duck leg

Cooking is not always about simplicity and ease. Sometimes what you want in the kitchen is a project, a culinary jigsaw puzzle to solve. There is no greater one than cassoulet. I developed the recipe that follows at the shoulder of Phillipe Bertineau, the chef at Alain Ducasse’s Benoit bistro in New York City: rich and creamy, sticky with duck and pork, brightly spiced, with an astonishing depth of flavor. Feel free to tweak the list of ingredients to match what you can find in the market, but if you can manage the Tarbais beans and the duck fat for the confit, you really won’t be sorry. Start the preparation on the evening before you have a day off. A few hours of cooking the next day yields a dinner of remarkable heft and deliciousness, one that pairs well with red wine and good friends.

Cassoulet

Tarbais beans, beans

baking soda

unsmoked pork hocks, sometimes sold as ‘‘knuckles’’

pork

pig ears (optional)

duck legs

French four-spice powder, nutmeg

cardamom

coriander

nutmeg

sweet paprika

cayenne pepper

salt

white pepper

duck fat

garlic

bay leaves

thyme

rosemary

star anise

bouquet garni celery

pork garlic sausages

trimmed,

celery,

celery root, trimmed,

turnip,

tomato paste

Put beans in a large bowl, and cover with cold water, then add baking soda, and allow to soak overnight.

Place the pork hocks, sliced pork belly, reserved pork skin and, if using, the pig ears into a stockpot, and fill with water to cover them by several inches, then set over high heat to come to a boil. Let the meats and skin blanch for 5 to 6 minutes, then remove from the water and allow to cool. Put the slices of pork belly on a plate, then dice the pork skin and, if using, julienne the pig ears, and add these to the plate. Cover, and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Now turn to the cooled pork hocks and the duck legs. In a small bowl, combine four-spice powder with ground cardamom, ground coriander, additional nutmeg, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Use this spice mixture to season the duck legs and the cooled pork hocks, then put them on a platter, cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Day 1:

Heat oven to 350. Melt the duck fat or duck fat and lard in a heavy, oven-safe pot deep enough to hold the duck legs, pork hocks and the three heads of garlic, then add the meats and the garlic to it, along with the bay leaves, thyme, rosemary and star anise, then place in the oven to simmer for approximately an hour and a half, or until both the duck and the pork are cooked tender and soft and the heads of garlic have almost collapsed. Remove the meats and the garlic from the fat, and allow to cool slightly. (Strain and reserve the perfumed duck fat for another use — more duck confit, say, or to cook potatoes. It will keep in the refrigerator, covered, for quite some time.)

Drain soaked beans. Put around 5 quarts of water in a large, heavy-bottomed pot, then add the beans, along with the bouquet garni, and bring it to a boil over high heat. Lower heat to a simmer, and cook until the beans are softening but not cooked through, approximately 30 minutes. Reserve the beans and cooking liquid separately. Discard bouquet garni.

Meanwhile, return pot to medium heat, and add to it 2 tablespoons of the reserved duck fat. When it shimmers, add the garlic sausages to the pot, and sauté until lightly browned, approximately 5 minutes, then remove and reserve. Add the diced carrots, celery, celery root, turnip and rutabaga to the pot, and sweat them slowly in the fat, stirring often, until they begin to soften, approximately 10 minutes. Add the partly cooked beans to the pot, along with the reserved diced pork skin and the ears if you’re using them, then the tomato paste, and stir to combine.

As the vegetables sweat, remove the bones from the cooled pork hocks, and squeeze the heads of garlic to release the garlic confit within. Add both to the bean pot.

Add enough of the reserved bean-cooking water to the bean pot to just cover the beans, then nestle the duck legs, the sausages and the slices of pork belly on top of the beans. Put the pot in the oven to simmer for 30 minutes to an hour, or until the beans are cooked through.

Increase oven heat to 450, and cook until the beans are bubbling and crusted around the edges and the meats are deeply crisp on top (about 10-15 minutes). Let rest 10 minutes or so before serving.

Day 2:

This is an adaptation of an irresistibly homey recipe from the Irish chef Darina Allen's cookbook “Grow Cook Nourish: A Kitchen Garden Companion in 500 Recipes.” She devised it for leftover roast duck and gravy, but here, meaty duck legs are braised especially for the dish (they may be cooked up to 2 days in advance). The topping is an earthy blend of potato and parsnip, a brilliant counterpart to the rich saucy filling. To be true to the spirit of the recipe, you should feel free to replace the duck with other combinations of cooked meats, vegetables or mushrooms. You’ll need 5 to 6 cups of filling in total.

Darina Allen's Shepherd's Pie

duck legs, trimmed,

Salt and pepper

onion

carrot,

celery stalks, diced

bay leaf

allspice berries

hot chicken broth, more as needed

red or white wine

butter

all-purpose flour

parsley

parsnips,

Parmesan

Cook the duck: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Season duck generously with salt and pepper. Place in a roasting pan in one layer. Scatter with onion, carrot and celery, thyme sprig, bay leaf and allspice, then add broth and wine (liquid will not cover). Roast, uncovered about 30 minutes, until skin has browned nicely. Turn legs over, cover pan tightly and return to oven. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees. Cook 1 hour, or until meat is quite tender when probed with a fork.

