Asian Duck Confit With Shiitake Mushroom Couscous Recipes

ASIAN DUCK CONFIT WITH CITRUS PEA SPROUT SALAD

Steps:

• Duck Confit:
• Duck Confit: In a large bowl, mix everything together but the duck and fat. In a tall pan, line the bottom with a layer of the mixture. Place duck legs on top, then cover with another layer. Place in refrigerator overnight (24 hours). In a tall casserole or rondo, melt the duck fat. Set oven at 300 degrees. Wipe off all the mixture and place in fat. Watch carefully, you never want the fat to boil. Cook in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours, or until meat is falling off the bone. Pull from fat and serve immediately or when stored overnight, pan sear at medium heat until brown and crispy on both sides.
• Citrus Pea Sprout Salad:
• For the Citrus Pea Sprout Salad: In a small bowl, combine the juices and whisk in the oils. Season and add the herbs. Check for flavor and toss with the sprouts.
• Plating: Place a small mound of the salad on a plate and top with two duck legs.

DUCK CONFIT PASTA

Steps:

• remove the bones from the confit, chop the meat into bite-size pieces.
• cook the fettucine according to package directions, drain, set aside.
• heat olive oil and duck fat in a skillet.
• add garlic, and shallot, cook 2 minutes.
• add apricots, cook 1 minute.
• add hazelnuts and wine, cook over low heat, stirring until reduced by half.
• add stock and duck, reduce by half, 6-8 minutes.
• stir in butter, thyme and pepper.
• mix some sauce into the fettucine.
• spoon pasta onto 4 plates.
• top each with sauce and 1 tbsp chevre.
• serve.

DUCK CONFIT

Steps:

• To cook one duck, you need about 2 1/2 cup duck fat. A 4.5 lb. duck renders at least 1 cup of fat. Ask your butcher for extra duck fat, or you'll need another cooking fat to supplement. I'd use a mild lard; it's flavor isn't obtrusive. A 4.5 lb. Long Island duck typically yields about 8 oz confit meat (equal parts leg and breast meat).
• PREPARE THE DUCK: Cut the legs and each breast half from the duck. Trim any excess skin and fat from the legs and save for rendering.
• Gently but firmly pull the skin from the breast meat. Set the skin aside and put the breast and legs in a baking dish.
• Sprinkle liberally with the salt. Nestly the bay leaves, thyme and garlic among the duck pieces. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 24 hours.
• RENDER THE FAT: Trim all the skin and fat from the carcass. Put the skin and fat, including the skin from the breasts and trimmings from the legs in a small heavy saucepan over low heat. Cook, partially covered, at a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent the skin from sticking.
• After about 1 1/2 hours, the skin will be a deep golden in color and crisp, meaning it has rendered almost all of its fat. Take the pan off the heat and let it cool slightly.
• Strain the fat into a container, seal it, and refrigerate until ready to use. The crisped skin may be eaten or discarded.
• COOK THE DUCK: In a heavy, 1 1/2 qt saucepan, melt the rendered fat over low heat. Blot the duck pieces with paper towels to remove any excess salt and to dry them. Put the duck in the pan, along with garlic, thyme and bay laves. Arrange the pieces so that they're all submerged. If needed, add more lard.
• Cook, uncovered, at a very gently simmer, between 185 degrees and 195 degrees, for 2 hours. Do not stir, and never let it boil. After 2 hours, the duck confit will be very tender and will come easily off the bone.
• Lift the duck from the fat using tongs and either use imediately or cool and store, covered, in the refrigerateor for up to a week.

MOROCCAN MUSHROOM COUSCOUS

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoon oil add mushrooms seasoned with salt and pepper saute till tender.
• Remove from pan and add 2 tablespoons oil, onions, garlic and spices cook for an other 5 minutes.
• Add orange juice and zest simmering till reduced to 1 cup.
• In a medium bowl Add 1 cup hot water to couscous and raisins season with salt and pepper remove let stand for 10 minutes.
• For presentation plate the couscous on a large platter top with mushrooms and pour sauce on top. Just before serving toss together.

CHINESE-STYLE DUCK CONFIT

Steps:

• Combine the peppercorns and salt in a heavy skillet and toast over moderate heat, stirring, until the salt turns off-white, about 5 minutes.
• Adjust the heat so the peppercorns do not burn, but expect them to smoke.
• Let the mixture cool slightly, then run through a spice grinder or food processor until you get a very fine powder.
• Sieve to get rid of any husks from the peppercorns.
• Set aside.
• Sprinkle about 1/3 (about 1 tbl.) of the pepper-salt generously over the duck legs, massaging it well into the skin.
• Save the rest of the pepper-salt for another use.
• Put the legs in a zip-lock bag or a glass container covered tightly with plastic wrap and let marinate in the fridge overnight.
• Let come to room temperature before cooking.
• Heat a large heavy casserole over moderate heat until hot enough to evaporate a bead of water on contact.
• Add 2 tbl.
• of the duck fat and swirl to glaze the bottom of the pan.
• Add the duck legs in a single layer and brown on both sides.
• Adjust the heat so the skin browns without scorching and drizzle in a bit more fat if needed.
• Remove the pot from the heat and carefully drain off any burned fat.
• Return the pot and seared duck legs to moderate heat.
• Add the duck fat and the confit seasonings.
• Nudge the legs from the bottom while the mixture comes to a gentle simmer, then adjust the heat so that the fat does not boil.
• Simmer uncovered until the duck is very tender at it's thickest part and almost falling off the bone, about 40 minutes.
• Use tongs to carefully transfer the legs to a shallow container.
• Let the fat cool until tepid, about 30 minutes, then carefully strain over the duck legs.
• Discard the solids.
• Arrange the legs so they are completely submerged in the fat, and place, uncovered, in the refrigerator.
• Once the fat congeals, cover the container tightly.
• In this state, the confit can be stored for 1 day to 2 weeks before using.
• To serve, warm the container over low heat or in a slow oven until the fat turns liquid, then remove the legs.
• Strip the legs of skin, then pull the meat from the bone in shreds.
• Discard the skin, bones and any cartilage.
• The meat is best when just taken from the bone, but you can store it in the refrigerator in shreds, just warm to room temperature before using.
• You may have to adjust the seasonings with more pepper-salt.
• The seasoned duck fat can be frozen indefinitely.
• Strain through several layers of dry cheesecloth to trap excess pepper-salt, then seal and freeze for your next batch of confit.
• On the second go-round you won't need to season the duck fat, but you will need to add 2 cups of fresh duck fat to the pot in order to cover the same amount of legs.