We were invited to a pop up dinner hosted by Fraser Valley Specialty Poultry (FVSP), in partnership with Edible Canada, Ripples Winery and BC’s Buy Local program. The menu was created by Chef Tobias Grignon which featured locally sourced, grown and harvested ingredients from local farms. Poultry and wine were paired by sommelier Ashley West of Sommelier at Home.
When Poultry Meets Wine
It’s time to go rethink what we know about poultry and wine pairing. Poultry has white meat and dark meat, so don’t limit yourself to believing all poultry should always be paired with a specific wine. Beyond the meat, the way poultry is prepared and cooked can make a difference in what wine it pairs with.
Chicken is white poultry and is almost always paired with white wine. On the other hand, squab, duck, turkey, and goose are red meats with rich flavours which are complementary to the tannins in a medium bodied red wine.
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The event was was very educational. Joe Falk, general manager at FVSP spoke to us about the company’s history and the importance of buying from BC farms and suppliers.
Sommelier Ashley West educated us throughout the evening on how to pair poultry and wine. She encouraged us to consider other type of wines available locally, such as BC berry wines. We also met the owners and farmers from Ripples Winery.
It was great to see the people that made the event’s food and wine possible.
Canapés
Poultry: Crispy Duck Hearts with garam masala honey, ginger, and aioli. Duck Liver Pate with truffle and stone fruit compote on sourdough.
Wine: Radiance, a sparkling blueberry wine
Both the duck hearts and the duck liver pate were very rich flavours, but the sparkling blueberry wine cut through the fat and earthy taste.
Cooking demo
Chef Tobias Grignon demonstrated how to prepare the Butter Poached Free Range Chicken Breast, which was our main course. He challenged us to reconsider how to prepare chicken. Instead of using high heat to char the meat, he showed us how to cook it at a low temperature to keep the moisture and flavour. He also encouraged us to try golden beets, and to search for ingredients grown and harvested from farms near us.
Salad
Poultry: Fraser Valley Smoked Duck Salad featured endive, apple, pistachio, duck egg, and chervil.
Wine: Cheam, white wine blend
The duck egg and the smoked duck flavours were balanced by the slight bitterness in the endive. The white wine blend was delightful and paired nicely with the contrasting flavours within the salad.
Mains
Sommelier Ashley West successfully illustrated how wine and poultry pairings can be either complementary or contrasting. To do so, she paired the same fruit table wine for the white meat and the dark meat poultry.
Poultry: Butter Poached Free Range Chicken Breast was served with golden beets, red grapes, fingerling chips, tarragon, and topped with crispy chicken skin.
Wine: In-tem-per-ance, a fruit table wine
This poultry and wine pairing is complementary. The sugars in the honey drizzle and golden beets mirrored sweetness of blueberries in the wine.
Poultry: Grilled Squab was served with chermoula, white bean croquette, parsley and drizzled with buckwheat honey.
Wine: In-tem-per-ance, a fruit table wine
This poultry and wine pairing is contrasting. The full-bodied taste and tannins in the wine cuts through the butter and fat of dark meat like squab.
Dessert
Dessert: Roasted Okanagan Peaches was served with brown butter cake and crème fraîche, then garnished with fresh basil.
Wine: Cu-pe-re, a fruit dessert wine
Sommelier Ashley West taught us to “always pair a sweeter wine with your dessert.” So go ahead, treat yourself and order another glass to pair with your dessert!
About Fraser Valley Specialty Poultry
Fraser Valley Specialty Poultry (FVSP) is a 5-generation family farm that has provided poultry to Vancouver since the early 1970s. If you’ve ever eaten barbequed duck in Vancouver’s Chinatown, you’ve tasted FVSP products!
Recently, they’ve expanded their poultry product line to offer: duck, goose, turkey, certified organic chicken, Loong Kong (Taiwan) chicken, squab, and now ready-to-eat poultry products.
New FVSP Ready-to-Eat products to try
Fraser Valley Specialty Poultry have two new ready-to-eat products that are delicious, easy to serve, and pairs nicely with beer or wine. Both are made with Pekin Duck raised without the use of antibiotics.
- Smoked Pekin Duck Breast is gently smoked and rich in flavour. It pairs well with squash and winter greens, or sliced and served in a charcuterie board, or simply as a main dish.
- Duck Farmer Sausage can be enjoyed grilled, pan-fried, or served cold. It would be delicious thinly sliced on top of a baked crostini, paired with farm fresh chevre and your favourite stone fruit jam.
They’re available for a limited time at Edible Canada shop until September 30, 2018. Don’t miss out, get them now!
