Fall is such a landmark time on a farm. Besides a lot of hearty, cool season crops coming in like cabbage and sweet potatoes, a new round of fresh meats is ready as well. Today we wrapped up our fall round of Pekin ducks. They came out so lovely! We get a little better each time. I love raising ducks because I feel like they have more expressive personalities than chickens (louder, wetter, cuter…). I’ve also practiced a lot this fall cooking duck. Here’s what I’m learning.
One of the reasons I appreciate duck is how much you get from one. Two duck breasts, parted off and simply seared just right, make an elegant and unique dinner. Whenever I nail a duck breast dinner, I chuckle at how easily I’m able to have a top-class restaurant-style meal in my own home.
The duck legs and wings I put right in a roasting pan, as is, with no other additions (not that I have anything against other ingredients, I’m just reeeealy busy). I slow cook them, covered, for several hours at 250 deg F. During this time the fat renders out of the parts into the baking dish. After cooking like this for 3-4 hours, I remove from the oven and pour the fat off (through a strainer) into mason jars to use for cooking later. Once the meaty parts have cooled, I get in there and pull the meat off. Oh, my, how succulent duck confit is. It’s like juicy, rich pulled pork, without being pulled pork (maybe for meals where you have non-pork eaters?). Try my duck carnitas recipe below to become a believer.
Besides the obvious meat, you also get several ounces of duck fat for cooking other meals and with the bones you can make a hearty duck stock. So many gifts, from one humble creature! Thank you, duck.
Recipe for Easy Duck Herbed Carnitas (with blueberry sauce and goat cheese)
Ingredients
- 2 duck leg quarters and 2 wings (either parted from a whole duck or from our duck confit kit)
- 1 tablespoon fresh herbs, minced (like parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme or oregano)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6-8 thin flat breads
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1.5 cups of blueberries, cooked down to a sauce
- 4 oz soft goat cheese, like chevre
Instructions
Preheat oven to 250 deg F. Place the duck parts and herbs in an oven-proof crock and put lid on. Bake for 3 -4 hrs, until the meat easily pulls from the bones.
Remove crock from oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Carefully strain the meat into a colander, over a pot to collect the strained fat below (pour off the fat into mason jar to use later).
Once the meat has cooled enough to handle, pull it from the bones (you can discard the bones or use to make duck stock). Salt and pepper the duck meat to taste. Spread out into a single layer on a baking sheet. Move the baking sheet to the top rack of the oven and bake at 400 deg until the tips start to become crisp, about 10 minutes.
Top warmed flat breads with pulled duck meat, minced shallots, blueberry sauce and a coin of goat cheese. Serve warm immediately.
Recipe for Duck Egg Cake with Duck fat and Rosemary by Hank Shaw
Ingredients
- 4 duck eggs
- 3/4 cups sugar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 7 tablespoons duck fat or butter (melted)
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, lemon verbena, sage or winter savory (minced)
- 1 1/2 cup pastry flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- healthy pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 9-inch loaf pan with butter.
Crack the duck eggs into a large bowl, add the sugar, and beat with a whisk until well combined and slightly frothy. Drizzle in the oil and duck fat while stirring the mixture. Once the fat is well incorporated into the mixture, sprinkle the rosemary on top.
In a second bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Using the whisk, stir the flour into the egg-fat mixture until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes. Stick a toothpick into the center of the cake, and if it comes out clean, the cake is ready. If not, bake for another 10 minutes.
Let the cake cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto the rack. Slice and eat warm or at room temperature.
Recipe for Simple Seared Duck Breast (with ginger garlic soy sauce glaze)
Ingredients
2 boneless duck breasts
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Score the skin on the breast in a cross hatch pattern; cut into the fat but take care to not cut into the meat below
Season meat and skin-side with salt and pepper
Put the breast skin-side down in a cold (as in, not preheated) heavy-bottomed skillet. Turn skillet on to medium heat.
Render the meat-side for about 10-12 minutes, until the skin is crispy and some of the fat has cooked out
Carefully, pour off some of the rendered duck fat into a heat-proof glass jar, like a mason jar.
Put the duck breast back in the pan, meat-side down, and cook about 5-7 minutes more on medium heat, until a meat thermometer reads ~152 deg at the center. Take care to not overcook it. Duck breast is best medium-rare, with some pink in the center
Remove the breast from the skillet, tent with foil and allow to rest at least 10 minutes
Slice and serve with just a plain soy sauce drizzle or the glaze recipe below, over rice and your favorite lightly steamed veggies.