Recipe: Duck Sausage with Candied Kumquats– and the Wine that Goes With it

After the success of their first restaurant Lucques, chef Suzanne Goin and her business partner, Caroline Styne, opened A.O.C. in 2002 – specializing in small plates and over 50 wines served by the glass. Last year, the restaurant relocated down the street on West Third Street and with the new look comes a new cookbook,The A.O.C. Cookbook, that takes those famous small dishes and turns them into main courses for the home chef.

They say this simple recipe for Duck Sausage with Candied Kumquats from their book has few spices and ingredients so that “the gamy, rich flavor of the duck itself is really the star.” They also point out that the candied kumquats that accompany the sausage are versatile and taste “delicious spooned over roast pork, grilled duck breast, and even over nut tarts and ice cream.”

Duck Sausage with Candied Kumquats

Makes 8 Sausages

2 pounds boneless, skinless duck leg meat, cleaned, cut into 1- inch chunks

6 ounces pancetta, diced

2 ounces pork fatback, diced

3 tablespoons white wine

3 feet lamb casings, soaked in cold water (optional)

4 ounces (1 head) frisée, cleaned and dried

2 ounces (1 bunch) mizuna, cleaned and dried

2 tablespoons chopped flat- leaf parsley

3 tablespoons extra- virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Candied Kumquats (recipe follows)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

NOTE You will need six bamboo skewers, 6 inches long, soaked in water for this recipe.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the duck, pancetta, fatback, white wine, 1 tablespoon salt, and 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper. Mix well, cover, and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.

Light the grill 30 to 40 minutes before cooking. Grind the meat through a medium die, and stuff it into the lamb casings using a sausage stuffer. (You could also ask a butcher to do this for you, or serve the duck sausage as patties.) Portion the sausage into 5- ounce links, and roll each one into a coil.

Skewer each coil with a bamboo skewer. Toss the frisée, mizuna, and chopped parsley with 2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Arrange the salads on eight plates. When the coals are broken down, red, and glowing, brush the sausages with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Place the sausages on the grill, and cook for about 2 minutes. Give the sausages a quarter- turn, and cook for another minute. When they are nicely seared, turn the sausages over and cook another minute or two, until they are just medium. Place the sausages on the salads. Spoon the candied kumquats and some of the syrup over and around the sausages.

Candied Kumquats

MAKES 1½ CUPS

Thinly slice the kumquats, and discard the seeds. Place the kumquats in a clean, nonreactive pot, and add 11/4 cups water. Cover, and let sit 24 hours at room temperature. Bring to a boil over medium heat, add the sugar, and stir constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer about 15 minutes, until an instant- read thermometer reads 220°F. You can also check doneness by spooning a small amount onto a plate and seeing if it gels.

1/2 pound kumquats

1 cup sugar

The contrast of this dish’s gamy, meaty flavors and sweet, intense citrus makes for an exciting experience on the palate. And whereas I often pair duck with Pinot Noir, the sausage aspect of this recipe leads me to Syrah. California’s Central Coast has become a wonderful region for this grape since winemakers have become savvy about keeping alcohol levels relatively low and acidity high. These wines have an exotic, gamy quality about them and work really well with similarly smoky, earthy meats. They also show notes of pepper and concentrated blackberry and cassis that highlight the kumquat in the recipe, while also taming its tartness.

Excerpted from The A.O.C. Cookbook by Suzanne Goin. Copyright © 2013 by Suzanne Goin. Excerpted by permission of Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.