Mouth-Watering Duck Two Ways – Cooked Sous Vide Breasts and Leg Confit

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Mouth-Watering Duck Two Ways – Cooked Sous Vide

Breasts and Leg Confit 

Difficulty: Gourmet (but worth it!)

Sous Vide Breasts: 135 degree F, 2 hr.

Sous Vide Duck Confit: 180 degree F, 12 hours

Mouth-Watering Duck Two Ways – Cooked Sous Vide

Breasts and LegConfit

OK…I know your first question: Why on earth is it important to cook duck sous vide?

Duck breasts are best served medium rare so make an ideal candidate for sous vide. By cooking at 135 degree F for two hours much of the fat under the skin has softened and rendered out while the proteins in it begin to set, making it easier to crisp without shrinking on the stovetop just before serving. The result is supremely tender, evenly cooked meat with super crisp skin, much better than traditional cooking.

Duck confit is made across France, and seen as a specialty of Gascony. The confit is prepared in a centuries-old process of preservation that consists of salt curing the piece of meat for 36 hours and then cooking it in its own fat. Once esteemed as a preservation method, most people no longer have to keep duck through the winter without refrigeration. Today, cooking and keeping the duck in its rendered fat results in a meltingly tender, moist and extremely flavorful meat that can be used in a variety of simple preparations. It just happens to produce the one of the most wonderful delicious things on earth.

Unlike duck breasts, duck legs are tough and need slow cooking to make them tender. Confit is the traditional French preparation to cook the legs, covered in duck fat to make them tender as well as preserve them. This requires quite a bit of duck fat.  But with sous vide techniques you can get the same result with only a tablespoon of duck fat for each leg. Duck fat can be purchased at D'Artagnan, Sur la Table, Williams-Sonoma and is often carried in grocers. If duck breasts are made in advance of duck confit, you can use the rendered fat from cooking the breasts later in confit preparation.  Store duck fat in refrigerator or freezer.  It is possible to cook duck legs at a lower temperature without fat but it would not result in the traditional confit texture for shredding the meat which requires cooking at 180 degree F. Prior to cooking, one must cure the legs with a simple mix of salt and spices.

• 4 boneless duck breasts, 5-6 ounces each
• 4 duck legs
• 1 C Kosher salt
• 1 Tb dried thyme
• 6-8 whole black peppercorns
• 3 crumbled and 4 whole bay leaves (divided)
• 4 Tb duck fat
• Salt and freshly ground pepper for duck breasts
• Fresh thyme
• Grated orange zest
• Grated nutmeg
• Balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tb canola oil

To cook the duck legs: crush the dried thyme and crumbled bay leaves in 1 C kosher salt until it is evenly mixed. Add black peppercorns. Sprinkle the salt mixture over the entirety of the duck legs. Place in the refrigerator and let cure for 24 - 36 hours.  I pack the cure as evenly as I can and vacuum seal them to facilitate the curing process. If you do not have or wish to use a vacuum sealer, just be certain to cover the legs entirely with salt mixture and refrigerate.

Duck legs and salt mixture

Densely cover the duck legs with salt mixture

Seal the curing legs in a seal-a-meal type bag

Once cured, remove the duck legs from the refrigerator and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Pat completely dry with paper towels. Place duck leg, 1 Tb duck fat/leg in a large zipper lock or vacuum seal bag. Seal using the water immersion technique or a vacuum sealer on the moist setting.  Place the bag in the 180-degree water bath and set timer for 12 hours. Cover the water bath with plastic wrap or sous vide balls to minimize evaporation and retain heat. Add water intermittently to keep duck submerged.

Duck legs sealed with duck fat

When timer goes off, remove the bag from the water bath. If serving immediately, remove the duck from the bag. Heat a nonstick skillet or cast iron pan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the duck legs, skin side down, and cook until well browned, about 5 minutes.  If you are not serving immediately, leave the ducks sealed in the bag. Refrigerate up to two weeks or freeze. The goal of duck leg confit is to have meat that falls easily off the bone. In fact, one sign that the duck is done is that the meat has pulled away on its own and revealed the leg bone.

