Bruce has wanted to get his hands on duck fat for years. You can get wee little containers at Central Market; he wanted *pounds* of it. Inveterate 'net surfer that he is, he found Hudson Valley Foie Gras (www.hudsonvalleyfoiegras.com). He ordered 6 lbs. Why? Because the shipping cost is rather high (shipped overnight in a styrofoam cooler), so it made more sense to distribute that cost over more duck fat. He knew we could find happy homes for it. (We did; @forkyshauna and @ohmypuddin both took some.)
Once duck fat was in hand, he started looking around for duck confit recipes. I told him my new favorite cooking magazine, Fine Cooking (@finecooking, www.finecooking.com/) ran a fabulous piece on confit a few issues ago. He found it on the web, we picked up a duck at Central Market, and he started planning Christmas dinner.
First step: He disassembled the duck (pictured). The recipe said to take the skin off the breasts, and save the other skin for rendering. (More on this later.) He rubbed the pieces down with bay leaves, thyme, garlic, and salt/pepper, and into the fridge it went for 24 hours. We also started defrosting the duck fat.
Second step: Rendering the skin. He cut up the skin (there was quite a bit) into equally sized pieces, popped them into a saucepan, and slowly rendered them for about an hour. He drained the fat, and saved it to add to the confit. We saved the crispy skin for other applications. ("The crisped skin may be eaten or discarded," said the recipe. DISCARDED?!?!? The food gods would strike us down.)
Third step: Not wanting to waste any part of the bird, I asked him to save all the bones and giblets. Once the rendering was complete, I deglazed the pan with some wine. (This step wasn't in the recipe. But there was way too much yummy fond in the pot to go to waste.) I covered the bones, giblets, onion, garlic, sage and thyme with water and let it simmer for an hour. I drained the pot and saved the broth for giblet gravy. (The bones, alas, having given their all, were discarded, much to Katie the Beagle's dismay.) Once the giblets cooled, I chopped them up for the gravy.
Fourth step (hey no one said this was easy): Cooking the bird. Bruce melted the duck fat in a pot and put in the pieces. He heated it over the stove to make sure everything was melted, then into a 275 degree oven for three hours. The duck cooled (in the fat) on the stove for several hours. When he removed the pieces, they literally fell off the bone. He placed them into a container and into the fridge. The strained duck fat went back into the freezer. (Yes, you can re-use.)
Fifth step: Finishing and serving. His first thought was to saute the whole pieces, but the meat was just too tender. So he removed all the meat from the bone and used the residual fat in the container to saute it. Ready to serve!
Verdict....crazy delicious and not the least bit greasy. Really. At all. Just succulent, tender meat. We are looking forward to duck wraps next week for dinner.
Be adventurous....don't let a multi-step process scare you! We loved our results.
Once duck fat was in hand, he started looking around for duck confit recipes. I told him my new favorite cooking magazine, Fine Cooking (@finecooking, www.finecooking.com/) ran a fabulous piece on confit a few issues ago. He found it on the web, we picked up a duck at Central Market, and he started planning Christmas dinner.
First step: He disassembled the duck (pictured). The recipe said to take the skin off the breasts, and save the other skin for rendering. (More on this later.) He rubbed the pieces down with bay leaves, thyme, garlic, and salt/pepper, and into the fridge it went for 24 hours. We also started defrosting the duck fat.
Second step: Rendering the skin. He cut up the skin (there was quite a bit) into equally sized pieces, popped them into a saucepan, and slowly rendered them for about an hour. He drained the fat, and saved it to add to the confit. We saved the crispy skin for other applications. ("The crisped skin may be eaten or discarded," said the recipe. DISCARDED?!?!? The food gods would strike us down.)
Third step: Not wanting to waste any part of the bird, I asked him to save all the bones and giblets. Once the rendering was complete, I deglazed the pan with some wine. (This step wasn't in the recipe. But there was way too much yummy fond in the pot to go to waste.) I covered the bones, giblets, onion, garlic, sage and thyme with water and let it simmer for an hour. I drained the pot and saved the broth for giblet gravy. (The bones, alas, having given their all, were discarded, much to Katie the Beagle's dismay.) Once the giblets cooled, I chopped them up for the gravy.
Fourth step (hey no one said this was easy): Cooking the bird. Bruce melted the duck fat in a pot and put in the pieces. He heated it over the stove to make sure everything was melted, then into a 275 degree oven for three hours. The duck cooled (in the fat) on the stove for several hours. When he removed the pieces, they literally fell off the bone. He placed them into a container and into the fridge. The strained duck fat went back into the freezer. (Yes, you can re-use.)
Fifth step: Finishing and serving. His first thought was to saute the whole pieces, but the meat was just too tender. So he removed all the meat from the bone and used the residual fat in the container to saute it. Ready to serve!
Verdict....crazy delicious and not the least bit greasy. Really. At all. Just succulent, tender meat. We are looking forward to duck wraps next week for dinner.
Be adventurous....don't let a multi-step process scare you! We loved our results.
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