SETH: Chef.

KRISTEN: Hi, welcome.

SETH: Nice to meet you.

Thank you.

And oh, I see some beautiful ingredients here, and, uh, a big ole bowl of rice.

What are we gonna be preparing today?

KRISTEN: So, we're preparing our duck jambalaya, which is our signature dish.

And we're basing it really, off of this rice.

The rice is really, really special.

It comes out of Youngsville, Louisiana.

It's a farm called Prairie Ronde.

They do a great job of making sure that this beautiful heritage grain makes it way, all the way up here, to DC.

SETH: And what kind of makes it a different rice than what I'd be able to, you know, pick up over at the grocery store?

KRISTEN: Well, there's, there's a sense of place, right.

I mean, I also just like the way that it feels.

But the thing about this rice, is that it's really aromatic in a soft and subtle way.

It's got just the right amount of starch on the outside of it.

It's a beautiful rice.

SETH: So, it's gonna hold up against all these other ingredients here, as well.

KRISTEN: It will, but it also won't overpower the dish.

This all marries together.

SETH: So Chef, besides the rice here, what are some of the other ingredients that are gonna flavor this dish?

KRISTEN: The jambalaya that we do here at Dauphine's is based on trinity, which most jambalayas are, but we do deeply caramelize our onions.

Other than the trinity, we have our braised duck meat.

And so, if you wanna follow me over to the stove, we can sort of, get started.

SETH: All right, sounds good to me.

Here, you go.

KRISTEN: Oh, thank you.

SETH: And Chef, I like the, uh, I like the the crawfish on top of the pot there.

KRISTEN: It's totally not a lobster, it's really a crawfish.

(laughing) SETH: I knew that.

It's New Orleans.

So, and this is where you're gonna be serving the dish in.

KRISTEN: It is.

It's a tiny Dutch oven.

So, the way we're gonna get started is we'll remove the lid.

We'll add some rendered duck fat that comes from the duck skin.

About two to three tablespoons.

Then, we're gonna do about a cup of rice.

Standard ratio here, is about one to one and a half in liquid.

So, we'll add our rice.

We're gonna add salt, pepper, some of our house made Creole.

And then, this is our Worcestershire powder.

So, one thing that's really important is that we wanna try to keep all of the rice in the bottom of the pan, and not stuck on the sides.

SETH: All right.

KRISTEN: So, they don't get over cooked or crunchy.

There's nothing worse than crunchy jambalaya.

SETH: And sautéing it, it will get coated with all that nice duck fat.

KRISTEN: Mm-hmm.

It'll make sure that when we go to separate and fluff the rice that, that fat coats each grain.

SETH: Awesome.

KRISTEN: So, it doesn't get wet or soggy.

So, you wanna cook this just it gets a little bit more fragrant.

We're gonna add a lot of vegetables to this.

So, this is our trinity mix.

Next, we're gonna grab our roasted garlic puree.

We're also gonna go ahead and add our braised duck meat.

SETH: You already got a lot of duck going into this dish.

KRISTEN: Lots of duck.

(laughing) All right.

And then, what we're gonna do next is add our green onion and our parsley.

I'm a big fan of parsley.

We're gonna add a little bit of stock.

SETH: Let me guess, we get a little bit of, uh, duck in this, as well.

KRISTEN: There may be a little duck in here, yeah.

It's an all duck stock.

It does have a little bit of red wine and tomato, just to help deepen the color.

SETH: So much darker than like, a chicken stock.

KRISTEN: Mm-hmm.

SETH: Yeah.

KRISTEN: All right.

So, the big thing here, now, is that what I'm gonna do, is I'm gonna grab one of these spoons and I'm just gonna taste the broth.

'Cause you really wanna make sure that you're not under seasoning.

I think it actually needs a little bit more Creole.

We're gonna add this sachet, right before we put on the lid.

It has a little bit of fresh bay leaf and thyme.

SETH: Oh, so you got some nice aromatics going in, as well.

KRISTEN: Yes.

And then, we're gonna put our lid on.

Pull it back to simmer.

We're gonna let it cook.

And the big thing about jambalaya is you never take the lid off.

You have to trust the process.

SETH: What happens if you take the lid off?

KRISTEN: You ruin the entire dish.

SETH: We definitely don't want that.

KRISTEN: So, while this is cooking down, we're gonna pull together the rest of the components of the dish.

So, that's gonna include grilling off our duck and jalapeño sausage.

The cabbage is a mix of house fermented sauerkraut.

