Chinese Style Duck Confit Recipes

DUCK CONFIT

Steps:

• Season the duck legs with kosher salt on both sides. Place them in a large resealable bag. Add the lemon zest and slices, garlic, allspice berries, juniper berries and fresh thyme. Seal, and massage the duck legs through the bag until all of the ingredients are evenly dispersed. Refrigerate for 24 hours to marinate.
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F (93 degrees C).
• Remove the duck legs from the marinade. Rinse them off and pat dry. Place the rest of the contents of the bag into the bottom of an oven safe dish just large enough to hold the legs in a single layer, preferably enameled cast iron or glass. Arrange the duck legs skin side down in the dish. Pour the duck fat into a small saucepan and warm over low heat until liquid. Pour over the duck legs until they are completely covered. If the legs are not covered, you can top it off with some olive oil. As the legs cook, more fat will be rendered from the skin. Cover the dish with a lid.
• Bake for 6 to 7 hours in the preheated oven, until the meat pulls easily from the bone. Remove the duck legs from the fat and place in a sealable container. You may leave the bones in or remove them. Make sure there is room at the top of the container. Strain all of the solids from the remaining fat and discard the solids. Pour the fat over the duck in the container, covering completely. Seal and allow to come to room temperature. Once the jar is cool, place in the refrigerator and let the duck meat cure for 2 months. Reserve any leftover duck fat for other uses.

DUCK CONFIT, THE RIGHT WAY

Steps:

• Combine shallot, sugar, salt, pepper, garlic, and thyme in a small bowl. Rub all over duck legs, thighs, and wings.
• Arrange duck parts skin side-up in a dish and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until the seasoning is well absorbed, 24 to 48 hours.
• Rinse off the seasoning and pat the duck dry. Arrange duck in a single layer in a 9x13-inch baking pan. Let duck stand until it reaches room temperature, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C).
• Melt duck fat in a saucepan over medium heat until bubbles begin to form, 6 to 8 minutes. Pour duck fat over the room-temperature duck.
• Bake duck in the preheated oven until tender and the juices run clear, 2 to 3 hours. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read 135 degrees F (57 degrees C). Pour off the duck fat.
• Brush a grill pan with some of the used duck fat and heat over medium-high heat until smoking. Add baked duck; cook in batches until skin is crispy, about 90 seconds per side.

CHINESE-STYLE DUCK CONFIT

Steps:

• Combine the peppercorns and salt in a heavy skillet and toast over moderate heat, stirring, until the salt turns off-white, about 5 minutes.
• Adjust the heat so the peppercorns do not burn, but expect them to smoke.
• Let the mixture cool slightly, then run through a spice grinder or food processor until you get a very fine powder.
• Sieve to get rid of any husks from the peppercorns.
• Set aside.
• Sprinkle about 1/3 (about 1 tbl.) of the pepper-salt generously over the duck legs, massaging it well into the skin.
• Save the rest of the pepper-salt for another use.
• Put the legs in a zip-lock bag or a glass container covered tightly with plastic wrap and let marinate in the fridge overnight.
• Let come to room temperature before cooking.
• Heat a large heavy casserole over moderate heat until hot enough to evaporate a bead of water on contact.
• Add 2 tbl.
• of the duck fat and swirl to glaze the bottom of the pan.
• Add the duck legs in a single layer and brown on both sides.
• Adjust the heat so the skin browns without scorching and drizzle in a bit more fat if needed.
• Remove the pot from the heat and carefully drain off any burned fat.
• Return the pot and seared duck legs to moderate heat.
• Add the duck fat and the confit seasonings.
• Nudge the legs from the bottom while the mixture comes to a gentle simmer, then adjust the heat so that the fat does not boil.
• Simmer uncovered until the duck is very tender at it's thickest part and almost falling off the bone, about 40 minutes.
• Use tongs to carefully transfer the legs to a shallow container.
• Let the fat cool until tepid, about 30 minutes, then carefully strain over the duck legs.
• Discard the solids.
• Arrange the legs so they are completely submerged in the fat, and place, uncovered, in the refrigerator.
• Once the fat congeals, cover the container tightly.
• In this state, the confit can be stored for 1 day to 2 weeks before using.
• To serve, warm the container over low heat or in a slow oven until the fat turns liquid, then remove the legs.
• Strip the legs of skin, then pull the meat from the bone in shreds.
• Discard the skin, bones and any cartilage.
• The meat is best when just taken from the bone, but you can store it in the refrigerator in shreds, just warm to room temperature before using.
• You may have to adjust the seasonings with more pepper-salt.
• The seasoned duck fat can be frozen indefinitely.
• Strain through several layers of dry cheesecloth to trap excess pepper-salt, then seal and freeze for your next batch of confit.
• On the second go-round you won't need to season the duck fat, but you will need to add 2 cups of fresh duck fat to the pot in order to cover the same amount of legs.

ASIAN NOODLES WITH BARBECUED DUCK CONFIT

Steps:

• Soak noodles in cold water to cover 30 minutes.
• While noodles soak, stir together all glaze ingredients in a small bowl. Stir together all sauce ingredients in another small bowl.
• Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.
• Blanch carrots in a small saucepan of boiling water 30 seconds, then transfer to a large bowl with a slotted spoon. Return water to a boil and cook beans until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl with carrots.
• Bring a pasta pot of water to a boil.
• Meanwhile, put duck legs, skin sides up, on rack of a broiler pan, then pour 1 cup water into bottom of pan. Brush or spoon about half of glaze over skin side of duck. Roast duck until well browned, about 20 minutes.
• Turn on broiler. Brush duck with remaining glaze, then broil 3 to 4 inches from heat until skin is bubbling and lightly charred around edges, about 2 minutes more. Keep warm, covered.
• Drain noodles, then cook in boiling water 30 seconds. Reserve 1 cup cooking water and drain noodles again.
• Add hot noodles, sauce, and scallions to carrots and beans and toss with tongs until well coated with sauce, adding some of reserved cooking liquid to moisten if necessary
• Add hot noodles, sauce, and scallions to carrots and beans and toss with tongs until well coated with sauce, adding some of reserved cooking liquid to moisten if necessary