At first it is not so much about martin abuse to hit the jackpot or pull around the houses with dim lantern in the dark. But according to legend, a Roman soldier, allegedly born around the year 316 AD, who in the freezing winter passed by a freezing beggar, quickly drew his sword, cut his soldier's cloak and gave away one half. That same night, the beggar appeared to him in a dream and came out as Jesus Christ.
All this has not yet much to do with tempting fragrant goose or duck roast, but at least it shows that even in late antiquity there must have been hellishly sharp blades - and even then, people dreamed quite wild stuff at night. However, the soldier was baptized after this apparition to the name "Martin" and instructed in the Christian faith.
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Martins duck: preparation trick of the professionalsBut the story went on: Martin must have been a pretty good student, because several years later, the congregation wanted to appoint him as Bishop in today's French Tours. But Martin, like many of his fellow-creatures today, recoiled from such management duties and hid in a goose-sty. The adult Ganter does not like that kind of thing, which is why they betray him with loud chatter and he was finally consecrated bishop.
As far as the one legend, like Martin and Gans came together. There has also been another story over the centuries, when a small group of geese took advantage of the inadvertently open stall door and waddled into the church next door. There they are said to have disturbed Martin at the Sunday sermon with their chatter so much that he had them killed and barbecued without further ado - the foundation stone for the Saint-Martin roast.
The origin of Martinsgans
But even the third, far more likely version is not a stuff Vegan dreams are made of. Historians assume that the custom has very different, much dificier backgrounds: The 11th of November coincided with a season when the feudal fees were due. And then you could pay your taxes in kind - like a goose.
In addition, at the beginning of November, the first heavy snowfalls of the year are (or were) in many areas of Europe down to the valleys. Many people took the opportunity to get a decent roast on their bellies on the 11th of November, the last day before the 40 days of fasting until Christmas - especially as it became increasingly difficult to feed the cattle in this time of the year.
Since then, people like to push a goose into the oven on Martin's day. Or a duck, after all, it tastes just as delicious and does not have as much fat as its bigger relatives.
In today's hobby recipe "Martins duck with cider sauce and red cabbage apple" we do not want to make a bird in the whole for a change, but show how its meatiest part - the breast - is often prepared in the top gastronomy nowadays. The strategy is based on the idea that conventional methods such as pan and oven make it quite difficult to bring the breast meat ("Magret") consistently juicy pink / medium to the plate while serving a beautifully crisp skin - and so do still in the staccato of a restaurant operation.
The solution that makes the recipe interesting even for small and large domestic invitations: Meat and fat layer are prepared separately. The skin with the underlying fatty tissue is left to become crisp in the oven; the boiled fat is used as a flavor enhancer for the apple sauce. The meat itself - best suited female fledglings such as Barbarie, Warzenente or musk duck - is cooked in a water bath at 55 ° C core temperature and then fried briefly in the pan.
It warms up inside to a wonderful juicy-tender degree of cooking (about 58 ° C). You do not even have to buy a vacuum sealer for this exercise, because a pot, a cheap sous vide stick and a freezer bag are all you need.
And a clothespin (see recipe).