We pull it together with just a little bit of duck stock and some butter.

For our duck breast, we're going to pull them from the refrigerator and then, we'll hang them in the combi oven to bake.

So, after they've roasted, we're gonna let them rest just a little bit.

And then, each duck breast will be split in half and divided amongst the plates.

We'll garnish our finished rice.

And we'll take it all out to the table and enjoy it there.

Thank you so much for coming to Dauphine's.

I hope you're excited to try it.

SETH: Well, I mean, just the aroma coming off this plate, the duck looks incredible.

KRISTEN: Thank you.

It's almost done.

So, there's a step that we do in the kitchen normally, but I wanted to share this last little bit with you.

So, this is, um, some of Charles Poirier's cane syrup.

And this is how we actually finish the duck.

So, what I want you to do is take one of these little spoons, and you're just gonna put a little cane syrup on there.

SETH: And what's this gonna add to the dish?

KRISTEN: And this is just gonna add a little bit of sweetness, a little bit of depth and nuance.

And then, you wanna eat the cane syrup off your spoon.

It's the best part.

SETH: Hmm.

KRISTEN: It's so delicious.

It's like nothing else in the world.

SETH: Just the smokiness of it, um... KRISTEN: Mm-hmm, yeah.

SETH: That's gonna be pretty good.

KRISTEN: It's beautiful.

SETH: All right.

And this is where all the magic's happened, right?

KRISTEN: This is where mo- I mean, there's a little magic everywhere, but this is where most of the magic is.

And we're just gonna give it a stir, so we wanna make sure that we work that duck liver mousse that we topped it off with, and get those duck skin cracklings in there.

SETH: Oh, wow.

That's great.

KRISTEN: And then really, I'm just gonna put a little bit on your plate.

There may be some leftovers.

(laughing) SETH: I know some people who are gonna enjoy those.

KRISTEN: Good.

Dig in.

SETH: Mmm.

KRISTEN: Hmm.

SETH: That is delicious.

KRISTEN: It's not bad, huh?

SETH: That is just delicious.

And you know, I mean, I think the few times I've had, you know, jambalaya even in New Orleans, much more like tomato-ey, maybe a little sweet.

KRISTEN: Mm-hmm.

SETH: That has got that nice savory flavor.

KRISTEN: It is very savory.

SETH: And the, the, the richness of the duck, as well.

KRISTEN: And then, once you sort of pull the, the sauerkraut and the roasted cabbage in, as well.

So, it's again, it's just about marrying all these flavors.

Gotta try that duck though, 'cause that's like the best part with that cane syrup on top.

This is aged for about two weeks.

SETH: Wow.

I gotta say, I mean, I've had duck, but I'm not sure I've had two week aged duck before.

KRISTEN: It's beautiful.

I mean, it does still have a little bit of that gaminess that I think that duck is known for.

But it sort of balances it out, just a little bit.

It gives it a little more roundness.

SETH: All right.

I gotta try a little bit of this sausage as well... KRISTEN: Yes.

SETH: Since, you know, there's, I know there's a little duck in everything.

And duck... KRISTEN: There's, uh, there's, uh, there's a lot of duck in that sausage.

And there's also, a little bit of jalapeños.

So, it'll give you a little bit of kick.

SETH: Hmm, wow.

And that's really wonderful that the whole animal is being used.

I mean, nothing's going to waste.

KRISTEN: Not a single thing, not a single thing.

And we actually render more duck fat than we can use.

So, we cook lots of other things in it, as well.

SETH: Well, everything is better when cooked in a little duck fat.

KRISTEN: Yes, it is.

SETH: And Chef, you know, just to someone who's, you know, I've been to New Orleans a few times in my life, and always loved the food there, I'm glad that you have brought a little taste of New Orleans here, into DC.

KRISTEN: Well, I mean that's exactly what we're trying to accomplish, you know.

We're trying to really inspire people to go and see the real thing.

This is, uh, the Mid-Atlantic version and we're exceptionally proud of what we do.

But really, you can never beat a trip to New Orleans.

SETH: I normally wouldn't wanna end on a note, of encouraging people to leave DC.

This is a DC food show.

But in this case, I'm sold.

KRISTEN: Go.

SETH: This is delicious.

And that I cannot wait to come back and definitely bring, maybe even more than two people to share it with 'cause this is a lot... KRISTEN: I mean, it definitely can be split between a few.

SETH: Of good food.

KRISTEN: Thank you.

SETH: Thank you, Chef.

Cheers.

KRISTEN: Let me know about your trip.