Cafe Du Parc Duck Rillettes Recipes

DUCK RILLETTE

Steps:

• Scatter a handful of salt with the bay leaves and half the thyme in a wide dish. Lay the duck legs on top, skin side up. Sprinkle with more salt and leave in the fridge overnight.
• Next day, scrape off the excess salt;keep the thyme and bay leaves. Preheat oven to 170°C Season the duck with black pepper, place in a roasting tin with the herbs from the earlier stage.
• Melt 600g of the duck fat and pour in to cover the duck. Heat the pan and bring the fat to a simmer. Carefully transfer to the oven and cook for 2-2.5 hours until the meat falls off the bone. Remove and leave to cool.
• Remove the duck legs from the fat and pat dry with kitchen paper. Strip the meat from the bone using two forks. Melt the remaining duck fat and add about 100g to moisten the meat. mix well and season if necessary. Divide the mixture between sterilised jars, pressing down to remove air pockets.
• Pour the last of the melted fat on top to seal. Pick the leaves from the remaining thyme sprigs and sprinkle over the fat.
• Seal the jars tightly and store in the fridge for up to a fortnight.

DUCK RILLETTES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Line a 9x13 baking dish with 2 pieces of aluminum foil.
• Stir kosher salt, 2 teaspoons black pepper, and dried thyme together in a bowl. Mix garlic, ginger, orange zest strips, fresh thyme, and bay leaves together in another bowl.
• Season duck all over, inside and out, with about 2/3 of the kosher salt mixture. Fill duck cavity with garlic mixture.
• Place duck, breast-side up, into prepared baking dish and season with remaining salt mixture. Wrap duck tightly in aluminum foil.
• Roast in the preheated oven until meat pulls away from the bones, 5 to 6 hours. Cool duck with its accumulated juices, wrapped in aluminum foil, to room temperature. Chill in the refrigerator for 12 hours or overnight.
• Pick meat from bones and place in a bowl.
• Spoon all accumulated juices in the foil into a saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Cook until hot throughout; strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Let fat and stock separate; transfer fat from the top to another bowl.
• Mash duck meat, 3 tablespoons duck fat, 2 tablespoons duck stock, butter, brandy, parsley, chives, Dijon mustard, cayenne pepper, salt, and ground black pepper together in a bowl with a wooden spoon; transfer to a sealable container, press down, and drizzle a little duck fat over the top. Sprinkle thyme leaves, black pepper, and orange zest over the top. Seal the container and refrigerate for the flavors to blend, 1 to 3 days.

CAFE DU PARC DUCK RILLETTES

Steps:

• Bone the duck, and cut it into 1/2-inch cubes, including skin and fat. Cut the pork butt into 1/2-inch cubes.
• Combine the wine and salt in a heavy saucepan. Add the duck and pork pieces, bring to a simmer and cook about 10 minutes, skimming frequently. When scum no longer gathers on the surface of the cooking liquid, add the remaining ingredients, cover, and allow to simmer very slowly for about 2 hours, until the meats are very soft and tender.
• Uncover the pan, and continue to simmer another 30 to 40 minutes until the wine has evaporated and only meat and fat remain in the pan. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. The fat should be clear and the meat lightly golden and very tender. Test the meat by removing a piece, allowing it to cool slightly and squeezing it between your fingers. It should literally fall apart.
• Allow the mixture to cool until tepid. Discard the bay leaves.
• Using a wooden spoon or fork, mash and stir the meats until they are uniformly shredded. Taste the mixture, and correct the seasoning.
• Reheat the mixture to a boil, stirring. Set aside to cool, stirring from time to time to incorporate the fat and meat. Before the mixture has completely cooled, transfer it to one or more earthenware crocks. Refrigerate two to three days before serving.
• The rillettes will keep four or five days. To keep the dish longer, up to about three weeks, melt a layer of pure pork fat (fatback) or lard to cover and seal the surface of the rillettes completely. Keep refrigerated.