Duck leg is so different from the breast. Opposite entirely. Forgiving fatty meat that is rewarded from a long slow oven or confit in it's own fat.
Duck confit is delicious and I've decided the best way is not to cure it heavily in salt first. My attempts at this have resulted in salty flesh even after washing off the salt carefully and drying it. The reason for salting I'm assuming is to get rid of excess moisture before cooking it in melted duck fat. My last attempt was perfect. I salted the skin as you would if you seasoned the meat, no more than that, then put it in the refridgerator uncovered and let the fridge do the work extracting the moisture rather than salt. A few hours is enough and you'll notice the difference in texture. The skin will have shrunken slightly and the meat darker in colour and firmer. This is the same result from the salt cure without the residue.
Then just melt some duck fat in a pot. Put in the duck and whole garlic cloves and cook on the stove top for a few minutes on low before transferring (covered) to a low oven for about 3 hours. I remove the thigh bone and foot knuckle and clean the exposed bone for presentation so mine is done in 3 hours at a temperature of around 130 deg c. Leaving the thigh bone in you might want to cook it for longer. Cool it in the fat for a bit before removing then refrigerate it until you want to crisp the skin, heating it through to serve or you can store it in it's fat in the fridge (and can be frozen too, I've done this on numerous occasions with success). Pick out the garlic cloves from the fat before you store it, squeeze the flesh out and add it to purees, sauces, whatever. They are sweet and delicious with a mild garlic duck flavour which are beautiful in their own right.
The last time I cooked the legs I decided to try something a little different, going the Asian route. This was very easy but as with anything involving lots of fat I start the day before or early in the day so I can let it sit in the fridge and scoop off the fat from the sauce.
Duck with plum and anise:
Remove the thigh bone from 2 duck legs, chop off the foot knuckle and push down to expose the leg bone for presentation. Wrap the bone in foil.
Grate a knob of ginger and a clove of garlic. Half about 3 dark red plums. Mix with about 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of tamari or dark soy sauce plus 2 chopped dried red chillies (I like it hotish). Toast and grind 1 star anise and a tablespoon of fennel seeds or a teaspoon of green anise seeds.
Mix this together. Put the prepared duck legs in an oven proof dish, pour over the marinade (you can marinade this for a couple of days, leaving the red plums aside). When ready to cook add the plums to the dish, cover with foil and cook at 150deg c for about 1hour an a half, then remove foil and cook for another 30 mins or so until dark and delicious. The soy makes it look dark and caramalised but trust me it's not burnt.
As this is the sauce I do put it in the fridge to scoop the fat off the top, a preference of mine as I really hate heavily oily sauces then reheat before serving in the oven ensuring the skin is crisp. I served this with sticky rice. The plums fall apart and make the whole thing unctuous and delicious.
Duck confit is delicious and I've decided the best way is not to cure it heavily in salt first. My attempts at this have resulted in salty flesh even after washing off the salt carefully and drying it. The reason for salting I'm assuming is to get rid of excess moisture before cooking it in melted duck fat. My last attempt was perfect. I salted the skin as you would if you seasoned the meat, no more than that, then put it in the refridgerator uncovered and let the fridge do the work extracting the moisture rather than salt. A few hours is enough and you'll notice the difference in texture. The skin will have shrunken slightly and the meat darker in colour and firmer. This is the same result from the salt cure without the residue.
Then just melt some duck fat in a pot. Put in the duck and whole garlic cloves and cook on the stove top for a few minutes on low before transferring (covered) to a low oven for about 3 hours. I remove the thigh bone and foot knuckle and clean the exposed bone for presentation so mine is done in 3 hours at a temperature of around 130 deg c. Leaving the thigh bone in you might want to cook it for longer. Cool it in the fat for a bit before removing then refrigerate it until you want to crisp the skin, heating it through to serve or you can store it in it's fat in the fridge (and can be frozen too, I've done this on numerous occasions with success). Pick out the garlic cloves from the fat before you store it, squeeze the flesh out and add it to purees, sauces, whatever. They are sweet and delicious with a mild garlic duck flavour which are beautiful in their own right.
The last time I cooked the legs I decided to try something a little different, going the Asian route. This was very easy but as with anything involving lots of fat I start the day before or early in the day so I can let it sit in the fridge and scoop off the fat from the sauce.
Duck with plum and anise:
Remove the thigh bone from 2 duck legs, chop off the foot knuckle and push down to expose the leg bone for presentation. Wrap the bone in foil.
Grate a knob of ginger and a clove of garlic. Half about 3 dark red plums. Mix with about 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of tamari or dark soy sauce plus 2 chopped dried red chillies (I like it hotish). Toast and grind 1 star anise and a tablespoon of fennel seeds or a teaspoon of green anise seeds.
Mix this together. Put the prepared duck legs in an oven proof dish, pour over the marinade (you can marinade this for a couple of days, leaving the red plums aside). When ready to cook add the plums to the dish, cover with foil and cook at 150deg c for about 1hour an a half, then remove foil and cook for another 30 mins or so until dark and delicious. The soy makes it look dark and caramalised but trust me it's not burnt.
As this is the sauce I do put it in the fridge to scoop the fat off the top, a preference of mine as I really hate heavily oily sauces then reheat before serving in the oven ensuring the skin is crisp. I served this with sticky rice. The plums fall apart and make the whole thing unctuous and delicious.
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| Braised duck leg with plum, star anise and sticky rice. |
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