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Pan-Seared Duck
Most of us have gotten used to the idea of eating produce seasonally, strawberries in June, tomatoes in August, and so on. But is there any seasonality to meat? A thousand times yes, says Lenny Russo, chef and owner of one of St. Paul’s leading restaurants, Heartland. “A couple generations ago meat was almost entirely seasonal,” says Russo. “You ate chicken in spring, because that’s the natural time the chicks got tasty, and you slaughtered pigs in early winter when your harvest scraps were dwindling. In the fall, out of biological necessity, ducks put on more fat, and more fat means more flavor. Logically, if you were looking for optimum flavor....” Is your interest piqued? Then head to Heartland for this pan-seared local, free range Wild Acres duck breast paired with roast wild apples, potato purée, and dried Door County cherries plumped up with a bit of brandy.
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