Plum Good Gin & Tonic!

Just as September straddles the edges of summer and fall, so  the Plum Good Gin & Tonic combines the refreshment of summer's favorite G&T  with the first flush of fall plums. 

What else would you do with a few plums that didn't go into that (recent) delicious Plum Smoked Duck? Around here, you know we simply used them in a cocktail.

To emphasize the plum-i-ness even more, we used some plum wine left in the bottle from the smoked duck, a little gin, a smidgen of Jack Rudy tonic syrup, lime, a splash of soda and there you have one mighty fine cocktail. Well, almost anyway. A few drops of Bittermen's Burlesque bitters took it right over the top. Cheers!

Plum Good Gin & Tonic

• 1 prune plum, pitted and cut in half
• 2 oz. gin (I used Bluecoat - made here in Pennsylvania!)
• 1/2 oz. Jack Rudy Tonic Syrup (check online to order!)
• 1 fresh lime, juiced (about 1 oz.)
• 1/2 oz. Japanese Plum Wine - also known as Gekkeikan
• 9 drops Bittermen's Burlesque bitters (optional)
• splash seltzer or soda water

In a tin, muddle the plum, lime juice and tonic syrup until well mashed to release all the color and flavor. Add gin and plum wine. 

Fill the tin 3/4's of the way up with ice and cap tightly. Shake well and double strain into a coupe or other glass. Garnish with a piece of plum or lime wheel and serve.

Plum Smoked Duck with Plum Wine Reduction

Duck...duck...duck...NOT goose! Duck. Smoked duck to be specific. Fine tuning it even more, duck marinated in Japanese plum wine (gekkheikan), garlic, Asian 5-spice, star anise, Szechuan peppercorns and tamari, then smoked over a combo of apple and cherry woods and served with a fresh plum and plum wine reduction. Drooling yet?

This was our very first venture into duck smoking so we kind of went into it blindly. (Just so you know, with great effort I'm resisting a duck blind joke. You're welcome.) I knew I didn't want to go the traditional orange route...so overdone, don't you think? But the classic combo of fruit and duck is a time-honored tradition for a reason. They were meant for one another!

The plan was to use sake as the marinade base, but when I found plum wine on the state store shelf, the rest of the flavors fell right in line. Plums are plentiful in the farm markets right now so Italian prune plums went on the list. The rest of the ingredients found their way from the pantry and spice rack into the solution and became one beautifully fragrant bath for our plump duck.

After hours of smoking the duck to a deep, rich brown lacquer, all that was needed was a simple sauce to highlight the the smoky, sweet flavor. You should have smelled the luscious, fruity, spicy aroma as it rose from the opened smoker! Heaven. 

Isn't he pretty?!

A simple reduction of the same plum wine mixed with crushed plums, organic orange blossom honey (ha! I did get the classic orange in there after all!), sharp Colman's mustard, ginger and garlic produced a gorgeous dark red sauce that accented the sweet, slightly game-y duck perfectly. You might even say dinner was plum delicious!    

Plum Smoked Duck With Plum Wine Reduction

• 1 5-pound (approximately) duck, thawed if necessary

• 3 BIG garlic cloves...or 6 smaller ones, smashed
• 1 star anise, crushed
• 3 slices fresh ginger root, about quarter sized
• 1 tablespoon Scechuan peppercorns, crushed
• 2 teaspoons five-spice powder
• 2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce, Gluten-free to make this GF
• 1 1/2 cups wine, Japanese Plum Wine - also known as Gekkeikan

• 1 cup wine, Japanese Plum Wine - yep, same as above
• 4 very ripe Italian prune plums, seeded and quartered
• 1 teaspoon honey, orange blossom...or your own favorite
• 1 teaspoon Colman's dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• a hefty pinch of powdered ginger

The night before you want to serve this, combine garlic, star anise, fresh ginger, Szechuan peppercorns, 5-spice, tamari and plum wine in a gallon size zip top plastic bag. Squeeze out all the air, seal tightly and put it into a bowl that holds it snugly. (If it leaks, it won't be all over your fridge if it's in a bowl!)
 
