Shredded 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.

EASY DUCK CONFIT

Steps:

• Dry the duck: Pat the duck legs dry with paper towels.
• Slowly heat the duck in the oven: Put the casserole in the oven and heat it to 300°F (150°C); if you have a digital oven, you could even go down to 285°F (140°C). Do not preheat the oven. You want to cook the duck as gently as possible. Walk away and watch football, go shopping, read a book or something. How long? Every duck has a different level of fat, so I can't tell you exactly. But it will be at least 90 minutes, and 2 hours is better. After 90 minutes, check the duck: It should be partly submerged in melted fat and the skin should be getting crispy.

DUCK CONFIT SPRING ROLLS

Steps:

• For the confit: Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
• Arrange the duck legs in a single layer in a high-sided baking pan. Season the duck heavily with salt and pepper, toss in thyme and garlic. Pour oil over the duck and bake for 2 to 3 hours. Remove the duck from the fat, shred the meat from the bones and set in a bowl.
• To prepare the pancakes: In a bowl or blender, combine flour, salt, eggs, and sesame seeds. Gradually whisk in the milk, the batter should be lump free and the consistency of heavy cream. Add a little water to thin out if necessary. Fold in chopped scallions.
• Coat a 6 or 8-inch skillet with peanut oil or non-stick spray and place over medium heat. Ladle about 2 tablespoons of the batter into the pan and swirl around so it covers the bottom; pour back any excess. The batter will dry before your eyes. Cook for 1 minute until lightly golden but not crisp, then flip over. Remove the pancake to a platter and repeat until all the batter is used.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Combine the shredded duck meat with carrot, scallion, thyme, ginger, garlic, sesame seeds, chile paste and sesame oil; season with salt and pepper. Lay a small amount of the filling in the scallion pancake and roll up. Arrange them on a baking sheet, brush with egg wash, and bake for 10 minutes.

SHREDDED DUCK CONFIT

Steps:

• 1. Tie the herbs and spices in a muslin bag. 2. Place all the ingredients in a heavy pot with well lid, and cook on very low heat for about three hours, turning the meat occasionally to make sure that it cooks evenly and is not sticking to the bottom. 3. When the meat is thoroughly cooked, falling off the bone, turn off the heat and allow to cool. 4. To make the rillettes, take the meat off the bones, along with the shallot slices and the rendered fat, and pulse in a food processor until spreadable but not completely smooth. Taste and add salt or pepper if needed. 5. Place in glass jars and refrigerate. Can be frozen for long term storage. 6. Serve on toasted baguette with cornichons and Dijon mustard for a traditional presentation, or with purple corn chips for a New World twist.

CRISPY SHREDDED DUCK AND NOODLE SALAD

Steps:

• Cook noodles in a 4-quart pot of boiling salted water until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain in a colander, then rinse under cold water and drain well. Stir together vinegar, sugar, and salt in a bowl until sugar is dissolved, then add noodles and toss well.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 10- to 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté duck pieces, starting with skin sides down and turning occasionally, until skin and meat are crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer with tongs to a cutting board. (Do not clean skillet.)
• When duck is cool enough to handle, remove crisp skin from meat and thinly slice skin. Remove and discard any excess fat from meat, then shred meat into 1/4-inch-wide pieces.
• Heat remaining 1/4 cup oil in skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then fry shallot, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 2 minutes (watch closely, as shallot can burn easily). Quickly transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.
• Working around core of cucumber, cut thin lengthwise slices (about 1/8 inch thick) with slicer, then stack slices. Halve stack crosswise, then cut slices lengthwise into 1/4-inch-wide matchsticks.
• Cut each peach half lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick wedges with slicer or a sharp knife.
• Put 1 lettuce leaf on each of 6 plates, then divide noodles among leaves and top with duck (meat and skin), cucumber, peach, shallot, and herbs. To eat, roll lettuce leaf into a cylinder to enclose filling.