The second season of A&E’s Duck Dynasty premieres on October 10, but that’s not the only big day coming up for the Robertson family. One day before the first episode of the new season airs, Korie and Willie Robertson’s first book goes on sale as Duck Commander Family: How Faith, Family, and Ducks Built a Dynasty hits shelves on October 9th.
From Amazon.com:
This book gives readers an up-close and personal, behind-the-scenes look at the family in the exploding A&E show—Duck Dynasty. This Louisiana bayou family operates Duck Commander, a booming family business that has made them millions. You’ll hear all about the Robertson clan from Willie and what it was like growing up in the Robertson household. You’ll sample some of Willie’s favorite family recipes from Phil, Kay, and even some of his own concoctions; and you’ll get to know the beautiful Robertson women. You’ll hear from Korie about the joys and hardships of raising a family, running a business, and wrangling the Robertson men while staying fashionable and beautiful inside and out. Discover more about the family dynamics between brothers Willie, Jase, Jep, and parents Phil and Kay. You’ll even meet a fourth brother who isn’t in the show.
So, Alan’s in the book, too, huh? Maybe the rumors about him getting more involved with the family business are true!
If you just can’t wait until October 9th, here’s a fairly long excerpt from the audiobook version narrated by Willie Robertson himself. (I would have provided an amazon link for the audio version, but they don’t have a listing yet.) The clip begins with a quotation from scripture and goes on to talk about the Robertson family dinners now made famous by Duck Dynasty:
And if listening to Willie read to you still didn’t satisfy your Duck Dynasty cravings, here are a couple of printed excerpts they’ve released early. They’re not juicy tidbits about the Robertson family, exactly, although there is a little of that. Instead, they’re recipes for juicy tidbits recommended by the Robertsons! Yum! (Plus, I’ll even toss in a video commercial for the book featuring Willie and Korie!)
DUCK WRAPS
I like to say Duck Commander is a lot like duck wraps. Huh? No, really it is. It’s a bunch of things that may not seem like they belong together, but when they all come together they make something spectacular. Everyone at Duck Commander brings something special to the table, and rather than fighting against one another, we complement each other. Do we have our disagreements? Of course! But we don’t take away from the unique flavors each one brings. We are all held together by a common love for family and for ducks, but more importantly we are fortunate to share a common faith. Our faith is the toothpick that holds the entire wrap together. If it wasn’t for our faith in God, I can assure you, we would fall apart.
Simply the best way for my taste buds to eat a duck. I wrap many things but duck has such a good flavor. Play with it and add different types of “sweets” for topping. Honey is great but there are others. If you bite into the first one and don’t think it’s done, don’t panic, put them all in a pot and let them steam on low fire.
INGREDIENTS
8 to 12 duck breasts
1 pound thin-sliced bacon
8 to 12 jalapeno slices
1 package cream cheese
1 package Duck Commander Rub
1 jar of honey
DIRECTIONS
Soak duck breasts in salt water overnight in the refrigerator.
Cut an incision down the length of each breast and stuff with cream cheese and one jalapeno slice.
Coat each stuffed duck breast with Duck Commander Rub and wrap each with one slice of bacon, securing the wrap with a toothpick.
Cook wraps on an open grill until bacon is crisp and cream cheese starts to ooze out (it’s okay for the wrap to be medium-rare; don’t overcook or it will dry out).
Drizzle wraps with honey and cook for an additional two minutes.
GARLIC FROG LEGS
Many things in life — whether it’s food, business, or even someone’s personality — slowly evolve over time. They don’t necessarily get better overnight, but if you keep working at them and stay focused, chances are they’re going to end up being better than when you started. Take for instance my recipe for frog legs. When I was growing up, Kay’s frog legs were one of my favorite meals. But as I got older, I started experimenting with ways to cook frog legs and added my own personal touch to her recipe. Kay has probably never heard of garlic-infused grape seed oil (she’s never used anything but butter or Crisco), but that’s what I like to use to fry my frog legs. And for the record there are many infused olive oils I like using nowadays. Kay still doesn’t understand how they “infuse” oil, but I tell her, “Don’t question, just enjoy.”
I had some frogs and garlic and dreamed this up one night. It is so good. For the few hundred who will actually go get frogs, try it. The rest, well… use chicken instead. Good luck.
