Cheaters Duck Confit Recipes

DUCK CONFIT

Steps:

• Cut up ducks: Separate thigh-leg portions in one piece. Bone thigh, leaving it attached to leg bone. Cut off top inch of leg bone with a heavy cleaver. Trim all visible fat from thigh-leg pieces; reserve fat in a heavy saucepan. Remove duck breasts and reserve for another use. Cut away as much fat and skin from the carcass as possible, chop in small pieces, and add to reserved fat.
• Marinate duck pieces: Sprinkle thigh-leg portions all over with salt and turn skin-side down. Sprinkle with mixed spices, saltpeter and pepper. Place herb sprig on each portion. Press together 2 pieces to make 3 packages of thigh-leg portions with skin on outside. Place in a nonreactive baking dish or roasting pan, cover tightly and marinate 24 hours, refrigerated.
• Render duck fat: Add 1 1/2 cups of the wine and just enough water to saucepan of reserved fat to moisten. Heat pan over medium heat and simmer for about 1 hour, or until all wine and water has evaporated, and only golden duck fat remains. Strain out cooked skin and reserve fat.
• Prepare confit: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Remove duck thigh-leg pieces from refrigerator, discard herb sprigs and pat dry with paper towels. Brush lightly with rendered fat and broil in a preheated broiler, skin-side up, until skin browns, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat, sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup wine and let rest for several minutes. Meanwhile, heat rendered duck fat in a large, heavy casserole. When fat boils add duck pieces. Add enough additional rendered duck or goose fat to cover. Bake covered in 300 degree F oven, 2 hours, or until duck is extremely tender, but not falling apart. Place a rack or crisscross a pair of chopsticks in bottom of a heavy earthenware crock. Lay duck pieces on rack, then pour warm fat over to completely cover and seal pieces. When cool, cover top of crock and refrigerate at least 24 hours before serving. Duck will keep, refrigerated, for several weeks.
• To finish: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove duck pieces from crock and scrape off most of fat. Place in a roasting pan and heat in a 400 degree oven until crisply brown, about 15 minutes. Serve with garlic potatoes Sauteed in some duck fat.
• * Mixed Spices: Combine 1 teaspoon each crumbled dried basil, crumbled dried thyme, freshly-grated nutmeg, ground cloves, ground white pepper, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne and 1 bay leaf, crumbled. Yield: about 2 tablespoons
• Cut up ducks: Separate thigh-leg portions in one piece. Bone thigh, leaving it attached to leg bone. Cut off top inch of leg bone with a heavy cleaver. Trim all visible fat from thigh-leg pieces; reserve fat in a heavy saucepan. Remove duck breasts and reserve for another use. Cut away as much fat and skin from the carcass as possible, chop in small pieces, and add to reserved fat.
• Marinate duck pieces: Sprinkle thigh-leg portions all over with salt and turn skin-side down. Sprinkle with mixed spices, saltpeter and pepper. Place herb sprig on each portion. Press together 2 pieces to make 3 packages of thigh-leg portions with skin on outside. Place in a nonreactive baking dish or roasting pan, cover tightly and marinate 24 hours, refrigerated.
• Render duck fat: Add 1 1/2 cups of the wine and just enough water to saucepan of reserved fat to moisten. Heat pan over medium heat and simmer for about 1 hour, or until all wine and water has evaporated, and only golden duck fat remains. Strain out cooked skin and reserve fat.
• Prepare confit: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Remove duck thigh-leg pieces from refrigerator, discard herb sprigs and pat dry with paper towels. Brush lightly with rendered fat and broil in a preheated broiler, skin-side up, until skin browns, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat, sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup wine and let rest for several minutes. Meanwhile, heat rendered duck fat in a large, heavy casserole. When fat boils add duck pieces. Add enough additional rendered duck or goose fat to cover. Bake covered in 300 degree F oven, 2 hours, or until duck is extremely tender, but not falling apart. Place a rack or crisscross a pair of chopsticks in bottom of a heavy earthenware crock. Lay duck pieces on rack, then pour warm fat over to completely cover and seal pieces. When cool, cover top of crock and refrigerate at least 24 hours before serving. Duck will keep, refrigerated, for several weeks.
• To finish: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove duck pieces from crock and scrape off most of fat. Place in a roasting pan and heat in a 400 degree oven until crisply brown, about 15 minutes. Serve with garlic potatoes Sauteed in some duck fat.
• * Mixed Spices: Combine 1 teaspoon each crumbled dried basil, crumbled dried thyme, freshly-grated nutmeg, ground cloves, ground white pepper, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne and 1 bay leaf, crumbled. Yield: about 2 tablespoons

CHEF ANNE'S CHEATER'S DUCK CONFIT & BITTER GREENS

Steps:

• Season the duck legs generously with salt. Coat a roasting pan lightly with olive oil and lay the duck legs skin side down in a single layer. Put the pan on the stove and bring to medium heat. Cook the legs until the fat slowly begins to melt. This will take 20 to 30 minutes and you don't want to rush it-this part of the process is worth the effort! When a decent amount of fat has been rendered, about 1/2 inch, raise the heat and brown the legs on both sides. Once browned, remove them from the pan and reserve. Yum! Doesn't this smell good?
• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Add the onions to the fat in the pan, season generously with salt, and stir to coat; cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste to make sure they're well seasoned and add salt if needed.
• Return the duck legs to the pan and snuggle them in with all the onions. Add the wine, thyme bundle, and bay leaves and cover the pan with foil.
• Put the pan in the oven and cook for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so to be sure the onions aren't burning. When the duck is done it should be incredibly flavorful, tender, and almost falling off the bone.
• In a large bowl, combine the greens with some red wine vinegar, a bit of salt, a nice drizzle of the warm duck fat from the pan, and some of the caramelized onions. To serve, place a large mound of the dressed dandelion greens on a plate, lay a duck leg on the greens, and top with a few more onions.
• Confit is a classic way of preserving food, most commonly used with duck. It's when you cook something in its own fat and then store it in the fat. Confit is SOOOOO good! It's luscious and rustic; think of it as fancy comfort food.
• To make traditional confit you cure the meat overnight with salt and shallots, cook it to render the fat, and then store it in its own fat.
• To make my "cheater's" confit, you render the duck fat low and slow-don't rush it! You want to melt as much fat off of the duck legs as possible. Then you caramelize lots of onions in the duck fat, toss in a bunch of white wine, thyme, and bay leaves, and braise the duck with the onions and the fat. It's hugely flavorful and a lot faster than classic confit.
• If you have any lovely duck fat left over, youil want to use it to make my killer crispy crunchy duck fat potatoes (page 219).