Served with mashed potato, green beans and caponata dressing
The story..
Over Easter I bought two whole Silver Hill ducks, and planned to use it for two family meals. For our Easter Sunday meal, I roasted the duck crowns (breasts still on the bone) and kept the legs for another day. This duck is a fantastic product, farmed in Emyvale, Co. Monaghan where the Steele family have created their own, unique hybrid breed of duck. Here is a link to their website.
The idea behind cooking the legs separate from the breasts, is due to the different cooking times. I like my duck breast pink. Duck legs take much longer to cook than the breasts, so when you roast the bird whole, the breast meat will be well done by the time the legs are cooked. This breed of duck has a lot of fat, which keeps the meat from drying out. So if you were looking for whole roasted duck, this is the right product for you.
Now for the recipe.
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
- 4 duck legs (thigh and leg)
- 2 tbsp coarse sea salt
- Few sprigs of thyme
- 1 clove garlic
- Potatoes for mash
- Green beans
Caponata:
- 1 onion diced
- 1 courgette diced
- 1 red pepper diced
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 tbsp capers
- Few sprigs fennel herb
- 30ml Red wine vinegar
- Extra virgin olive oil
Method:
The day before cooking, sprinkle the sea salt on the duck legs. Slice the garlic clove in four and add with the thyme to the legs, give it a good mix to ensure the legs are nicely seasoned. Store in the fridge overnight. Now place the duck fat in a heavy based pot and melt it gently on the stove. Turn the oven on to 140’C. Remove excess salt from the duck legs by wiping it with your hand and place them directly into the fat. It is important that the legs are fully submerged. Increase the heat and bring to a gentle bubble. Cover and cook for 2 hours in the oven. At this stage you can leave them cool in the pot and transfer to a container, covering the legs in fat, for storage in the fridge.
This dish is very quick to assemble so you need to have everything ready to go. Make your mashed potato and keep warm. Have a pot ready to add boiling water for the green beans.
To reheat the confit duck legs, remove them from the fat, place them on a baking tray and roast them in the oven skin up at 180’C for 15 minutes. They should be nice and crisp. Be careful of the amount of HOT fat that would have rendered onto the pan.
Caponata:
This great, slightly acidic dressing cuts perfectly through the duck. You can make this while the duck is in the oven. Gently heat a good amount of olive oil in a saucepan, add the diced onions and garlic and cook for 4 minutes on medium heat. Now add the courgette and red pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Add the red wine vinegar and take it off the heat. Stir in the capers, fennel and add some extra virgin olive oil if you think it needs some.
To serve:
Cook the green beans for 2 minutes in boiling water, drain and season with some salt and a knob of butter. Place your mashed potato in the middle of the plate and put some green beans on top. Place the crispy duck leg on top of that and spoon your caponata around the plate. Enjoy with a glass of Beaujolais for an authentic French feel. I got this excellent one in an Aldi store.
Relish 