Duck au vin
Canard au vin
Ingredients
Confit duck: 50 g sea salt 6 duck legs 1 lemon 6 garlic cloves 12 thyme sprigs 12 black peppercorns 500 g duck fat (quantity may vary depending on the size of the pan), warmed Heavy wine sauce: 150 g smoked bacon (try to get a whole piece), cut into 5 mm matchsticks 200 g baby button mushrooms 12 fresh cocktail onions 3 medium carrots, sliced into rings 3 celery stalks, sliced about 1 cm thick 4 garlic cloves, chopped 100 ml red wine ¼ bunch of thyme 1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper 350 ml Veal jus (page 198) sea salt Crispy potatoes: 1.5 kg good-quality, unwashed floury potatoes salt To serve: flat-leaf parsley leaves (optional)
Method
For the confit duck, salt the duck legs well, then place them on a tray, skin side up, in the refrigerator for about 12 hours. Rinse the salt off well, then pat the duck legs dry with paper towel. Preheat the oven to 115°C. Slice the lemon and garlic and place them in the bottom of a heaving baking tin. Add the thyme sprigs and peppercorns. Add the duck, skin side up, then cover with the warmed duck fat, making sure that the duck is completely immersed. Lay baking paper on top of the fat, then seal with a tight lid or foil and cook in the oven for 2½ hours. Allow to cool. When the duck has cooled, remove the pan from the oven, take out the duck legs and strain the fat. Retain the duck fat. For the heavy wine sauce, in a saucepan over medium heat, fry the bacon in half the reserved duck fat. Add the mushrooms and fry until they have a little colour, then remove the bacon and mushrooms from the pan and set aside. Again reserve the duck fat. To the same pan, add the rest of the duck fat and sweat off the whole small onions, carrot, celery and garlic, without colouring, until the garlic is translucent. Add the red wine and simmer for 1 minute. Return the bacon and mushrooms to the pan, together with the thyme, cracked pepper and veal jus. Cook for 25–30 minutes over low heat until the carrots are soft and the jus has a nice sticky, thick consistency. Season to taste. Preheat the oven to 200°C. For the crispy potatoes, wash, peel and quarter the potatoes, then rinse. Place the potatoes in a pot of cold water with just a touch of salt, then parboil for about 15 minutes – you want them to still be fairly firm. Strain the potatoes and roughen the outsides by tossing them in a colander, or by scraping them with a fork. In a baking tin, warm 6 tablespoons of the reserved duck fat in the oven for a couple of minutes, then carefully add the potatoes to the tin, and roast in the oven, undisturbed, for 30 minutes. Turn and continue roasting for another 20–30 minutes until the potatoes are beautifully golden and crispy. If the duck is cold, cook it for 15 minutes at 180°C, then for a further 5 minutes at 220°C to crisp the skin. To build the plate, warm the wine sauce and pour it into a shallow bowl, scattering the bacon and vegetable pieces around the bowl. Top with the crispy potatoes and duck and garnish with parsley leaves, if desired.
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