining; this may be the last weekend of shorts and a T-shirt wearing. 

Depending on which application I look at, tomorrow’s forecast will be either 35 or 37 °C. 

Recipe

Equipment

  • Water heater and circulator 
  • Water bath 
  • Vacuum chamber 

Ingredients 

  • Duck breasts 
  • Salt 
  • Pepper 
  • Garlic powder 
  • Red cabbage 
  • Red onion 
  • Carrot 
  • Spring onion 
  • Red chilli 
  • Sultanas 
  • Dried cranberries 
  • Honey 
  • White peach 
  • Low-fat whole egg mayonnaise 
  • Unsalted mixed nuts 

Instructions

  1. Weigh the duck breasts to ensure each portion is <150 grams. 
  2. Season the duck breasts with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I will use a small amount of iodised salt to minimise my sodium intake. I prefer to grind whole peppercorns with a pestle in a mortar just before using them to maximise the flavour hit. 
  3. Place the seasoned breasts into plastic vacuum bags and seal them in a vacuum chamber. 
  4. Cook the duck for 2 hours at 55 °C. 
  5. Place the bagged duck breasts into the refrigerator. 
  6. Remove a duck breast at dinner and dry the surface with an absorbent paper towel. 
  7. Sear the surfaces of the breast in a hot frying pan. 
  8. Allow the meat to rest. 
  9. Grate the cabbage and carrot using a coarse grater. 
  10. Slice the spring onion, including the green and white parts. 
  11. Slice red onion and chilli. 
  12. Dice the peach into small pieces. 
  13. Put all the salad ingredients together, stir through a teaspoon of mayonnaise, and then drizzle over a bit of honey. 
  14. Slice the duck and keep some aside for another meal. 
  15. Serve everything on a plate. 
  16. Thank the Lord. 
  17. Eat with a knife and fork. 

Photographs

A photograph of the sous vide duck breast and a fancy slaw
A photograph of the sous vide duck breast and a fancy slaw
A photograph of the sous vide duck breast and a fancy slaw
A photograph of the sous vide duck breast and a fancy slaw.

Thoughts on the meal

There’s nothing exceptional about this meal. It’s a bit of duck and some salad. I find blogging relaxing, and even though I’m busy, I want to write this post and get it up and out. 

Final thoughts 

I hope you have a great week and enjoy some good eating. 

Thanks, also, to readers who commented on last week’s congee post. I wasn’t impressed, but the congee is pretty good after a few days in the refrigerator. 

Diet update

A photograph of me on Saturday, 20230318. I'm wearing a maroon polo shirt and a pair of shorts. I'm wearing my glasses.

Sous vide Asian flavoured duck breast

Posted by Gary

Hello Reader,

I cooked this some time ago and am sharing it this weekend because I’m away.

This is a scheduled post.

Recipe

Equipment

  • Water heater and circulator
  • Water bath
  • Wok

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Insert a duck breast and a couple of tablespoons of both sauces into a plastic bag.
  2. Vacuum seal the bag and refrigerate for a few hours.
  3. Heat the water bath to 55 °C (131 °F).
  4. Put the bag containing the duck breast and sauces into the water bath and cook for about 90 minutes.
  5. While the duck is cooking, shred the cabbage and julienne the carrot and daikon.
  6. Finely slice the fennel.
  7. Slice the Bird’s eye chillies.
  8. Mince the ginger and finely chop the shallots.
  9. Slice the white portion of spring onions across the fibres.
  10. Slice the green portion of the spring onions longitudinally with the fibres.
  11. Place the spring onion slices into some ice water to keep them fresh.
  12. When the duck is cooked, remove the bag from the water bath and open it. Remove the duck breast and drain the liquor into a small bowl.
  13. Put the duck breast into the refrigerator to firm a little.
  14. When the duck breast meat is firm, slice the duck with a sharp knife. Set aside the breast meat in a small bowl.
  15. Put the chillies, cabbage, carrot, daikon, and fennel into a large bowl.
  16. Boil a kettle of water.
  17. Pour boiling water over the chillies, cabbage, carrot, daikon, and fennel.
  18. Allow the vegetables to steep in the water until slightly softened.
  19. Drain the water from the vegetables.
  20. Heat the wok and then add some rice bran oil.
  21. Sauté the spring onion whites, shallots and ginger until they become fragrant.
  22. Add the drained vegetables and the cooking liquor from the duck and stir fry.
  23. Add in some sesame oil and soy sauce.
  24. Add in the slices of duck and stir fry, ensuring everything is thoroughly mixed through.
  25. Transfer the food from the wok to a bowl.
  26. Give thanks to the Lord.
  27. Eat the food with chopsticks and a spoon.

