On sumac.....

    If your not already acquainted with sumac spice, here is a brief introduction. Sumac spice is made from the berry of a shrubby tree that grows wild all over the middle east and parts of Italy. The berries are sun dried, crushed and turned into a powder. It has a very citrusy tart flavor which lends itself well to a variety of applications. I use it to make sumac oil by placing some of the spice mixed with oil in a c-vac bag, sealing it and then steaming it for about 20 minutes. The oil gets hot enough where it will extract the flavor from the sumac but it will not give it that bitter taste from overheating the oil and burning the spice. The end result is a beautiful red tinted oil with citrusy notes. Sumac also works great rubbed on meat or fish. The other day I made pan seared duck breast scented with sumac, which I cooked  just below my desired temperature, I took the breast out of the oven and then rubbed sumac on it and placed it back in the pan to carry over and rest before slicing. I like to add my rubs, and spices at the end of the cooking process  because it prevents them from charring and acquiring a bitter taste. If you add the spice or rub on the meat as soon as you take it out of the oven, the pan should be hot enough where it will release the natural oils in the spices. Here's some pics of it....I served the duck breast with  charred maitake, caramelized cipollini, and a roasted carrot and fresno chili puree. I served the sumac oil table side.