To cook duck breast sous vide: With the fatty skin-side up and using a sharp knife, cut ¼ - ½ -inch crosshatch pattern in the skin of 4 duck breasts being careful not to pierce the meat. Do this while the duck is cold, since its difficult to make precise cuts at room temperature. Season the flesh (meaty) side with salt & pepper, grated orange zest, grated nutmeg, and a sprinkle of balsamic vinegar. Lay a sprig of thyme running lengthwise down the center of each breast and cover with one bay leaf. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least one hour, or up to 12 hours.

Scored fatty side of duck breast

Duck breasts with seasoning

Next, seal duck breasts in vacuum or large zipper lock bags. Place in 135-degree water bath for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours. (2 hours is ideal as noted above)

Remove bags and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Heat non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat. Add 1-2 Tb canola oil. Set a metal bowl or other container near the stove. With a paper towel, blot any moisture from the duck breasts. Season both sides of each breast with a pinch of salt. Add the duck to the pan, skin-side-down. Move the duck breasts every few minutes to help them brown evenly.  As the fat is rendered, carefully tilt pan remove the excess with a metal spoon (leaving about <1/8-inch) from the frying pan: Be careful to remove pan from the flame while doing so to avoid flare-up. Transfer fat to metal bowl. Flip and cook second side about 30 seconds.

Browning the duck and collecting the rendered fat

OMG...amazing, tender, flavorful duck breast!

Duck legs confit are quite special. See posting on Salad for dinner with Duck Confit http://cookingwithlarue.blogspot.com/2012/05/reprise-salad-for-dinner-with-duck.html

Other ideas for duck confit:

On a salad with arugula or spinach

Cook with white beans and sausage or pork belly

It is THE KEY ingredient in cassoulet from Toulouse

Or, on their own with a side of potatoes roasted in duck fat.

Duck breasts are also wonderful on their own. Or, you could make a quick orange sauce for Canard a l’Orange or follow one of my previous posts for duck breast.

Duck Breasts with Honey & Balsamic http://cookingwithlarue.blogspot.com/2012/04/duck-breasts-with-honey-balsamic.html

Duck with Apple and Mushroom Risotto http://cookingwithlarue.blogspot.com/2012/05/reprise-salad-for-dinner-with-duck.html

Duck Salad with Port-Currant Sauce http://cookingwithlarue.blogspot.com/2015/03/duck-salad-with-port-currant-sauce.html

So many possibilities, it is hard to resist.  I know it may appear daunting at first but none of it is difficult but does require time and planning.  Why not try it soon? It is worth the time and effort to achieve amazing and reproducible results at home.

Larue 

Lamb Ragu – Sous Vide Cooking

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Lamb Ragu – Sous Vide Cooking

Serves: 6

Difficulty: Gourmet & Wonderful!

Sous vide temp: 140 degree F; Time: 48 hours

 

Lamb Ragu served over polenta – Sous Vide Cooking

Some of the most impressive results of sous vide are created with tough cuts of meat. Lamb shanks would certainly fit that description! Sous vide allows you to cook these tough cuts to medium-rare and tender to the point of falling off the bone. This is accomplished because cooking tougher cuts with sous vide allows you to break down and tenderize the meat without overcooking and drying it out. The amount of flavor in meat is determined to a large extent upon the amount of work that muscle had to do, and so shanks are very flavorful. Unfortunately muscles that do a lot of work also become tough, so there is often a choice between tender meat with a light flavor (such as tenderloin) and tough meat with lots of flavor (such as shanks). 

With sous vide, you can have the best of both worlds: tough cuts can be cooked at a temperature that is just high enough to break down the toughness, but also low enough to allow the meat to stay succulent. The meat will be fork tender, succulent, and very flavorful. The only drawback of the low temperature is that it takes a long time, sometimes from 24 and 72 hours. It is not a big problem because sous vide cooking does not require any attention at all while it’s going on. So you can start up the cooking process on Sunday afternoon and serve outstanding meal on Tuesday night….easily as the shank is cooked with the sauce!

