Recipe: Barque’s belt-busting flapjack tower of pulled barbecue duck meat, chèvre and blueberry compote

PREP TIME: 35 minutes COOK TIME: 39 minutes SMOKE TIME: 12 hours or ROAST TIME: 2 hours Serves 4

DUCK PANCAKES 2 whole duck legs (including thighs)

Barbecue Rub 1 tsp each granulated sugar, brown sugar, kosher salt, fresh black pepper, paprika, garlic powder and onion powder

Blueberry Compote 1 pint blueberries 100 mL freshly squeezed orange juice ½ cup granulated sugar

Whipped Chèvre 140 g chèvre 2 tbsp 35 per cent cream

Pancakes 1 cup all-purpose flour ¼ cup granulated sugar 1 tsp each baking soda and baking powder 1 large egg ½ cup each buttermilk and 2 per cent milk

1. Mix rub ingredients in a bowl and massage into duck legs. Smoke, bone side down, in a 190º F smoker for 12 hours. If you don’t have a smoker, you can roast the duck. Place legs in a medium baking dish and pierce with a fork. Cook in a 325º F oven for 2 hours. Let stand for 30 minutes. Remove skin, reserving the crispy parts. Pull meat into strips. Chop crispy skin and mix into meat. Drizzle a little fat from baking dish onto the meat and toss.

2. Combine compote ingredients in a small saucepan and set over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat. Let simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Set cheese on counter for 30 minutes to bring it to room temperature, then whisk with cream until fluffy.

4. Prepare pancakes by sifting flour with ¼ cup sugar, baking soda and baking powder in a medium bowl. Whisk egg with buttermilk and milk in a large bowl. Slowly stir dry mixture into wet mixture.

5. Preheat a large frying pan over medium or medium-high, then coat with vegetable oil. Cook ¼ cup pancake mix for 1 to 2 minutes until edges start to bubble. Flip pancake. Adjust heat as needed. Cook another 2 minutes, then remove. Repeat with remaining pancakes. Serve 3 pancakes per plate. Top with duck meat, a drizzle of compote and a scoop of chèvre. Serve immediately.

TIP Create your own smoker by topping a piece of foil with 1 cup mixed dry and soaked wood chips. Fold the foil into a pouch. Using a fork, pierce holes all over. Place directly on the grill. Wait about 15 minutes for smoke to begin.

DAVID NEINSTEIN BARQUE For someone who claims not to like breakfast, David Neinstein serves up one hell of a pancake stack. Barque, Neinstein’s constantly crammed ’cue shack in Roncesvalles, is slightly more polished than most barbecue-belt smokehouses, but the pork ribs and brisket from his wood-burning Southern Pride smoker are as succulent and tender as their Tennessee counterparts. Neighbourhood residents have fallen just as hard for his decadent brunches as they have for his baby back ribs, and these pancakes typify his upscale-meets-down-home approach to barbecue. The flapjack tower is topped with a thick blueberry compote, tender pulled barbecue duck meat and a scoop of creamy chèvre. It’s a belt-busting mash-up of sweet, savoury, tangy and tart flavours.

Recipes developed by Victoria Walsh. Recipe photography by Ryan Szulc. Portrait photography by Raina and Wilson. Illustrations by Aleksandar Janicijevic. Interviews by Denise Balkissoon, Ariel Brewster, Andrew D’Cruz, Jennifer Goldberg, Matthew Hague, Claire Hastings, Bronwen Jervis and Simone Olivero.