Corn Crepes with Duck and BBQ Sauce

[toanstation]

This recipe is from Michael Symon's Lola in Cleveland, Ohio, by way of Michael Rhulman's The Soul of a Chef.

Crepe Batter

• 1/2 cup corn kernels (about 1 ear)
• 1/2 chopped red pepper (about 1/2 pepper)
• 1/2 chopped green pepper (about 1/2 pepper)
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions (about 3, using most of the greens)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon oil (olive or corn)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• ground pepper to taste

Puree all ingredients in a food processor until combined. The batter tends to be a bit thick, so I would recommend getting it pureed pretty fine and letting it rest at least a half hour (Symon doesn't let his rest, though, and he apparently did quite well with them).

Cook just like you would other crepes. Heat a skillet, a non-stick sautee pan, or a crepe pan over medium heat. Add a teaspoon or so of oil to the pan and add 1/4 cup of batter and swirl to spread. The batter is pretty thick, so the crepes will come out a bit "rustic" looking. Cook 2 minutes on the first side, flip and cook about another minute. You're looking for a nice, golden brown. Repeat with rest of the batter.

The crepes can be made ahead. Just let them cool on a rack.

Pan-roasted Duck Breast

The original recipe called for duck confit, but wanting to make it a bit lighter, I went with a boneless, skinless magret duck breast. This was seriously eyeballed.

• 1 magret duck breast
• tequila (about 1 jigger)
• olive oil (a tablespoon or so)
• ground coriander
• ground cumin
• black peppercorns
• bay leaf
• pinch of cinnamon
• salt
• ground pepper

Remove the skin and fat layer from the breast. If you reserve the skin with the fat layer, you can use it as a fat source for sauteeing, like you would use lardons.

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a zip-top plastic bag and add the duck. Let this marinade a couple hours to overnight, turning it periodically to make sure it's evently coated.

Preheat the oven to 400F and heat an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Remove the duck from the marinade, removing any solids and patting dry. Coat the bottom of the skillet with oil or, conveniently, duck fat. Once the oil is hot, sear the breast on both sides, about 2-3 minutes per side. Finish in the oven until it reaches your desired doneness (medium rare to medium), up to 5 minutes more.

Let the duck rest and slice into thin slices. This can also be done ahead.

BBQ Sauce

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 cup chopped red onion (about 1 small onion)
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons minced jalepeno (ribs and seeds removed)
• 1/2 cup espresso or coffee beans (don't use ground coffee, trust me), mashed with the side of a knife
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 4 ounces tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup apple cider
• 4 ounces veal or chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon chile powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander

Melt the butter in a saucepan and sweat (not sautee) the onion, garlic and jalepeno. Once the onion has started gaining some translucency, add the rest of the ingredients and cook over very low (not even bubbling or simmering) heat for about an hour.

Strain the sauce through a fine strainer or chinois.

Putting It All Together

Preheat oven to 400F.

Wrap 2 ounces of duck with a tablespoon of BBQ sauce in a corn crepe. Heat for in oven for about 10 minutes until hot throughout. Garnish with more BBQ sauce and sour cream (if desired).

As an alternate, you could substitute the duck with Portugese (i.e. cured) chorizo and Asiago cheese.

Eating Light Note

If you're trying to eat light, some basic substitutions make this a very reasonable entree. Use egg substitute, skim milk and the baking Splenda version of brown sugar, and as long as you opt for the skinless duck breast, you have have delicious and very reasonable entree (I believe alycewilsoncalculated 1 crepe with the duck to be only 2 points (no sour cream, though).