Simple Cooking Virginia follows these cooking instructions when she prepares duck and chicken in her farmhouse kitchen. She adds only salt and pepper to her chicken and then cooks it in the oven in a covered dish at 250 to 300ºF. Intoxicating wafts of roasting chicken fill the room as Virginia tests for doneness by gently twisting the drumstick off the bird. As for the duck, Virginia crisps the skin by taking off the lid shortly before she takes it out of the oven for serving. She then pours off the oil and fat, puts it in the freezer for it to solidify, and then saves it for panfrying potatoes.—TL
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EAT MAGAZINE MARCH | APRIL 2008
EAT THE DISH
Baby beets
white truffle marinated Okanagan goat cheese
Duck breast
Pea shoots Tracey Kusiewicz
Once I tasted it, I realized how much tastier it is,” he insists. Burke likes the flavour of the birds so much that he uses the duck to make pâtés and the chicken to make sausages, both of which sell out so rapidly that customers are left clamouring for more. Polderside and butchers like So.cial are an ideal match because they share a similar belief in local and ethical food production. The Jacobsens have worked equally hard to supply to restaurants like CinCin, Aurora Bistro and Raincity Grill that have the same mindset about food. In his days at West, chef David Hawksworth was one of the first to source from Polderside and is more than willing to pay the extra cost for such a premium product. “The duck meat tastes nice and clean,” says Hawksworth enthusiastically, “and there is a lot of it. The fat is very clean on the duck, and it’s just a well-rounded flavour. And the same goes for the chicken. They just taste like duck and chicken are supposed to taste.” For the dinner menu, Hawksworth brined the breasts and then roasted them to order, while for lunch, he often deboned the legs and filled them with bread and prosciutto stuffing. He also incorporates the ducks in terrines and ravioli, uses the bones for stock and sauces, and even renders the fat down for confit. Over at Kitsilano’s Gastropod, chef Angus An expresses a similar respect for the birds. “People who come to our restaurant are looking for something different, and Virginia preaches the same theory in her farming,” he says. It took An a couple months to get on the Jacobsens’ list of steady customers, but it was well worth the wait. “The first time I had her chicken was at Fuel next door when Rob [co-owner/chef Robert Belcham] was telling me about it,” An remembers. “It was the most intensified chicken of any chicken that I had ever tasted.” An showcases this intense flavour by creating a ballotine of both breast and thigh meat. On Saturdays, he offers a slow-cooked duck breast with crispy skin, a Cabernet reduction, Swiss chard and fig purée. Even though he only receives five ducks per week, he simply couldn’t resist creating a weekend dish. “I don’t need to put it on the menu, but it is so nice. I had to have it,” he says. Hawksworth and An are just two examples of a growing number of chefs who are demanding more high quality, ethically treated products. They are highly appreciative of the birds the Jacobsens supply and thankful for the supportive relationships they forge with their customers. Unfortunately, the Jacobsens follow farming practices that are dying out in the face of large-scale food production. “Farming is being done by less and less people and it is losing its naturalness,” says Virginia. “The scientists are changing what has been given freely to this earth. Nothing is authentic anymore.” This altered agricultural industry frustrates Virginia, who wishes to make a difference to the local eating landscape. She despairs that financial obstacles will make it more and more difficult for small farmers to survive. “Farming is not respected. There is no support financially for farmers, particularly for farmers like us who are trying to grow a better product for human consumption. It is so important to support the small and regional farmer,” she urges. This final note of warning is indicative of Virginia’s fears for the future, but her hope is that change is still possible. She and her husband continue to believe that a hopeful future lies with the small but growing number of chefs and consumers who are returning to the land. Their ultimate dream is to inspire a young couple who will carry on their farming traditions and recruit other people into the business. Until that time, they have plans to obtain more quota, build a second barn, and above all, maintain their unswerving farming principles. “We hope that we can do this until we are 100,” Virginia says. “We are truly in our bliss even though we will never be rich. We grow our own food and I think we are doing something right in the world.” feedback@eatmagazine.ca
Aurora Bistro's Tea Smoked Polderside Duck appetiser | $12 The meat sits in a brine of maple syrup, 5 spice, and brown sugar for 1-2 days. After rinsing and drying, refrigeration then promotes a tacky, pellicule coating. This is needed to retain the flavours of the smoke mix (Earl Grey tea, brown sugar, and rice). To plate, owner/chef Jeff Van Geest starts by setting down thin slices of duck breast. He then adds baby beets from Hazelmere Organic Farm that have been marinated in a pickled plum vinaigrette and decorates with pea shoot tendrils and little balls of white truffle marinated Okanagan goat cheese. —A. Morrison Aurora Bistro | 2420 Main St. | East Vancouver | 604-873-9944 | AuroraBistro.ca
WINE MATCH• 2006 Tantalus Riesling | $22.00 Slightly off-dry, the Tantalus
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Riesling will enhance the maple syrup flavours used in the marinade and the intensity of flavours will withstand the smokiness. Its pronounced acidity should make you forget you are indulging in a fatty meat dish and match perfectly the pickled plum vinaigrette and goat cheese. Our mouth is watering! —M. Bouffard & M. Morris
Buying Polderside
Polderside Farm chickens and ducks are available at fine restaurants and these retail stores: 3-P Natural and Exotic Meats, Windsor Packing Co., Armando's Meats, Social at le Magasin Butcher Shoppe, Cioffe's, and Topper's.