Give me your duck leg recipes...
November 7, 2015 7:07 AM Subscribe
I have a number of duck legs in the fridge, which need using over the next few days. Please suggest recipes. I don't need basic cooking instructions, just your best ways with duck legs.
I don't particularly want to go down the confit route, as I don't have much storage space in this flat, and there doesn't seem much point if I don't let then mature. But if you think I'm insane to pass up the chance I'm sure you'll let me know. Thanks!
Came to suggest ragu on pasta too, but anything that involves braising and shredding is great -- duck legs make a wonderful taco filling. Also dynamite in gumbo or jambalaya.
posted by neroli at 7:24 AM on November 7, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by neroli at 7:24 AM on November 7, 2015 [2 favorites]
I absolutely think skipping confit is a silly move. After you've done that, you have a multitude of options (they don't really need to mature--sure, it's nice; it's not essential). You could make rillettes--right now at the restaurant our seared duck breast comes with a deep fried rillette, which is delicious. A ragu is great--I recently had a lasagne in which the pasta was made with duck eggs and the ragu was a mix of shredded duck and pork.
Ever had a pulled pork sandwich? Now imagine that with shredded confit duck. For bonus points, roast the skin separately until super crisp, and add to the sandwich.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 7:32 AM on November 7, 2015 [7 favorites]
Ever had a pulled pork sandwich? Now imagine that with shredded confit duck. For bonus points, roast the skin separately until super crisp, and add to the sandwich.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 7:32 AM on November 7, 2015 [7 favorites]
You should make confit. Having said that there are some great duck leg recipes in Paula Wolfert's Cooking of Southwestern France"
posted by JPD at 7:40 AM on November 7, 2015
posted by JPD at 7:40 AM on November 7, 2015
Seconding fffm's recommendation. The best sandwich I've had was a shredded pulled duck sandwich at the Atlanta airport.
posted by pushing paper and bottoming chairs at 7:40 AM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by pushing paper and bottoming chairs at 7:40 AM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
Cassoulet uses confit.
posted by JPD at 7:50 AM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by JPD at 7:50 AM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
When we did a roast duck one Thanksgiving, my leftovers went into a duck pot pie, and it was fantastic. I've been recently thinking I could recreate that without having to roast a whole duck, and was considering adding duck legs to this week's shopping list. I don't have a recipe to offer, though, just "roast, chop, make a pie".
posted by aimedwander at 7:58 AM on November 7, 2015
posted by aimedwander at 7:58 AM on November 7, 2015
Best answer: Portuguese Duck Rice
One of my favorite dishes.
posted by vacapinta at 8:08 AM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
One of my favorite dishes.
posted by vacapinta at 8:08 AM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Mì Vịt Tiềm is a vietnamese-chinese braised duck leg dish over egg noodles. One of my favorite things ever.
posted by Karaage at 8:44 AM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Karaage at 8:44 AM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
Confit duck legs doesn't have To take up a ton of space if you process them more like rillettes. After poaching them in fat, strip the legs of meat and pack tightly in a jar.
Source; I currently have 6 confit legs in my fridge, in a pint jar with enough headspace for the fat cap.
posted by furnace.heart at 9:31 AM on November 7, 2015
Source; I currently have 6 confit legs in my fridge, in a pint jar with enough headspace for the fat cap.
posted by furnace.heart at 9:31 AM on November 7, 2015
I really, really love duck. I use it for all sorts of stuff. But confit is the best.
Now for the all sorts of stuff, the second best to confit is to use it in a borsch. Brown the duck legs in fat, add chopped vegs including red beets and soften them in the fat. Add hearty chicken stock + bay leaf + thyme + pepper corns. Cook gently till meat falls of bones. Run soup through a sieve, discard all vegs and take the duck meat off the bones. Let broth cool and then skim off all fat and impurities. Bring to heat again. Add raw beet juice + salt to taste. Serve the soup with duck meat in the bowl, and croutons on top.
posted by mumimor at 9:40 AM on November 7, 2015 [2 favorites]
Now for the all sorts of stuff, the second best to confit is to use it in a borsch. Brown the duck legs in fat, add chopped vegs including red beets and soften them in the fat. Add hearty chicken stock + bay leaf + thyme + pepper corns. Cook gently till meat falls of bones. Run soup through a sieve, discard all vegs and take the duck meat off the bones. Let broth cool and then skim off all fat and impurities. Bring to heat again. Add raw beet juice + salt to taste. Serve the soup with duck meat in the bowl, and croutons on top.
posted by mumimor at 9:40 AM on November 7, 2015 [2 favorites]
Duck confit doesn't have to be hard...
posted by pinkacademic at 10:05 AM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by pinkacademic at 10:05 AM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
We like to eat duck often, but the most amazing meal Husbunny's ever made for me is Duck à l'Orange.
It's really all about the sauce so it should work fine for duck legs too. I've linked to a sauce that looks closest to what he used. If you're not a fan of bitters, skip it, or otherwise any orange bitters would work.
posted by lizbunny at 10:57 AM on November 7, 2015
It's really all about the sauce so it should work fine for duck legs too. I've linked to a sauce that looks closest to what he used. If you're not a fan of bitters, skip it, or otherwise any orange bitters would work.
posted by lizbunny at 10:57 AM on November 7, 2015
Hank Shaw has great recipe for duck bits.
Honey Sriracha Duck Legs
Braised Duck Legs with Leeks
German Braised Duck with Sauerkraut and Sausage
English Duck Pie
posted by Seamus at 12:29 PM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
Honey Sriracha Duck Legs
Braised Duck Legs with Leeks
German Braised Duck with Sauerkraut and Sausage
English Duck Pie
posted by Seamus at 12:29 PM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I make a lovely casserole with leeks, carrots, celeriac, garlic, parsley. a dry white wine, some chicken stock, puy lentils and duck legs. Basically, fry it off in the predictable order, then bang it in a pressure cooker until the meat has fallen off the bones. Serve with some nice, pillowy bread. The lentils marry so, so well to the duck.
posted by smoke at 2:51 PM on November 7, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by smoke at 2:51 PM on November 7, 2015 [2 favorites]
Two recipes. The first is simply frying the duck legs (takes about 20 minutes), skin side down after poking it a few times with a knife or sharp fork to let the fat render. As it fries, cover with a pan to get it cooked. Drain that golden fat to store and really crisp that skin and even flip the legs over to finish the caramelizing. Remove the duck. You deglaze the pan with raspberry vinegar or some other appropriate vinegar. From that gastrique comes a lovely sauce to pour over the legs and pea shoot or other type of salad that your ducks legs rest and gently wilt. You could also use an acidic fruit like orange segments or even raisins (rehydrated lightly) to finish in the vinegar to provide some sweet sour to counterpoint the richness of the duck.
Another recipe that is SOLID is from Diva Cooking (a book I highly recommend) which is duck braised in wine, sake and stock. Fry the duck legs, as described above. After removing the duck from the pan then fry, in a bit of the duck fat, 3 cloves garlic, 1.5 inch of ginger (matchstick cut) until fragrant. Toss in a star anise or two, 3/4 c. of chicken stock, 1/3 cup sake, 1/3 cup wine and 1/3 c. light soy sauce. Boil for 5 minutes. Pour this heady broth mixture into a roast pan, place duck legs, skin side up in the broth (do not completely submerge the duck legs in broth), sprinkle some five spice powder and dribble some honey on the duck legs. Cover roasting pan tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour. After cooking remove the foil to crisp the duck skin (watch this part carefully, you may have to give it a quick blast with the broiler if the skin is not getting crispy). It seems like a lot of steps but it really is not that bad, at all.
posted by jadepearl at 5:11 PM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
Another recipe that is SOLID is from Diva Cooking (a book I highly recommend) which is duck braised in wine, sake and stock. Fry the duck legs, as described above. After removing the duck from the pan then fry, in a bit of the duck fat, 3 cloves garlic, 1.5 inch of ginger (matchstick cut) until fragrant. Toss in a star anise or two, 3/4 c. of chicken stock, 1/3 cup sake, 1/3 cup wine and 1/3 c. light soy sauce. Boil for 5 minutes. Pour this heady broth mixture into a roast pan, place duck legs, skin side up in the broth (do not completely submerge the duck legs in broth), sprinkle some five spice powder and dribble some honey on the duck legs. Cover roasting pan tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour. After cooking remove the foil to crisp the duck skin (watch this part carefully, you may have to give it a quick blast with the broiler if the skin is not getting crispy). It seems like a lot of steps but it really is not that bad, at all.
posted by jadepearl at 5:11 PM on November 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
Is there a reason you can't do a small amount of confit and cook the rest in a more short term way? Why not have some now without the worry of trying to get it all eaten and then have some later in confit form? Cassoulet is wonderful, of course, and my local bakery does these sandwiches with duck rilette and seasonal fruit preserves that are just killer - if you do that, try pairing it with your favorite jam, especially ones like apricot or marmalade or cranberry, ones with a good balance of sour to the sweet. Use the best bread you can find, something with a great crust for that texture contrast, and go to town.
A friend once fed me what appears to have been the linked upthread German Braised Duck with Saurkraut and Sauage, and it was incredible. I'm not sure the recipe was exactly the same (German grandma, their own family saurkraut preferences, etc) but consider me one vote for that direction, with simple boiled potatoes to soak up all the goodness.
posted by Mizu at 4:37 AM on November 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
A friend once fed me what appears to have been the linked upthread German Braised Duck with Saurkraut and Sauage, and it was incredible. I'm not sure the recipe was exactly the same (German grandma, their own family saurkraut preferences, etc) but consider me one vote for that direction, with simple boiled potatoes to soak up all the goodness.
posted by Mizu at 4:37 AM on November 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
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posted by slkinsey at 7:20 AM on November 7, 2015 [3 favorites]