Hunter's Recipe Duck Rub
Oh boy! Another great rub!
I've been wanting to try Hunter's Recipe Duck Rub since it arrived a couple of weeks ago. I've had a "meh" relationship with duck for years. I probably had my fill of it when I was cooking at Hugo's Rotisserie at the Hyatt Lake Tahoe circa 1976. We went through a lot of duck back in those days. A lot of duck. We did a lot of great sauces, too. The lingonberry was my favorite.
Alas, Hugo's is no longer there - in fact, the entire building has been completely renovated - or replaced. The lakeside restaurant is now The Lone Eagle Grill. The casino restaurant I next cooked for and eventually managed - Alpine Jack's - is gone, as well. It's now The Sierra Cafe. Last time I was there I barely recognized it.
And yes, I have a name tag from a job I had some 34 years ago - readily available. Notice the old Hyatt logo... Pack-rat?!? MOI?!?
But I digress...
Back in the present, I had a couple of duck breasts in the freezer I had picked up just for grins and giggles because I'm always ready to try something yet, again.
I'm quite happy I had them.
I pulled the fat from the duck breasts and rendered it separately. I'm not a huge fan of hunks of fat attached to what I'm eating. I then followed the instructions on the spice rub - I drizzled the breasts with olive oil and then liberally coated them with the rub. I let them set for about 2 hours before I grilled them.
Outstanding Flavor!
I was impressed. Again. Chef Jeremy says the Duck Rub is his favorite - and I can see why. It is a great blend of kinda sweet and savory herbs and spices that just work together. They played off the slight gaminess of the duck perfectly.
I have to admit that pulling all of the fat off the breasts probably wasn't the smartest move from a culinary standpoint. The breast was a bit drier than I would have preferred, but it was a trade-off, because I wanted to really taste the rub and if I had left the fat on, I would have cut it all off before eating it - and lost the spice rub.
A little dryness was worth the burst of flavor from the rub.
Chef Jeremy stated that he really works to create flavors that compliment and work well with the individual meats. And it was obvious with the Duck Rub because the flavors and the duck worked perfectly together.
So not only did I get a great dinner, I got a stroll down Memory Lane.
Tahoe in the mid-to-late '70s was a great place to live. And it's nothing short of a miracle that I survived it!
Hunter's Recipe BBQ Chicken
My box of Hunter's Recipe Spice Rubs arrived just in time for dinner Friday night!
After trying the Steak Rub the other night, I knew I wanted to delve a little deeper into these and the timing could not have been more perfect. I had two bone-in chicken breasts that were looking to be grilled.
Smoky paprika, chili powder, cumin, brown sugar... classic flavors expertly blended to create a really unique barbecue taste sensation! Just enough heat to satisfy with just enough sweet to balance.
It actually was so good I ate my chicken skin. That alone explains how good it was. I never - ever - eat chicken skin. Ever. While I'm one of the least-fussy eaters I know, I got sick on it once as a wee tyke - eating way too much of it. Generally, I just peel it back and dive right into the succulent meat.
Not this time. I ate the skin!
Baked potato with sour cream and corn... The Perfect Meal. Come to think of it, it would have been even more perfect with some Adluh biscuits or cornbread.
Next time. I shall be doing more of this.
Speaking of more of this...
Last night I decided to grill some big ol' burgers. Since I had some of the steak rub, I added about a tablespoon to a pound of ground beef before forming the patties. It had made a filet mignon outstanding. I knew it would help some lowly ground beef.
I lightly-formed my patties - not wanting to compact the beef all that much - preheated the grill and set them on to sizzle.
A few minutes later I went back to check on them and - I ran out of gas. A stone-cold grill.
Into the kitchen I came, heated up a skillet and fried those little babies. Camera was in the other room so I didn't get pictures, but suffice to say - the Steak Rub works wonders in a hamburger.
I loved every bite of it.
Hunter's Recipe Wild Game Rubs
I found out last night that a coworker of mine has a spice rub company. The company is Hunter's Recipe and I have to tell ya - I'm impressed!
Many of his rubs are geared towards wild game - it's called Hunter's Recipe for a reason - but besides the venison rubs, there are also rubs for turkey, duck, goose, beef, salmon, chicken... There truly is something for everyone!
I was the fortunate recipient of a sample pack of his Classic Montreal Steak rub - and I have to tell ya... It Rocked!
At any given moment I probably have 40 or 50 different herbs and spices in the cupboard. One would think that the last thing I need is a spice blend of things I probably already have.
One would be wrong.
I picked up a full tenderloin the other day and just happened to have a couple of filet steaks in the freezer. I thawed them, and, following the instructions on the spice packet, coated them with oil and then liberally coated them with the spice mixture. I let them marinate for about 2 hours before grilling them on the gas grill.
I mean it. They rocked!
It was a really unique blend of flavors that made the steaks just explode with flavor. Let's face it... a filet mignon is an extremely tender piece of meat but it's one of the most bland-tasting there is. There's a reason why they're wrapped in bacon or topped with Béarnaise sauce. They can use a little help.
Hunter's Recipe Classic Montreal Steak rub took a great cut of meat and elevated it to Outstanding. I could individually pick out some of the flavors - fennel, red pepper, black pepper - and something playing in the background that I finally found out was coriander seed - but they blended together perfectly. All of the flavors were there in perfect proportion and in perfect harmony. Having made a few spice blends of my own in the past, it's not an easy task to get that perfect balance. Chef Jeremy did.
And now I want to try even more of them!
So... I just ordered a 12-pack sampler pack. $35.95 - with free shipping!
I'm looking forward to seeing what fun things I can come up with!
Thanks, Jeremy!