The next day, take the duck out of the marinade and discard the marinade. Dry the duck thoroughly with paper towels. Pour the soda out of a soda can, add about 1/2 cup of plum wine, a hefty shake of granulated garlic, 1/2 t. - 1 t. cayenne, 1/2 t. mustard powder and 1 t. ginger. Yes, this will cook beer can chicken style! Fit the duck over the spice and wine filled can and carefully set aside.
 
Soak a combination of half cherry/half applewood chips for at least an hour. Prepare the smoker according to whatever smoker you use. When the coals are hot, scatter the chips.
 
Put the duck on the smoker and smoke for at least 6 hours - more or less according to your smoker and/or your preference. You know I'm loose about smoking instructions...every smoker is different! Remove the duck and let sit while you make the reduction.
 
REDUCTION (reDUCKtion?): In a saucepan combine 1 c. plum wine, the quartered plums, honey and spices. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Let simmer until the liquid reduces by half. Strain the reduction through a small strainer, pressing the solids to extract all the liquid.
 
Slice the duck and serve with the beautiful sauce. This would also be wonderful with a chicken...and there's a LOT more meat on a chicken! (A turkey breast would work well, too!)

Red Plum Blueberry Streusel Cutie Pies

Have you seen the recent spate of jar pies on recipe sites around the internet lately? Not only the internet features these adorable little individual desserts, Meat & Potatoes in downtown Pittsburgh always has at least one on their daily menu. They are SO easy to make and with it just being the two of us at home now, individual pies make much more sense that a big one. I'm tired of throwing out what we can't eat!

Our 4th of July picnic-for-two seemed just the right time to whip up a batch of these little cutie pies (yes, pun intended). I had a red, white and blue dessert in mind AND just happened to have blueberries and red plums on hand to suit the color theme of the day. Because gluten-free pie dough is such a pain to work with - although I could have just crumbled it and layered it into the bottoms of the jars and blind baked them first - I decided to do a streusel topping for the white section of the patriotic colors.

Each jar contained a layer of big, juicy blueberries, a layer of jewel-toned sliced red plums and a topping of buttery cinnamon-y oatmeal streusel crunchy goodness. They were popped into the oven on a rimmed cookie sheet to corral the jars for ease in getting them into and out of the oven...and to catch any bubble-overs that might mess the oven otherwise. The technique worked beautifully!

Although I lost my distinct definition of red and blue layers - they kind of melded into blue only, the results were just what I'd hoped. The piled-high fruit that went into the oven cooked down leaving space at the top of the jar for a good scoop of ice cream. Jar pies ala mode! Perfect.

Since I'd made four pies for the two of us, I simply screwed the tops and lids onto the cooled extras to store in the fridge for the next night (or maybe a midnight craving). I can't wait to experiment some more. I'm thinking individual cheesecakes or pumpkin pies or even going the savory route with chicken or turkey pot pies or shepherds pies. And wouldn't one of the savory pies travel to work for lunch with ease? Screw on lids are ideal for this!

Any short, squat, small Mason-type or Ball-type canning jar will work. Be sure to check each jar for cracks or chips first to prevent breakage in the oven. Hmmm...I just realized these make for an automatic portion control, too...well, unless more than one can't be resisted. Not that I'd know anything about that. Really!

Red Plum and Blueberry Streusel Cutie Pies

• 2 cups blueberries
• 3 plums, red or purple, stones removed & sliced
• 2 teaspoons sugar

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup oats, gluten-free to make these GF, regular oats if gluten isn't an issue
• 1/3 cup flour, again, gluten-free to make these GF, regular all-purpose flour if gluten isn't an issue
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
 
In 4 clean, short, wide Mason or Ball-type canning jars, layer 1/2 cup of blueberries, then 1/4 of the plum slices and press down gently, but firmly. Sprinkle each fruit filled jar with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. Set aside.

 


To make streusel: In a small bowl, use a fork to mix the brown sugar, oats, flour, butter and cinnamon together until all is incorporated and crumbly. Sprinkle the streusel evenly on the tops of the fruit filled jars.
 
Place the jars on a rimmed cookie sheet to catch any spills and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack.
 
To serve, top with scoops of ice cream right in the jar!