Duck confit / Confit de canard

Tags

confit, Duck, duck confit, south western cooking, traditional cooking

A standard on most bistro menus in France, you can even buy it in jars and cans ready to eat in all supermarkets but nothing beats making it yourself. It is a traditional, simple, classic French cooking in one bite, kind of dish and I believe it is best served, as is, accompanied by some french fries cooked in duck or goose fat. Perfection on a plate.
Make the duck confit at least 24 hours before you want to serve this dish.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 medium duck legs
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
600 g / 3 cups rendered duck or goose fat
1 bay leaf
4 garlic cloves, peeled, whole
Thyme, fresh, a few sprigs

Preparation:

Rub a generous amount of salt and black pepper into the duck legs
Place in a shallow dish, cover, and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 to 24 hours (not more), turning the legs over halfway through
Rinse the duck legs with cold water and dry well with paper towels
Preheat the oven to  140C / 285F
Melt the duck or goose fat in a dish or pan large enough to hold all 4 legs in a single layer
Add the bay leaf, garlic and thyme and cook over medium heat for a few minutes
Add the legs, making sure they are completely submerged, cover and transfer the dish to the oven
Cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, then remove from the oven and leave to cool in the fat
Chill (in the fat) for at  least 24 hours or until needed

To serve, you can reheat the duck in one of two ways
Preheat the oven to 220C / 440F
Lift the duck legs out of the fat and wipe off most but not quite all of it with a paper towel
Put them skin–side up onto a rack resting over a roasting tin and roast for 15-20 minutes until the skin is crisp and golden and the meat has heated through
Alternatively, sauté the legs in a frying pan over medium heat until crisp golden and heated through
Either way, they are delicious
Serve with french fries
Bon Appétit!

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Tournedos de magret with sauce madère

Tags

Duck, madère, madeira, magret, Sauces, tournedos, truffle

 

Magret de canard, (duck breast fillet), in a madeira sauce with fresh mushrooms and  truffles and creamy mash – comfort food doesn’t get much more luxurious than this!

Typically this dish is made with beef tournedos. Tournedos is the name given to the small round pieces of beef cut from the center portion of beef tenderloin, often wrapped and cooked with bacon or lard. However as I live in the south-west of France, in the Dordogne, duck is king. We are the center of foie gras and therefore all things duck. The magret is the beautiful breast piece that is exquisitely tender and flavourful. Serve it medium rare for it to be at its optimal. So, instead of using the traditional beef, I bought some magret and shaped it into a circle, tied it with bacon and string and sautéed it before serving it with a classic sauce madère. A sauce madère is a delicious robust, dark sauce made with madeira or sherry usually including shallots and mushrooms. And to take it over the edge, and because it is truffle season at the moment here, why not add a few slivers of freshly shaved Perigordian black truffle. A dish fit for a king, or queen, or just because you deserve something special.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 duck breasts steaks, about 6 ounces / 170 g
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
450g / 1 lb button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
A few shavings of fresh truffle (optional)

For the sauce au madère
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon oil
2 shallots, finely diced
125 ml / 1/2 cup veal stock
60 ml / 1/4 cup madeira or sherry
1 tablespoon cold butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Preparation:

Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over high heat
Season the tournedos with salt and black pepper
Place the tournedos into the skillet and sear until golden brown, turn the fillets over, lower to medium high heat, and continue cooking for 3 to 4 minutes for medium-rare doneness
Remove the tournedos to a plate
Remove all but 3 tablespoons of the fat in the pan and return to medium high heat
Add the mushrooms and cook until golden brown and their liquid has evaporated
Set aside
Wipe the pan clean and melt the butter and oil over medium high heat
Add the shallots and cook until soft
Add the madeira and cook until reduced by half
Add the veal stock and cook until thickened a bit
Whisk in the butter and cook for 30 seconds
Season with salt and pepper, to taste
Add the mushrooms to the sauce
Place a tournedos on each plate (do not forget to remove the string) and spoon some of the sauce over
Add one or two slivers of freshly shaved truffle (optional)
Enjoy!

 

Magret de canard / grilled duck breast

Tags

BBQ, braai, Duck, duck breast, magret

This must be the recipe with the least amount of ingredients, yet it is simply – melt in the mouth – delicious. Duck is the most popular meat in the Dordogne as we are the “duck farm” of France. There are way more ducks than people here, way more. Often duck is served covered in rich sauces but to really appreciate the true deliciousness, (is there such a word?), the best way to eat it is as simple as possible, salt and pepper, no butter or oil even, and ideally to grill the breasts for the final few minutes on a BBQ.

This is the perfect way to cook a duck breast. It involves a 2 stage cooking, firstly in a skillet on the stove top then on the BBQ grill, gas or coals. This way ensures that most of the fat is rendered in the pan and you can then reserve it for another use, such as pommes de terre sarladaise – yum! And you avoid being suffocated by smoke and dealing with sky high fire flare ups that would occur if you cook it 100% on the BBQ.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 large duck breasts (magrets de canard) about 350 g / 12 oz each
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Place the duck breasts fat side up on a board or plate
With a very sharp knife, score the fat in a crisscross pattern, do not cut into the meat
Season the duck on both sides, rubbing the coarse salt nicely into the cuts
Heat the BBQ grill to medium high heat
Place the duck breasts, skin side down in a large, cold skillet
Switch the heat to medium low and cook for 5 minutes, uncovered
Every now and then, drain off the fat into a bowl
Turn and cook meat side down for 1 minute
Reserve the duck fat
Transfer the duck breasts to the grill and cook, uncovered, for 5 to 7 minutes per side for medium rare or about 7 to 8 for medium
Allow to rest for 5 minutes before cutting
Slice the duck breasts into 1 cm / 1/2 inch thick slices and divide between the plates
Enjoy!

 

 

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