SPRING HIATUS!! Duck with Apple & Mushroom Risotto

Hi all! As you gathered from the title, we are going on a brief hiatus. The reason? First, our house is being re-piped, which has essentially demolished my kitchen. Second, I am busy helping our daughter and future son-in-law plan their wedding (Hurray!!!!). Don't worry....we will be back soon. :-) 

For comments, please post below or email to cookingwithlarue@gmail.com

Duck with Apple & Mushroom Risotto 

Serves 6-8 

Difficulty: Gourmet

Duck with Apple & Mushroom Risotto 

This is an elegant risotto featuring sweet apples, salty bacon, wild mushrooms, duck and creamy Arborio rice.  It is truly a meal in one dish – elegant for guests or for that special night for two. The food blogosphere has been full of spring risotto recipes for weeks now: risotto with ramps, risotto with peas, and risotto with asparagus. And they all sound delicious. However, it appears that spring has not sprung everywhere and much of the country is still under the last vestiges of winter. While spring peas and asparagus may not have shown at your neighborhood market, produce boxes have steadily included apples. Apples that retain a touch of firmness are best here, such as Baldwin, Greening apples, Granny Smith, Pippin and Northern spy. If it is a thick-skinned variety, you might peel it.  You can do this recipe without the mushrooms, the duck or the bacon, and its still very good. However, I love the layered flavorful mix. I think you will too!

Duck Salad with Port-Currant Sauce

For comments, please post below or email to cookingwithlarue@gmail.com

Duck Salad with Port-Currant Sauce

Serves 2 (entrée) – 4 (appetizer)

Difficulty: Moderate

Duck Salad with Port-Currant Sauce 

For unclear reasons, I shied away from cooking duck for many years. Maybe I thought it was difficult to do? It certainly is not – or, at least not duck breasts. This one looks complicated, but it is a can be done for a mid-week or special guest dinner. In addition, duck is an excellent, lean source of protein as well as iron, selenium and niacin. For some reason, duck has gotten a bad “rap” through the years because of the skin. Yet, it is comparable in fat and calories to a skinless chicken or turkey breast.

Roast Chicken with Ricotta Stuffing, Marsala Sauce, served on Crisp Toast

Roast Chicken with Ricotta Stuffing, Marsala Sauce, served on Crisp Toast

Serves: 4

Difficulty Level: Gourmet

Roast Chicken with Ricotta Stuffing, Marsala Sauce, served on Crisp Toast

I love a great roast chicken. There are so very many variations available today. This one is quite unique. Tosca, one of top 10 restaurants in 2014 featured in Bon Appetit, serves this dish to admiring fans. It’s been 53 years since Tosca sealed off its kitchen, became only a bar, before reopening as a restaurant under the guidance of famed British chef April Bloomfield. While it does take some work, well, more work than just shoving the chicken into the oven, the results are transcendent from the drippings-soaked sourdough toasts to the glossy pan sauce. Roasting the chicken is pretty easy. The lemon and pine nuts in the ricotta stuffing are savory and a wonderful part of the sandwich – bread soaked in chicken drippings, ricotta stuffing, roast chicken and then all draped in the wonderful Marsala sauce. Don’t wait to try this one!

Minestrone Soup with Cranberry Beans & Arugula Pesto

Minestrone Soup with Cranberry Beans & Arugula Pesto

 Serves: 6

Difficulty level: Gourmet

 

Minestrone Soup with Cranberry Beans & Arugula Pesto

Minestrone Soup is the best vegetable soup ever! Really it is. It’s jam-packed with goodness and will do anyone who eats it the world of good. It's a great way to make the most of seasonal produce – vary your choices throughout the year. Make a big batch of soup, even if you’re only cooking for yourself – you can keep the rest in the fridge for several days or freeze portions to eat another day. The additional beans give it quite the protein boost, making it a meal in itself.

Chicken Arugula Meatballs

Chicken Arugula Meatballs

Serves 6-8

Difficulty level: Gourmet

Chicken Arugula Meatballs...on bed of tomato sauce

 

Chicken Arugula Meatballs with Capellini, arugula pesto & fresh Arugula

You may remember my last meatball post from November 2012. That was a MEAT meatball.  A knife and fork meatball…. This is not. This is equally amazing, just different.  And I believe it is even better the next day and the day after… as well as freezing and eating weeks after. A lighter version of classic meatball, these are flavored with pine nuts, raisins, cheese and arugula. Try this over angel-hair pasta with tomato sauce or arugula pesto sprinkled with chopped fresh arugula, or pass the meatballs as hot hors d’oeuvre on a bed of a zesty tomato sauce. Leftover meatballs are delicious as a filling for a hoagie-style sandwich: spread crusty Italian bread with tomato sauce, tomato chutney or Arugula Pesto, add the meatballs and top with fresh arugula. Once you have made these wonderful meatballs you will be making them regularly for all occasions or a weekend meal.