Wild Duck Ballotines, after Escoffier’s Duckling

Known Ground reconstruction — not personally tested

Escoffier's historical formula specifies domestic duckling. The practical version below is a Known Ground wild-waterfowl reconstruction; it is not presented as Escoffier's wild-duck formula.

Escoffier uses domestic duckling and muslin wrappers. Wild duck meat and skin are retained; parchment-and-cheesecloth parcels replace loose period muslin, and weights preserve the source ratios.

Instructions

1. Chill all equipment and meats. Grind duck, veal, pork fat, and panada; mix with yolks, salt, pepper, and nutmeg until tacky, then fold in foie-gras forcemeat and mushrooms.

2. Cook a teaspoon of the mixture and adjust seasoning. Divide into twelve 2-ounce portions and wrap each in duck skin, then snugly in parchment and cheesecloth.

3. Poach gently in duck stock without boiling until each center reaches 165°F (74°C), about 20 minutes.

4. Unwrap, glaze with reduced stock, and serve around turnips, peas, olives, or sauerkraut.

Historical formula

Escoffier bones a duckling and chops its meat with half its weight of veal, an equal weight of fresh pork fat, one-third as much panada, four yolks, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. He adds three ounces each foie-gras gratin forcemeat and butter-sautéed mushrooms, wraps two-ounce portions in duck skin and muslin, poaches them in stock from the carcass, glazes, and serves with a chosen garnish.

Source note

Source-preserving summary from Auguste Escoffier, *A Guide to Modern Cookery* (1907), a public-domain English edition. Source location: No. 1753, pp. 542–543; 1903 pp. 871–872.