Roasted Squab With Sichuan Peppercorn Marinade Recipes

ROASTED SQUAB WITH SICHUAN-PEPPERCORN MARINADE

Steps:

• Rinse the squabs and pat them dry. Use shears or a sharp knife to cut away the extra neck portions and back fat.
• Heat a small heavy skillet over medium-low heat and add the salt and peppercorns. Roast the mixture, shaking the pan, until the peppercorns turn dark brown. Transfer to a bowl and cool. Rub each squab inside and out with the mixture. Place the birds in a dish, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours or overnight.
• In a medium saucepan, heat the oil, add the shallots and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the shallots are soft, about 5 minutes. Pour in the port and cook until the sauce thickens and reduces by about two-thirds, about 20 minutes. Set aside.
• When ready to cook the squabs, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey and vinegar. Place the squabs breast side down on the rack of a broiler pan. Brush generously with the honey mixture and roast for 5 minutes. Brush again and roast for 10 minutes more. Turn the birds over, brush again and roast for 5 minutes more. Brush again and roast for a final 10 minutes, until the squabs are nicely browned. Use poultry shears to split the birds down the middle; remove the backbone. Place the squab halves on a platter. Reheat the port sauce if necessary and spoon it around the birds. Garnish with rosemary sprigs.

ROASTED FRESH CALIFORNIA SQUAB WITH ROASTED GARLIC CABERNET SAUCE SERVED WITH CELERY ROOT PUREE AND SWISS CHARD LEAVES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
• Remove liver and tie squab with kitchen twine.
• In a copper roasting pan, sear squab in vegetable oil over high heat. Add garlic and transfer to oven and continue roasting until meat is pink.
• Cut stem of swiss chard into 3-inch triangles. Bring pot of water to boil. Add celery root and cook until tender. Remove from heat and puree. In another pot, add 1/2 cup creme fraiche and cook until reduced by 25 percent. Add celery root puree. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
• In a separate pot of boiling, salted water, add swiss chard triangles and cook until tender. Set aside and keep warm.
• In saute pan, add 1 tablespoon butter, onions and mushrooms, saute for 3 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup creme fraiche and swiss chard leaves. Cook until reduced and cooked through, about 5 minutes.
• Add liver to roasting squab and leave 1 minute.
• Remove all from oven, separate legs and breast from carcass, reserve liver. Chop carcass using a French knife and return to stove with bones, garlic and wine. Reduce to 1/3, add stock and simmer 5 minutes longer. Add 1 tablespoon butter and press through in a china cap.
• Put dish together by placing puree of celery root in middle of a large plate. Display sliced breast and legs around the puree. Using a round cookie cutter, mound swiss chard leaves and liver in a tower on top of the puree. Place sauce around plate and finish by placing triangles of chard on sauce evenly spaced around the plate.

OVEN ROASTED SQUAB WITH PIQUILLO-BLACK PEPPER SAUCE WITH CHICKPEA POLENTA

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook until soft. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Increase the heat to high. Add the red wine and port and cook until reduced by three-quarters. Add the stock and cook until reduced to 2 cups. Strain the sauce into a bowl and add the piquillo peppers and, cracked pepper and season with salt.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Heat butter and oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Season the squab with salt and pepper to taste and place in the pan, breast side down and cook until golden brown. Turn the squab over, place in the oven and roast for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest 5 minutes.
• Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft. Add the cumin and cook for 2 minutes. Increase the heat to high, add the water and 1 tablespoon of salt and bring to a boil. Whisk in the yellow cornmeal, reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon occasionally until the mixture pulls away from the pan. Add the chickpea puree and cook for 5 minutes. Place the mixture into a buttered 8 by 10 baking dish and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. When ready to serve, heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cut the polenta into 2-inch squares or circles, season with salt and pepper and saute on both sides until golden brown. Garnish with parsley and serve with the squab and pepper sauce.

PAN-ROASTED SQUAB WITH SPRING GARLIC COMPOTE

Steps:

• Remove the breasts, thighs, and drumsticks from the squab and reserve. Using a large chef's knife, chop the bodies and wings into 3 or 4 pieces. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the squab bones and parts and sauté until well browned. Add the carrots, onion, and garlic cloves. Cook until softened and lightly colored, 6 to 8 minutes in all, then add 2 cups of the wine. Continue to cook until reduced by three-quarters, 6 to 8 minutes, then add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 1 hour. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl, pressing on the solids to extract all the liquid. You should end up with about 2 cups liquid. Discard the solids. Put the liquid in a clean saucepan and reduce until syrupy, or 1/4 cup total; the timing will vary depending on your stove and pan, but will be about 15 minutes.
• To make the compote, cut the spring garlic bulbs from the stems, then slice crosswise 1/8 inch thick. Film a sauté pan with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and heat over high heat. Fry the garlic until crisp and lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour off the oil. Add the remaining 1 cup wine to the pan and cook over medium heat until reduced to about 2 tablespoons, about 10 minutes. Add the honey and cook until the mixture is thickened and coats the back of a spoon, 4 to 5 minutes. Reserve at room temperature.
• In a large sauté pan over high heat, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil on high heat and fry the squab breasts, thighs, and drumsticks skin-side down first, putting a light weight on the breasts or pressing with a spatula, for about 3 minutes. Turn the pieces and cook for 2 minutes longer, then turn once more to crisp the skin and finish cooking. Breasts should be served medium-rare, while thighs and drumsticks are cooked through. Allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
• When ready to serve, reheat the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Divide the compote among 4 plates and place the squab pieces on top. Spoon the sauce around the squab and serve.

STEPHEN'S ROAST SQUAB WITH SEVILLE ORANGE CONFIT

Steps:

• To make the squab: Place a squab on a work surface, and with a sharp knife, remove wings and cut each wing into two pieces. Cut neck from body, and cut the body in half. Remove backbone. Split the squab in half through the breastbone. Cut off the first joint of each leg of the squab. Set all squab bones aside. Make a small slit in the excess skin of the breast. Tuck the end of the leg into this slit. Place the halved squabs in a shallow baking dish.
• Add 1/4 cup olive oil, minced shallots, minced garlic, thyme, and orange strips to the baking dish, tossing to combine. Cover and let marinate in refrigerator for 24 hours.
• In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-high heat. When just beginning to smoke, add reserved squab bones, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add 5 cloves unpeeled garlic and roughly chopped shallot. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
• Add sherry vinegar and honey, and stir to combine. Cook until pan is dry. Add orange juice, and cook until reduced and syrupy. Transfer to a small saucepan. Add veal stock, and reduce heat to low, simmering very slowly for 40 minutes. Remove from heat, and strain through a fine sieve, pushing hard on the solids. Whisk in 1 tablespoon olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Remove squab from marinade. Season both sides of the squab with salt and pepper. In a large oven-proof skillet, heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over high heat. Add squab, skin side down, to the skillet. Cook for 1 minute, reduce heat to medium, and cook until squab is brown, about 3 minutes. Turn squab, and place skillet in oven; roast for 8 to 10 minutes.
• While the squab is roasting, make the confit: Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add minced orange, and blanch for 2 minutes; strain. In another small saucepan, bring 1 cup water and sugar to a boil; add blanched orange peel. Reduce heat to low, and simmer until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
• Remove squab from oven, and serve with sauce and orange confit drizzled over squab.