Photographs

Final thoughts

Duck breast is a very nice cut of meat. I think one weekend soon I’m going to try roasting a whole duck.

References

Chew, T. (1983). “Sodium values of Chinese condiments and their use in sodium-restricted diets.” J Am Diet Assoc 82(4): 397-401.

Counseling a Chinese patient on a low-sodium diet can be an arduous task for the dietitian. Special consideration of cultural beliefs, food preferences, and food practices must be incorporated into the individualized instruction. Equally important is the need for familiarity with the sodium values of frequently consumed foods and condiments indigenous to the Chinese population. To date, published sodium determinations for such items are quite limited. Representative samples of commonly used Chinese seasonings and sauces were collected. Analysis was performed by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. Many of the condiments often forbidden in the sodium-restricted diet contained less than 200 mg. sodium per teaspoon in all the samples tested. These included: sweet bean sauce, rinsed and unrinsed fermented black beans, hoisin sauce, satay sauce, fermented bean cake, and rinsed and unrinsed dried shrimp. These data can give the dietitian the option of calculating these often “forbidden” items into the sodium-restricted diet. Factors to be considered are the patient’s typical meal pattern, situational needs, comprehension level, degree of compliance, and other available information.

 

Nekitsing, C., et al. (2019). “Taste Exposure Increases Intake and Nutrition Education Increases Willingness to Try an Unfamiliar Vegetable in Preschool Children: A Cluster Randomized Trial.” J Acad Nutr Diet 119(12): 2004-2013.

BACKGROUND: Intake of vegetables in children remains low. OBJECTIVE: To compare taste exposure (TE), nutrition education (NE) and TE+NE together on intake of an unfamiliar vegetable (mooli/daikon radish) in preschool-aged children. DESIGN: Children attending 11 preschools in England were randomly assigned by clusters to four intervention conditions using a 2×2 factorial design: TE, NE, TE+NE, and no intervention (control). PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred nineteen children aged 2 to 5 years participated from September 2016 to June 2017. INTERVENTION: The intervention period was 10 weeks preceded and followed by measurements of raw mooli intake as a snack. Preschools were randomized to receive weekly TE at snack time (n=62 children); NE (n=68) using the PhunkyFoods program; TE+NE (n=55) received both weekly taste exposures at snack and lessons from the PhunkyFoods program; and the control condition (n=34), received NE after the final follow-up measurement. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Individual measured intakes of mooli at Week 1 (baseline), Week 12 (postintervention), and Week 24 and Week 36 (follow-ups). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Differences in intakes were analyzed by cluster. Logistic regressions were conducted to examine odds ratios for intake patterns. RESULTS: Data from 140 children with complete mooli intake assessments were analyzed. TE increased intake from 4.7+/-1.4 g to 17.0+/-2.0 g and this was maintained at both follow-ups. Children assigned to the NE conditions were more likely to eat some of the mooli than children who were not in the NE conditions (odds ratio 6.43, 95% CI 1.5 to 27.8). Combining TE and NE produced no additional benefit to intake beyond TE alone. CONCLUSIONS: Taste exposures encouraged children to eat more of the unfamiliar vegetable, whereas nutrition education encouraged children who were noneaters to try the vegetable. Both approaches were effective and can be used to produce different outcomes.

 

Sun, J., et al. (2020). “Study on Human Urinary Metabolic Profiles after Consumption of Kale and Daikon Radish using a High-resolution Mass Spectrometry-Based Non-targeted and Targeted Metabolomic Approach.” J Agric Food Chem.

In the present study, urine samples were collected from healthy human volunteers to determine the metabolic fates of phenolic compounds and glucosinolates after a single meal of kale and daikon radish. The major glucosinolates and phenolic compounds in kale and daikon radish were measured. The urinary metabolome after feeding at different time periods was investigated. A targeted metabolite analysis method was developed based on the known metabolic pathways for glucosinolates and phenolic compounds. Using a targeted approach, a total of 18 metabolites were found in urine: 4 from phenolic compounds and 14 from glucosinolates. Among these metabolites, 4-methylsulfinyl-3-butenyl isothiocyanate, 4-methylsulfinyl-3-butenyl isothiocyanate-cysteine, and 4-methylsulfinyl-3-butenylglucosinolate-N-acetyl cysteine were reported for the first time in human urine. The combination of non-targeted and targeted metabolomic approaches can gain a full metabolite profile for human dietary intervention studies.

 

Zhang, X., et al. (2022). “Effects of different breeds/strains on fatty acid composition and lipid metabolism-related genes expression in breast muscle of ducks.” Poult Sci 101(5): 101813.

Fatty acid composition contributes greatly to the nutritional value of meat, and breeds/strains are important factors affecting the composition of fatty acid. Recently, few studies have focused on the fatty acid composition in breast muscle of different duck breeds. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to compare the fatty acid composition and lipid metabolism-related genes expression in breast muscle of Jianchang duck (J), Cherry Verry duck (CV) and 3 crossbred strains (BH1, BH2 and MCmale symbol x (BGF2male symbol x GF2female symbol)female symbol (MBG)). Our results showed that the breast muscle of J had the highest contents of C22:1(n-9) but the lowest ratios of -omega 6 (n-6)/-omega 3 (n-3), -mono-unsaturated fatty acid (MUFA)/-saturated fatty acid (SFA) and -polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)/SFA. The PUFA/SFA ratio was higher in breast muscle of MBG than in that of BH2 and CV, and the contents of C22:1(n-9), MUFA and PUFA were higher in BH1 than in BH2 and CV. Furthermore, the mRNA levels of SCD1, FADS2, ELOVL2, and ELOVL5 were significantly higher in MBG (P < 0.05), while those of FASD1 and ACACA were significantly higher in BH1 than in BH2 and CV (P < 0.05). Principal component analysis showed that fatty acids variation exhibited extensive positive loading on principal components (PCs). Correlation analysis showed that PC1 and PC3 of BH1, as well as PC1 of MBG were correlated with the mRNA levels of ACACA and FABP3, respectively. Thus, it could be concluded that the breast muscles of MBG and BH1 have better fatty acid composition, which was closely related to the increased expression levels of SCD1, FADS2, ELOVL2, and ELOVL5 genes in MBG but FADS1 and ACACA in BH1. Moreover, these results also showed that crossbreeding could optimize the composition of fatty acid in breast muscle of ducks.

 

Pressure cooker duck breast and crispy skin

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

Happy New Year for 2022.

Pressure cooker duck breast with crispy skin served with peppercorn instant gravy and a red onion, red cabbage, fennel, and cucumber salad.

This post is a quickie. While in Brisbane, I gave my eldest daughter and her partner a fast, slow cooker. We got talking, and I wondered out loud how autoclave cooked duck breast might taste.

I chose two nice plump breasts and skinned them with a boning blade because it is sharp, and the distance between the knife back and the edge is short.

I made a mistake not flattening the skin between two heavy pieces of metal while cooking in the oven. Oh well, I’ll know next time. I think the way it turned out was okay. What do you think? Do the curly skin bits look okay?

Rather than a regular recipe post, I’ll share how this came together.

I cooked the breasts sans skin and fat in a pressure cooker for 20 minutes, along with some master stock and black peppercorns.

I put the duck skin on a baking sheet, rubbed it dry with some kitchen paper, and seasoned it with coarse iodised sea salt flakes. I cooked the skin for about 30 minutes on low heat to dehydrate it and get it crispy. The skin curled, but they didn’t turn out too badly, as you can see in the photos.

I made some instant gravy stirred through the cooked peppercorns.

I made a salad with red cabbage, red onion, and fennel. I dressed the salad with lime juice and olive oil.

Check out the photos and let me know what you think.

Happy new year, and may 2022 be better than any you’ve experienced thus far.

  • Duck breasts
  • Dick Boning kinife
  • Dick Boning kinife
  • Duck breasts sans skin
  • Duck breast skin
  • Pressure cooker duck breast with crispy skin served with peppercorn instant gravy and a red onion, red cabbage, fennel, and cucumber salad.
  • Pressure cooker duck breast with crispy skin served with peppercorn instant gravy and a red onion, red cabbage, fennel, and cucumber salad.