Philly Cheesesteak Duck Rolls

I've been to Philadelphia twice. The first time was in high school. I stayed at Valley Forge for 4 days as part of a AP U.S. History program-- and because I'm a nerd. I did all the usual things, like visiting Washington's headquarters in Valley Forge, the National Constitution Center, Independence Hall, seeing our good ol' Liberty Bell and of course, having my first ever authentic Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich! I would post up a picture of it, but I somehow lost all my photos from that trip in the midst of multiple computer crashes. Thanks Windows. (Back up all your photos!) As simple as they are, Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches are a gift from heaven. Really! This was 5 years ago, and I'm still talking about it. Perhaps it tasted so good because I was actually IN Philadelphia, with the "Rocky Steps" and our U.S. Constitution's birth nearby. Regardless, it was a treat to remember. 

As fate would have it, I returned to Philadelphia last year to blog for the AT&T National golf tournament. But this time, I was 21-- let's just say that my second experience was quite different from the first. No, I didn't have a Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich on this visit. I had Philly Cheesesteak Egg Rolls, and they were out of this world! If you visit Philly, check out the Continental Midtown. Their food was amazing. 

I have yet to visit Gettysburg though. One day, Rick and I will go and walk those sacred grounds. And we would barely utter a word. Who knows what we will hear? Perhaps a silence. Perhaps a voice. Perhaps many voices. But we will be honored, nonetheless.

Anyway, here is my rendition of the Continental's Philly Cheesesteak Egg Rolls. Instead of beef, we used wild duck breasts, sliced thinly and cooked with onion, scallion and Worcestershire sauce. The mixture was then stuffed in egg roll wrappers along with provolone, and fried to a cheesy perfection. 

Benjamin Franklin would approve. I bet he wished he were eating these while flying his little kite.

Does anyone else find this portrait of Franklin mildly odd? But it cannot be denied that he looks rather kick-a**. Must be the beaver hat.

-Jen

Servings: 2, about 6 egg rolls

Prep Time: 15 minutes (plus 2-3 days if you want to brine the duck)

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients: 

- 1/2 lb. of wild duck breasts (brined)

- 1/4 cup of white/brown onion, thinly sliced

- 1 green onion, white and light green parts thinly sliced

- 3-4 splashes of Worcestershire sauce

- kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste 

- 1 tbs. olive oil for sauteing 

- egg roll wrappers (store bought)

- provolone cheese slices

- 1 egg, beaten

- vegetable/corn/peanut oil for frying

Dipping Sauce

- 3/4 c. ketchup

- 1/2 tsp. powdered mustard

- 2 tbs. brown sugar

- Tabasco sauce, to taste

1. Slice duck breasts against the grain thinly. Watch for shot and discard parts with blood shot. The pieces we have here look so light on the outside because they have been brined. You should try it. It really makes a big difference. To brine, click here.

2. Heat 1 tbs. olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Saute sliced onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle a little salt over onion to help draw out moisture.

Add the sliced duck breast and green onion, and saute until the meat is browned. Add 3-4 splashes of Worcestershire, salt and pepper, to taste. 

Drain the mixture of all liquids and allow to cool. Hot liquid will ruin the egg roll wrappers when assembling.

3. Lay 1 egg roll wrap on a clean, dry surface, with one corner directly pointing at you. It should look like a diamond from where you stand.  Place 1 provolone slice in the middle and then some of the cooled duck mixture horizontally across the cheese slice. Be careful not to overfill. 

Egg roll wrappers are pretty easy to find in American grocery stores. We bought ours at Ralph's.This brand was quite easy to work with.

Tightly fold up the corner closest to you over the filling. Brush some beaten egg onto the two side corners and fold them in. Make sure everything is neat and tight, or else bubbles and leaking will form when you fry. 

Brush the top corner with egg and roll up the entire egg roll. Make sure everything is well sealed. You don't want oil getting inside. 

This is what it should look like. Repeat until you run out of duck mixture.

4. Heat 1-2 inches of oil in a saucepan, just enough so the egg rolls don't touch the bottom of the pan. To test if the oil is ready, drop in a tiny piece of egg roll wrap. If floats, bubbles up and starts frying right away, it's ready. 

Fry egg rolls on both sides until browned, about 1 minute each side.

Drain fried egg rolls on paper towels.

5. To make dipping sauce, simply mix ketchup, powdered mustard, brown sugar and Tabasco sauce in a bowl.

They also make great little appetizers! Just cut in half.

Mmmm... it's awesome with the dipping sauce! 

As always, thanks for visiting our blog. We hope you enjoy this recipe!