Remove legs from pan and set aside to cool on a baking sheet. Pour liquid from roasting pan into a measuring cup. There should be about 3 cups; add broth if necessary. Spoon off any rising fat (save if you wish for another use). When duck meat is cool enough to handle, pull it off the bones and roughly chop, discarding gristle and skin. (This step may be done up to 2 days in advance, if desired.)

Make the filling: In a wide, heavy skillet or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to color, about 5 minutes. Add flour, stir well to coat and continue cooking until mixture is a nutty brown, about 5 minutes more. Slowly whisk in 2 cups of the braising liquid, whisking well as mixture thickens and reducing heat to a simmer. Taste and add more liquid as needed until you have a medium-thick gravy. Adjust the seasonings to taste. Off the heat, carefully fold in chopped duck meat and parsley. Transfer mixture to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or 4-quart casserole.

Meanwhile, make the topping: Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Add potatoes and parsnips. When water returns to the boil, adjust heat to a brisk simmer and cook until completely tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain in a colander, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Return potatoes and parsnips to pot and mash with 6 tablespoons butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper, thinning with a little cooking liquid if mixture seems dry.

When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees. Drop large spoonfuls of the mash evenly over filling. Use a knife or spatula to spread mixture until it evenly covers the top. Cut the 2 tablespoons butter into small chunks, dot over the top, and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake until bubbling at the edges and well browned on top, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Crisp braised duck legs with vegetables is a simple, luxurious dish. You brown the duck until the skin is crackly and golden. You cook the vegetables in some of the rendered fat until they start to soften, then you add chicken stock and cook everything together in the oven until the duck is tender and super-crisp and the vegetables are melting and unctuous. Do not feel bound to the carrots, celery and onion called for in the recipe. Any number of root vegetables – infused with the rendered fat – would be incredible here.

Crisp-Braised Duck Legs with Aromatic Vegetables

duck legs, trimmed of excess fat

carrots

celery

chicken stock,

Put duck legs, skin side down, in a skillet large enough to accommodate all ingredients comfortably; turn heat to medium. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brown duck legs carefully and evenly, sprinkling them with salt and pepper as they cook. Meanwhile, peel and dice vegetables.

When legs are nicely browned, turn them over and sear for just a minute or two. Remove to a plate; remove all but enough fat to moisten vegetables. Add vegetables to skillet along with some salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Return duck legs to pan, skin side up, and add stock; it should come about halfway up duck legs but should not cover them. Turn heat to high, bring to a boil, and transfer to oven.

Cook for 30 minutes, then lower heat to 350 degrees. Continue to cook, undisturbed, until duck is tender and liquid reduced, at least another half hour. The duck is done when a thin-bladed knife pierces the meat with little resistance. When done, duck will hold nicely in a warm oven for another hour. Serve hot.

Mark Bittman braises duck with carrots, celery and onion — a simple, luxurious dish.

Crisp-Braised Duck Legs With Vegetables

This is a deep, dark, flavorful braise, perfect for cool weather. The plums and red wine add body, sweetness and a touch of acidity to the rich sauce. Look for small Pekin (sometimes called Long Island) duck legs, about 8 ounces each; they cook more quickly and are more tender than the larger Muscovy duck legs some butchers carry. If small duck legs are unavailable, chicken legs may be substituted. You may be tempted to brown the legs in the Dutch oven rather than the skillet called for in Step 2, but a roomy skillet (cast iron if possible) does the job better and saves time in the long run — you can brown more legs at a time.

Braised Duck Legs With Plums and Red Wine

duck legs,

black pepper

clove

allspice

cayenne

red onion

dry red wine

chicken broth

cinnamon stick

purple free-stone plums, halved, pits removed

chives

pistachios

lemon

Lay the duck legs on a baking sheet in one layer. In a small bowl, mix together salt, pepper, clove, allspice and cayenne. Sprinkle salt mixture evenly over duck legs on both sides. Set aside for 20 minutes. (Alternatively, wrap and refrigerate seasoned legs for several hours or overnight.)

Put a wide, heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add duck legs skin side down. Legs will begin to exude fat and sizzle. Let them cook, without moving them, until nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Turn legs and cook on other side for 10 minutes more.

Remove browned legs from pan and set aside. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons duck fat (save remaining fat for future use). Add diced onion to pan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste, stirring to incorporate, then add wine and broth and bring to a simmer. Add cinnamon stick, star anise and bay leaf. Chop half the plums into 1/2-inch pieces and add to the simmering broth.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Transfer duck legs to a Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed pot. Pour the hot broth mixture over legs, then cover and bake for 20 minutes. Lower heat to 350 degrees and bake for 30 to 40 minutes more, until legs are quite tender when pierced with a skewer. Remove pot from oven and skim fat from surface. (You may prepare the dish to this point 1 to 2 days in advance, if desired.)

Heat butter in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add reserved plums cut side down and sauté for a minute or so, until lightly browned, then turn and cook on skin side for a minute more.

