Duck: It's What's For Dinner
It's windy, and not too humid, and starting to feel a bit like fall here in Chicago. And fall means, to me, making enough duck confit to have a gourmet meal on hand for friends who brave the snow to visit me.
But this post isn't about duck confit: it's about prepping for duck confit. Confit is a method of cooking and preserving meats in their own fat, which means you have to have a fair amount of duck fat on hand before you get started. Of course, you can buy it, but it's not really affordable on a grad student budget. Just cooking duck legs leaves you with beautifully rendered fat, plus a delicious and easy meal.
Yeah, I said easy. I promise, there's no need to be intimidated by duck.
This recipe serves two, but is easily scaled up for more people
Duck Legs
Ingredients
2 duck legs*
1/2 shallot
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups pinot noir**
Supplies
Baking pan to just barely hold the duck legs (I use a cast iron skillet)
Fine mesh strainer
Heatproof glass container, to store rendered fat
1. Preheat oven to 375 F
2. Lightly salt the duck legs and place directly in the baking pan, skin side up. You might be tempted to season the duck with all sorts of things and put butter all over it (that is, if you're anything like me), but don't do that. You want to allow pure duck fat to render, which can't happen if you put stuff all over it.
3. Cook for about 45 minutes; the pan should now contain quite a bit of delicious looking duck fat. Pour this through a fine mesh strainer into a heatproof container. Mmmm....duck fat.***
4. Pour enough wine into the baking pan to just cover the meaty bits of the duck legs, leaving the skin exposed. Add a couple cloves crushed garlic and half a shallot (cut in half, meaning two shallot quarters). Cook for about a half hour, until duck is tender. I usually cook to an internal temp of 160, but you can cook to 145 if you like your duck rare.
5. Serve with a green veggie (the creamed spinach recipe is below, but asparagus is also a lovely option), and possibly some fried polenta. Garnish with orange if you're feeling fancy. You can make a pan sauce, but I think it tastes just fine without one.
*Duck is readily available at many asian stores at reasonable prices (mine was three bucks). Most grocery stores stock whole frozen duck, for less reasonable prices. If you haven't checked out asian markets, you're really missing out: they also have great prices on mushrooms, oils, rice, etc. Plus, snacks!
**Get enough pinot noir so that you can have a glass with dinner. Riesling pairs well too, if you prefer white, but I still recommend cooking in pinot noir. Remember not to cook with wine you wouldn't drink ;-)
***You can clarify the fat by boiling it in a small saucepan until all the additional moisture boils off, then strain again. You can also easily burn the fat this way, so be careful. I'm lazy, so I don't always do this.
That's my little container of duck fat. To make confit, you'll need to repeat this process until you have enough duck fat to completely submerge the duck you plan to cook. If you aren't into duck confit, it tastes delicious in potatoes, cornbread, veggies, or anything else that needs a kick of deliciousness.
Creamed Spinach:
This is a bit of an adaptation of The Pioneer Woman's creamed spinach. Her instructions are, naturally, better than mine.
Ingredients
1 bag baby spinach
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 to 1 1/2 cups milk (warmed to room temperature)
1/2 shallot left over from duck, finely chopped
1. In a sauce pot, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add as much spinach as you can, and allow it to wilt. You'll want to add the entire bag, stirring often enough so that the spinach on the bottom doesn't get too mushy. Remove from heat.
2. In a small saute pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat. Slowly whisk in 2 tablespoons flour. This is called a roux, and is the base for all sorts of delicious foods (from mac and cheese to cream of whatever soup). Cook for at least 5 minutes, until you get a nice blond color, whisking constantly.
3. Add in chopped shallot and cook for a few minutes, still whisking
4. Slowly whisk in room temperature milk. It may be lumpy at the beginning, but just keep whisking. It will turn into a nice, thick sauce (if the lumps don't incorporate, bust out an immersion blender. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone).
5. Stir in cooked spinach until it gets all creamy and delicious.
But this post isn't about duck confit: it's about prepping for duck confit. Confit is a method of cooking and preserving meats in their own fat, which means you have to have a fair amount of duck fat on hand before you get started. Of course, you can buy it, but it's not really affordable on a grad student budget. Just cooking duck legs leaves you with beautifully rendered fat, plus a delicious and easy meal.
Yeah, I said easy. I promise, there's no need to be intimidated by duck.
This recipe serves two, but is easily scaled up for more people
Duck Legs
Ingredients
2 duck legs*
1/2 shallot
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups pinot noir**
Supplies
Baking pan to just barely hold the duck legs (I use a cast iron skillet)
Fine mesh strainer
Heatproof glass container, to store rendered fat
1. Preheat oven to 375 F
2. Lightly salt the duck legs and place directly in the baking pan, skin side up. You might be tempted to season the duck with all sorts of things and put butter all over it (that is, if you're anything like me), but don't do that. You want to allow pure duck fat to render, which can't happen if you put stuff all over it.
3. Cook for about 45 minutes; the pan should now contain quite a bit of delicious looking duck fat. Pour this through a fine mesh strainer into a heatproof container. Mmmm....duck fat.***
4. Pour enough wine into the baking pan to just cover the meaty bits of the duck legs, leaving the skin exposed. Add a couple cloves crushed garlic and half a shallot (cut in half, meaning two shallot quarters). Cook for about a half hour, until duck is tender. I usually cook to an internal temp of 160, but you can cook to 145 if you like your duck rare.
5. Serve with a green veggie (the creamed spinach recipe is below, but asparagus is also a lovely option), and possibly some fried polenta. Garnish with orange if you're feeling fancy. You can make a pan sauce, but I think it tastes just fine without one.
*Duck is readily available at many asian stores at reasonable prices (mine was three bucks). Most grocery stores stock whole frozen duck, for less reasonable prices. If you haven't checked out asian markets, you're really missing out: they also have great prices on mushrooms, oils, rice, etc. Plus, snacks!
**Get enough pinot noir so that you can have a glass with dinner. Riesling pairs well too, if you prefer white, but I still recommend cooking in pinot noir. Remember not to cook with wine you wouldn't drink ;-)
***You can clarify the fat by boiling it in a small saucepan until all the additional moisture boils off, then strain again. You can also easily burn the fat this way, so be careful. I'm lazy, so I don't always do this.
That's my little container of duck fat. To make confit, you'll need to repeat this process until you have enough duck fat to completely submerge the duck you plan to cook. If you aren't into duck confit, it tastes delicious in potatoes, cornbread, veggies, or anything else that needs a kick of deliciousness.
Creamed Spinach:
This is a bit of an adaptation of The Pioneer Woman's creamed spinach. Her instructions are, naturally, better than mine.
Ingredients
1 bag baby spinach
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 to 1 1/2 cups milk (warmed to room temperature)
1/2 shallot left over from duck, finely chopped
1. In a sauce pot, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add as much spinach as you can, and allow it to wilt. You'll want to add the entire bag, stirring often enough so that the spinach on the bottom doesn't get too mushy. Remove from heat.
2. In a small saute pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat. Slowly whisk in 2 tablespoons flour. This is called a roux, and is the base for all sorts of delicious foods (from mac and cheese to cream of whatever soup). Cook for at least 5 minutes, until you get a nice blond color, whisking constantly.
3. Add in chopped shallot and cook for a few minutes, still whisking
4. Slowly whisk in room temperature milk. It may be lumpy at the beginning, but just keep whisking. It will turn into a nice, thick sauce (if the lumps don't incorporate, bust out an immersion blender. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone).
5. Stir in cooked spinach until it gets all creamy and delicious.