INGREDIENTS
Fresh mushrooms
Bunch of frog legs
Butter
Garlic-infused grape seed oil
Flour
Can of beer
White wine
Phil Robertson’s Zesty Cajun Style Seasoning
Bulb of garlic
DIRECTIONS
Soak frog legs in beer for an hour or so.
Season frog legs with Zesty Cajun Style Seasoning.
Roll frog legs in flour and set aside.
In a large black skillet bring butter and grape seed oil up to high (don’t burn the butter, it will brown when burning). It doesn’t take much oil and butter, just about a half-inch or so.
When oil and butter starts sizzling, put frog legs in and brown on each side. It should be about halfway up on frogs, just enough to brown.
If butter gets low, throw another half stick in. Set browned frog legs aside.
With what’s left in the pan, add white wine, garlic (whole pods, peeled), mushrooms, and cook for three to four minutes.
Add frog legs to white wine mix. Cover and cook at 300 degrees F for thirty minutes until meat is falling off bone. (You will know it’s done, believe me!)
BEANS AND RICE
A short time after Phil’s family moved to Dixie, [his father] Pa fell eighteen feet from the floor of a drilling rig and landed on his head. He broke two vertebrae in his back and ruptured his stomach. The accident nearly killed him. Doctors fused the vertebrae in his back with bone from his hip and repaired his stomach. But Pa was forced to wear a heavy Plaster-of-Paris cast from neck to hip for nearly two years and obviously couldn’t work. Making matters worse, Granny was confined to a mental hospital at the time, so Pa was left to care for five of his children while he was immobilized.
Phil’s older brothers, Jimmy Frank and Harold, were enrolled in classes at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Both of them volunteered to come home and work to help the family make ends meet. But Pa insisted they stay in school and finish their education. The family somehow survived on Pa’s disability checks of thirty-five dollars a week. Phil’s older sister, Judy, did most of the cooking and cared for her younger siblings, Silas and Jan. Tommy and Phil gathered pecans and sold them to local markets. The family subsided on rice and beans, cornbread, and whatever fish and game the boys could catch. Rice and beans was a staple dish at the Robertson dinner table. A hundred-pound bag of rice and several cans of beans would last for weeks. There are dozens of ways to prepare rice and beans, and the recipes could be altered by adding a simple gravy or squirrels, quail, or fish so it was a perfect meal for the struggling Robertson family.
You can be creative with this. Don’t worry about doing it exactly the way it is written, try stuff, if you don’t have an ingredient make it anyway. I make beans every time we make or buy a ham — the ham bone is the key. You will find hunks of that ham when it cooks off the bone that you never knew existed and they are delicious. NEVER throw ham bone away!
INGREDIENTS
1 pound dry kidney Pinto beans
1/3 cup olive oil
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
6 cups water
a couple of slices of bacon, cut up
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (less if you are feeding kids)
2 bay leaves (if you don’t have it in your cabinet don’t worry about it)
a pinch of brown sugar
1 teaspoon Phil Robertson’s Cajun Style Seasoning
1 tablespoon parsley flakes (again, don’t sweat it if you don’t have it)
1 pound Andouille sausage, sliced (Add more if you like sausage, or a different kind if this is too spicy.)
Ham bone with as much ham left on it as you want (I buy one that is honey glazed, take the ham off for sandwiches, then use what’s left for beans)
4 cups water
2 cups long grain white rice
Louisiana Hot Sauce
DIRECTIONS
Rinse beans and transfer to a large pot with ham bone six cups of water. Make sure the water is covers all the beans.
In a skillet, heat olive oil and cut up bacon over medium heat. Sauté onion, garlic, bell pepper, and celery for three to four minutes.
Stir cooked vegetables into beans.
Season with bay leaves, cayenne pepper, parsley, and Cajun Style Seasoning.
Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and cook 4 to 6 hours, or until beans are soft and done. Simmer for 2 1/2 hours.
Cut sausage into slices and brown in skillet on medium heat with a teaspoon of olive oil.
Stir sausage into beans towards the end of cooking time and continue to simmer for thirty minutes.
Add a pinch of brown sugar to taste.
In a saucepan, bring water and rice to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for twenty minutes. Serve beans over steamed white rice and add plenty of Louisiana Hot Sauce.