Transfer duck legs to a warm platter and spoon the hot sauce over them. Garnish with sautéed plums. Mix together parsley, chives, pistachios and lemon zest. Sprinkle parsley mixture over the top and serve.

Use this in a cassoulet, or simply on its own, with sautéed potatoes and seasonal veg

Confit duck

cumin seeds

coriander seeds

juniper berries

flaky sea salt

duck leg and thigh joints

tsp black peppercorns

The day before cooking, put the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry pan and toast until they are slightly coloured and aromatic. Remove to a board and crush them with the blade of a knife. Crush the juniper berries and mix with the spices and the salt. Rub the mixture over the duck, scatter with thyme, rosemary and sliced garlic and chill for 24 hrs, turning two or three times as they marinate.

Next day, heat oven to 150C/130C fan/ gas 2. Wipe the duck with kitchen paper and pat dry, but don’t wash off the marinade. (The salt extracts the water from the meat cells, which will be reinflated with fat as the duck cooks gently. If you wash it, you will simply reinflate the cells with water.)

Put the duck in a cast-iron casserole and cover with the goose fat or duck fat. Add the bay leaves and peppercorns and cook for about 2½ hrs, or until the meat is almost falling away from the bone. You can store the duck very simply by placing it in a pudding bowl, covering it with the fat and keeping it in the fridge: as long as it stays covered with fat it will last for weeks.

To cook, remove the confit duck legs from their fat. Put an ovenproof frying pan on the stove until it is hot. Add the duck legs, skin-side down, and cook for 4 mins. Turn the legs and transfer the pan to the oven for 30 mins, until crisp.

Some Chinese cookbooks recommend steaming duck to tender perfection before roasting it to crisp the skin. It is a good technique to master, and works especially well with large moulard duck legs. You get moist tender duck, and a bonus pot full of rendered duck fat. (You can steam the duck up to 6 hours in advance of roasting it.) The accompanying salad of persimmons, oranges, pomegranate and daikon radish gets a kick from Serrano chile, lime juice, freshly grated ginger and sesame oil. Be sure to use Fuyu persimmons, which can be eaten unripe. (The long, pointy Hachiya persimmon must be completely ripe to be palatable.) It’s worth mixing up a batch of fragrant, flavorful Sichuan pepper salt, both for this recipe and to have a little extra on hand to use as an all-purpose seasoning; if you can’t find Sichuan peppercorns in a store, online spice merchants will have them.

Sesame-Glazed Duck Legs With Spicy Persimmon Salad

Sichuan peppercorns

duck

cinnamon sticks, lightly crushed

star anise pods, lightly crushed

sesame seeds,

soy sauce

sesame oil

bean paste (doubanjiang)

brown sugar

orange juice

Fuyu persimmons,

navel oranges,

daikon radish or watermelon radish

lime juice

ginger

pomegranate seeds

scallions

Make Sichuan pepper salt: Put Sichuan peppercorns and salt in a dry small skillet over medium-high heat. Shaking the pan and stirring frequently, toast mixture until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Let cool, then grind coarsely with a mortar and pestle or spice mill.

Season duck legs all over with Sichuan pepper salt, then wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Set up a steamer: Fill a large pot halfway with water and set a steamer basket 2 inches above the water. Place crushed cinnamon and star anise on the bottom of steamer basket, then lay seasoned duck legs on top.

Cover with a lid and bring water to a hard boil over high heat. Reduce heat slightly to maintain a brisker simmer. (Check water level occasionally and add more boiling water as necessary.) Steam legs until tender when pierced with a thin-bladed knife, about 1 hour 15 minutes; start checking at 1 hour. Remove legs and set aside. (They may be left at room temperature for an hour or so before roasting, or you can steam the legs up to 6 hours before roasting and refrigerate, covered. Re-steam the refrigerated legs for 15 minutes to soften before proceeding.)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Put legs on a rack set over a foil-lined baking sheet and roast uncovered for about 30 minutes, until skin begins to crisp.

As legs roast, make the glaze: Whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, bean paste, brown sugar and orange juice. Once the legs have been in the oven for 30 minutes, brush them generously with glaze and roast for 30 minutes more (for a total cooking time of 1 hour), brushing them again every 10 minutes. Transfer legs to a serving platter. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Make the salad: Put persimmons, oranges, daikon, chiles, lime juice, ginger and sesame oil in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper, and toss gently to coat. Transfer salad to platter with duck legs. Drizzle with any remaining juices from bowl. Garnish with pomegranate seeds, scallions and cilantro sprigs.

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Cassoulet

Darina Allen's Shepherd's Pie

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Braised Duck Legs With Plums and Re...

Confit duck

Sesame-Glazed Duck Legs With Spicy ...

Top 6 duck leg recipes from across the web

The most viewed duck leg recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Cassoulet

Darina Allen's Shepherd's Pie

Crisp-Braised Duck Legs with Aromat...

Braised Duck Legs With Plums and Re...

Confit duck

Sesame-Glazed Duck Legs With Spicy ...

The most viewed duck leg recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine