3.026
31 (Sun) January 2012
Duck Legs Braised in Red Wine with Garlic Mash
3.0
by me
at home
-Oksu, Seongdong, Seoul, Republic of Korea-
with W and DJ
The duck part of this dish is the 3rd item that I’ve made following a recipe from James Peterson’s cookbook Meat: A Kitchen Education (see most recently 2.354 Brisket Pot Roast with Red Wine Gravy). Coincidentally, all 3 have involved braising in red wine, each to varying degrees of success, this one being the best thus far.
Looking back, the quality of the wines have had enormous impact on the resulting dishes. For this evening’s dish, I used Argento Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, an Argentinian wine that retails for less than 10,000 at E-Mart or Costco. Just like the wine itself, the sauce ended up with a vaguely grapey bouquet that lacked body and depth.
Though the importance of wine as an ingredient is frequently asserted by the experts, sometimes emphatically, I’ve been reluctant to use better wines in cooking. The problem is that a decent bottle costs at least 20,000 in Korea, more than 30,000 won for a good one; when a recipe calls for wine, I hear the ka-ching of the cash register and the tinkle of coins as I pour the stuff into the measuring cup, each cup 1/3 of the bottle. I know that the wine can make or break the dish, perhaps even more so than the meat, so I shouldn’t be skimping. But I’d rather be drinking it.
(See also FOODS.)
(See also PLACES.)
