Canada Day on Oak Island

Rachel, Nora and Terry

Finally the weather has cooperated and summer is here!  We had a cottage full of family and friends to celebrate Canada’s Birthday, and most of it was spent outside in the sunshine, around the barbecue or smoker.  We were faithful to our favourite sport of Water Walking until Ian Murdoch landed a 3 ½ foot Pike with fearsome looking teeth in front of the cottage.   For those who don’t know, water walking involves a group of women (and Mark for this weekend), wearing floatation devices, and jogging upright in deep water around the island while talking nonstop. It’s quite a workout. 

Geoffrey with Briar, Pluto and Pepper

  Pepper, Briar and Pluto had a fun reunion on the island where they were born.  Everyone has so much fun when they get   together.

One of the culinary highlights of the weekend, was developing a new dish that we are calling Oak Island Duck.  It is glazed crispy rotisserie duck, served in thin pancakes with a plum cherry sauce, and julienned cucumber and green onions.  Keep it simple and make a thin batter from your favourite pancake mix.  With our various food allergies, we used El Peto’s gluten free pancake mix with coconut milk thinned with water.  

Glazed Oak Island Duck

2   5-pound ducks, rinsed and patted dry

For the Glaze:

½ cup honey

½ cup cider vinegar

2 teaspoons chilli powder

(Combine in a saucepan and reduce by half over medium heat)

30  3” thin pancakes (made from thinned pancake mix)

For the Plum Cherry Sauce:

2 cups cherries, pitted

3 plums, chopped

½ cup orange juice

¼ cup  red wine

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tbsp granulated sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ginger

1 star anise

½  cup chicken stock

(Combine in a medium saucepan and simmer slowly until slightly thickened, about an hour)

1 cucumber, Julienned

5 green onions, Julienned

Rear Rotisserie method:

            Arrange your barbecue as appropriate for the size of the ducks, removing grids and warming racks if necessary, and placing a drip pan on the vaporizer. Position drip pan so that it will be centred below the ducks. Preheat the barbecue on HIGH  for 10 minutes.     

To place ducks on the rotisserie, slide one of the skewer forks onto the spit. Then, insert the spit rod into the centre of the bird, lengthwise, then dovetail the second duck. Centre the ducks on the spit and secure them in place with the remaining fork. Tighten the forks securely.

Check that they are balanced and reposition spit rod if necessary. Position the counterbalance for even
rotation.  (To do this, lay the rod with the ducks over the kitchen sink allowing the heaviest side to turn to the bottom. With the counterbalance loosened, rotate it to the opposite side...facing up.

Tighten the rod handle.

 Set the rotisserie rod in the slots of the barbecue casting and reduce the temperature to LOW.   Keep an eye on the heat indicator and try to keep the temperature around 375°F  Cook the ducks for approximately 1 ½ -2 hours, until the juices run clear, or 20 minutes per pound.  During the last half hour of cooking, brush frequently with the honey and vinegar glaze.  The only way to accurately tell when the duck is done is to use a meat thermometer. Do not allow the thermometer to touch the bone or the rotisserie spit. Duck is done when the internal temperature of the breast meat has reached 165°F and the legs 170°F.   When using a rear rotisserie burner, you may need to also light the lower burners on LOW toward the end of the cooking time, depending on winds, external temperature etc. If so, add hot water to the drip pan before lighting.

Let ducks stand for at least 10 minutes before carving/shredding the meat.

To assemble the pancakes, layer pieces of duck with cucumber and green onion, and top with the plum cherry sauce. 

 

We also served this dinner with Ontario wild rice, broccoli, and Geoffrey’s Strawberry Sunsets.

Wild Rice Pilaf

2 cups Ontario wild rice

10 cups water

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 red pepper, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 cup chicken stock

½ cup chopped fresh herbs ( parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme)

Rinse the rice in cold water.  Place it in a large pot with the water and soak for ½ an hour.  Bring to a boil and simmer until the rice is tender, about ¾ of an hour.  Drain well. 

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan.  Add the chopped vegetables and sauté until tender, about 15 minutes.  Add the prepared rice and stir until coated with oil.  Add the chicken stock and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, or until the liquid is removed.  Stir in chopped fresh herbs and serve.  

Geoffreys Strawberry Sunsets (serves 4)

The best of an Ontario summer – strawberries!!!

4 cups ice

12 strawberries

 Juice of 2 limes

¼ cup simple syrup

4 oz vodka

2 oz limoncello

Blend until smooth. Pour into 4 martini glasses. Garnish with a strawberry

Mother Merganzer swam by with her 11 ducklings during dinner.