r/AskCulinary • u/mindar76 • 2d ago
Duck wellington and the mushroom replacement
Look, I know that sounds like a weird animated kid's movie, but I swear it's relevant.
I absolutely love duck, and I've been kicking around an idea of making a duck wellington. I have both the duck breasts and some duck breast prosciutto. My problem is my wife is allergic to mushrooms, so I'm trying to find an alternative. I'm thinking diced chestnuts but I'm not sure it'll give the right earthyness of mushrooms. I saw a recipe where the writer uses soy sauce and congnac while cooking down the chestnuts. I'm iffy on that combination. Regardless, since I'm dealing with duck I'll be likewise substituting the shallots in the duxelle with melted leeks, since it's a very similar flavor profile, but that duck and leek are just such a good combination.
A friend had recommended tempeh into the faux duxelle, but I've never used it before so I'm unfamiliar with the flavor, texture or haven't of the ingredient.
If anyone has suggestions, I'm ducky to hear them!
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u/chasonreddit 1d ago
If you are already using a pate next to the duxelle, I would say you could skip it. If not, definitely pate. You might consider some type of bread or grain based stuffing, like a dense turkey stuffing. Duck skin is going to put off a lot of oil, you will want something to absorb that before your pastry just gets soggy.
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u/Grim-Sleeper 1d ago
The duck skin is my biggest concern here. I'm not sure it'll be appetizing if cooked in a shell. I like the idea of experimenting with unconventional ingredients, but duck is a bit of a challenge here.
Skinless duck breasts could work. Or possibly even a whole skinless deboned duck.
Frying the skin separately might make the usable as part of the ingredients. It does contribute a lot of flavor, so it would be sad to forgo it completely
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u/chasonreddit 1d ago
Frying the skin separately might make the usable as part of the ingredients.
This is a common approach. Layer it in with the pate.
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u/mindar76 1d ago
The duck skin is my biggest concern here. I'm not sure it'll be appetizing if cooked in a shell. I like the idea of experimenting with unconventional ingredients, but duck is a bit of a challenge here.
I was planning on pan searing the duck breast just like I would a beef roast for a standard welly beforehand. That should give me the medium rare breast, while also letting me render some of the fat and crisping the skin. At least I hope.
Skinless duck breasts could work.
Sacrilege! Sacrilege, I say! The skin's the best bit! Along with all the rest.
Frying the skin separately might make the usable as part of the ingredients. It does contribute a lot of flavor, so it would be sad to forgo it completely
Are you thinking I should de-skin the breasts, fry the skin first, pan sear the meat in the rendered fat, and then just put the better-than-a-potato-chip crisped duck skin on top of the faux duxelle, before wrapping in the prosciutto and pastry shell?
In like the cut of your jib.
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u/Rainbowlemon 1d ago
This is how I'd do it! Duck can be deceiving - you think you've rendered out all the fat, then another litre drops out 😶 You'd definitely end up with soggy pastry if you left the skin in. If you like burdock root, it could make a good duxelle alternative since it cooks quite dry and absorbs a lot of moisture. Maybe mixed with breading and tarragon, with some yeast extract or flakes for replacement umami.
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u/Mitch_Darklighter 1d ago
Chestnut duxelle sounds great to me. My first instinct is to try and incorporate the duck skin into that too. Something like fine dice, cook until rendered and crispy, remove, saute aromatics in rendered duck fat, add fine chopped chestnut, cook until somewhat dried, combine with crispy skin.
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u/RainMakerJMR 2d ago edited 2d ago
Stay away from tempeh and weird stuff like that. Sautee a mix of garlic and shallots (or leeks) herbs, and then deglaze with red wine, reduce thoroughly, add cram, reduce thoroughly and then finish with some blanched and squeezed spinach. The chestnuts would also give a very similar flavor, and the soy in moderation isn’t crazy for that preparation. Carmelized onions andblue cheese and herbs could also work as a nice substitute.
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u/throwdemawaaay 1d ago
Tempeh is comparable to tofu but with a firmer texture. Like tofu it kinda is a sponge that will take up flavors readily. It probably wouldn't be my first choice for this personally. If I were using something in that category I'd probably go with soy curls, which should be a closer texture.
I think the chestnuts could be lovely. I'd consider adding tumeric and cumin for some earthiness, and a source of umami. A bit of grated hard cheese might work.
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u/yung_pindakaas 1d ago
Tempeh has a much more pronounced fermented flavour imo, i dont think it would work that well in a duxelle with duck.
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u/jfgallay 2d ago
I got you. Chicken liver red wine paté.