Dry aged Squab
We’re breaking down the techniques that I learned working in Michelin starred restaurants for dry aged squab. We are going to then pair it with some amazing corn technique, umami packed Maitake mushrooms and a delicious squab sauce.
Ingredients
Squab
- 2 ea Squab
Corn Puree
- 5 ears Corn
- 24 g Mascarpone
Charred Corn
- 1 ear corn
- 1 oz butter
Maitake Mushrooms
- 1 pack Maitake Mushrooms
- .5 oz Butter
- 2 oz Chicken Stock
- 2 sprigs Thyme
Squab Sauce
- 12 oz Squab Bones
- 12 oz Water
- 10 oz Chicken stock
- 3 oz Onion, 1/2 inch dice
- 2.5 oz Carrots, 1/2 inch dice
- 2 oz Leeks, 1/2 inch dice
- 2 oz Mushroom trim
- 8 oz Veal Stock
Instructions
Squab Break down
- Star by removing the organs. To remove the wings, cut around the wing bone to release the meat then pull the wings back to break the joint and pull off. Repeat this on the other wing.
- To ensure that you have enough skin to completely cover the breast, cut as close to the legs as possible, then bend the leg back to break the joint. Separate the rack from the lower back by cutting in between, then through the spine. Split the back in half and remove the kidneys.
- Remove any pockets of fat by scraping the pockets on the skin with the blade of the knife. Remove the neck from the rack and wrap skin over the top, making it nice and taunt. Cut the wings at the joints to split the into two pieces.
- Place them onto a sheet tray with a rack for 3-7 days, which will dry out the surface of the bird, allowing us to get the perfect skin.
Clean Corn
- To clean the corn, I have found the easiest way to remove the silk is to pinch the silk with the husk and pull to remove as much silk as possible. Any large clumps, I like to pick off and torch the ears to burn off any remaining silk. Use a wet paper towel to rub away any burned hairs.
Charred Corn
- For the charred corn, bring a pot of water to a boil and add in salt. For every gallon of water, add a cup of salt. Add in one ear of corn to the pot, simmering for 4 minutes. To stop the cooking, shock in an ice bath.
- To get perfect rows of corn, cut in between two rows of kernels, turn the blade and slice off the corn. You want to be gentle to not break it up and transfer onto a tray. Repeat this in sections on the corn, remove any pieces that are not whole. Once they are all on the tray, separate them into smaller pieces. I like to go 3-4 wide and 6-8 across.
Corn puree
- To make the corn puree, trim off any remaining corn from the cooked ear plus some uncooked ears, enough to fill a quart, I used 5 ears. To get the most flavor from your corn, use the back of your knife to scrap the cob. Place the corn kernels into a blender to liquify, then strain, being sure to press the solids. Add the corn juice to a pot and cook until the corn is nice and thick. When you move the spatula through the puree, it should slowly move back. Whisk in 24 g mascarpone and season with salt, white pepper and strain.
Maitake Mushroom
- For the maitake mushrooms, trim off the base, then separate into small clusters. Use your knife to trim the stem up to a nice point, then place the presentation side up. This will make it easier when it comes to cooking them.
- Chop up all the trim, which we will be using in the sauce.
Squab Sauce
- To make the squab sauce, heat up a wide pan over high heat. Once it begins to smoke, add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan, I'm using avocado oil. Turn the heat down to medium high and add in the bones in a single layer cooking for 10 minutes or until GBD golden brown and delicious. Give the bones a flip and, cooking them for an additional 10 minutes. A good sear is essential, the fond that develops is this is where the sauce gets its flavor.
- For the first deglaze, add in 4 oz water using a flat wooden spoon to remove all the fond from the pan.
- Once the pan is au sec, almost dry, and you hear the bones start to sizzle again, deglaze with 2 oz of chicken stock. As the stock reduces, the gelatin from the stock should start to coat the bones and should deepen in color.
- Add the 3 oz carrots, 2.5 oz onions, 2 oz leeks and 2 oz of the mushroom trim. The water inside the vegetables will provide the liquid for deglazing, but if you notice that the fond doesn’t fully come up, add in some of the water. This will help prevent it from burning, which will add bitter flavor to your sauce. Cook until the vegetables are lightly caramelized and the pam is au sec.
- Add the remaining 8 oz of chicken stock, 8 oz veal stock, and the remaining 8 oz of water. Scrape up any remaining fond from the bottom then bring to a simmer. Pull the pot half way off the burner to create a convection simmer, which will push all the impurities to the side. Using a spoon, scoop all the impurities off and into a cup with water. Dipping the spoon into the water will help prevent incorporating the impurities back into the stock.
- Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, skimming often, until the stock has reduced to the level of the bones. Strain the sauce into another pot and reduce by half or until nappe, to coat the back of a spoon. Add in thyme and let it infuse for 5 minutes.
Al a Minute
- Since the skin is dry, salt will not stick. Brush the birds with oil and season with salt. Heat a pan on medium high and add in a thin layer of oil. Add the squab, browning the skin all around. You should hear the skin pop and sizzle, this is a good sign.
- Add in butter and thyme to the pan. Once the water is fully cooked out of the butter, you will know this because the bubble will stop, baste the squab until you reach desired doneness, ideally around rare- med rare. Pull from the pan and let the squab rest in a warm spot.
- Remove the thyme from the pan and place the mushrooms in, presentation side down first, seasoning with salt. Once they are GBD, flip them over and add in some fresh thyme. Add in 2 oz of chicken stock, cooking down until the mushrooms are glazed, then remove from the pan.
- For the charred corn, use a torch the tops of the corn, then top with butter and melt.
- Once the squab is well rested, 10 minutes or so, remove the breast from the rack which is similar to cutting chicken. Trim up the breast to remove any extra crispy pieces and warm up the corn puree and sauce.
Plating
- To plate, place down a spoonful of puree, then use the back of the spoon to spread it out. Add the squab breast with two pieces of charred corn, three mushroom bunches, sauce and garnish with thyme leaves.