Braised Duck With Sugar Snaps Food

BRAISED DUCK WITH SUGAR SNAPS

Steps:

• Turn on food processor and drop in ginger, garlic, jalapeño and cilantro. When minced, add onion and pulse until finely chopped. Set aside.
• Heat oven to 300 degrees. Pat duck pieces dry and season with salt and pepper. Brown duck in batches, skin side down first. Pour off and reserve all but a thin film of fat. Add onion mixture and sauté on low until soft. Stir in cumin. Add stock and deglaze pan. Return duck to pan, baste, bring to a simmer, cover and place in oven 11/2 hours, until duck is very tender.
• Remove casserole from oven and transfer duck to a platter, draining well. Use a large spoon to skim off as much fat as possible from pan juices, probably close to one cup. Reserve fat for other cooking. Add lime juice and season pan juices to taste. Return duck to casserole, baste and heat gently.
• Heat 1 tablespoon reserved duck fat in a skillet, add sugar snaps and stir-fry a couple of minutes, until they turn bright green. Transfer duck to a rimmed serving dish. Add sugar snaps to casserole, heat briefly and spoon with sauce over duck. Serve with rice.

BRAISED DUCK WITH RED CURRY

Steps:

• Bone ducks and remove the skin. (You can ask a butcher to do this, reserving the carcass for stock making and skin for rendering.) Cut breasts in half, then into about 3 pieces across the width. Chop legs and thighs into about 4 pieces each. (Remember: You want to start with generous pieces of meat, since they will shrink when cooked. Don't worry about cleaning the tendons, since they will soften with long cooking.) Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper.
• Heat rendered fat in a large, heavy bottomed Dutch oven over high heat. Brown duck on all sides, then transfer meat to a platter. Reduce heat to medium low and cook shallots until well browned, about 15 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, increase heat to medium high and cook about a minute, then add curry paste. Cook, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes. Return duck meat to pot along with brown duck stock and cook at a slow simmer, uncovered, until meat is tender, about 40 minutes.
• With a slotted spoon, transfer meat to a platter and reserve in a warm place. Puree sauce in a blender and strain back into pot. Cook over high heat until liquid is reduced by one third. Stir in fish sauce, coconut milk, sugar, and lime juice, and remove from heat. Stir duck back into warm sauce. Ladle stew over Jasmine Rice. Garnish with remaining ingredients and serve immediately.

THAI BRAISED DUCK WITH GREEN BEANS

Steps:

• Remove excess fat from duck or duck legs.
• Season with salt and pepper, and put in a skillet that will fit it comfortably; turn heat to medium, and cover.
• Check once you hear sizzling: duck should be simmering in its own fat and exuding liquid.
• Adjust heat to create a steady simmer.
• Once bottom browns, turn.
• Eventually liquid will evaporate and duck will cook in fat only; at this point, lower heat and continue to cook duck, turning once in a while, until it becomes tender, about an hour.
• Transfer duck to a plate.
• Pour off all but a couple of tablespoons of fat.
• Turn heat to medium high, and add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until it softens, about 5 minutes.
• Add ginger, garlic and chilies and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
• Add beans and sugar and turn heat to high; cook, stirring occasionally, until beans begin to brown, about 5 minutes.
• Add 2 tablespoons water and nam pla or soy sauce.
• Put duck on top of bean mixture and bring to a simmer.
• Cover and cook until both beans and duck are very tender, 15 to 30 more minutes, adding a little more water if necessary to keep mixture moist.
• (You can prepare dish in advance up to this point; cover and set aside until ready to eat, then reheat.) Uncover and stir in lime juice; taste and adjust seasoning, then sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

DUCK WITH RED CABBAGE & MADEIRA GRAVY

Steps:

• At least 24 hours before serving, mix the salt, pepper and herbs, except the thyme sprigs, in a large bowl. Add the duck legs and rub in the herby salt until well coated. Cover and leave overnight or up to 24 hours in the fridge.
• Next day, wipe the salty mixture from the duck legs and place them in a single, tight-fitting layer in the base of a pan. Add the bay leaves from the bowl and pour over the goose fat. If it doesn't cover the duck, top up with the groundnut oil. Cook over the lowest possible heat for 2½ hours, so the fat barely bubbles. The duck skin should be creamy rather than golden once cooked. Transfer the legs to a bowl and strain in the fat, pushing the duck under until fully submerged. (The duck can now be chilled and refrigerated for up to 1 month.)
• While the duck is cooking (or up to 2 days ahead of the meal), make the madeira gravy and cabbage. For the gravy, melt the butter in a small pan, add the shallots and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring until golden. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring all the time, until the flour browns - take care not to let it burn. Whisk in the stock and continue whisking over the heat until slightly thickened. Add the madeira and cook for 2 minutes more. Strain through a sieve into a bowl. (The gravy can now be cooled and chilled for up to 2 days.)
• For the cabbage, scoop 2 tbsp of the goose fat from the duck as it cooks (if making at another time use olive oil) and put into a medium pan. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, until softened. Tip in the juniper berries and cabbage and cook over a fairly high heat until the cabbage starts to soften. Stir in the vinegar, orange juice, raisins and redcurrant jelly. Cover and leave to cook for 15 minutes, stirring now and then until tender. (Cool and chill for up to 2 days if making ahead.)
• On the day, preheat the oven to fan 180C/ conventional 200C/gas 6. Remove the duck legs from the fat and wipe away any excess with kitchen paper. Put the duck on a wire rack in a roasting tin and top each leg with a sprig of thyme. Roast for 10 minutes, then add the creamy wild mushroom potatoes to the oven (see recipe, below) and cook with the duck for 30 minutes, or until the duck skin is golden. Meanwhile, reheat the cabbage and gravy in separate pans until piping hot.
• To serve, put a generous spoonful of cabbage on serving plates and sit the duck legs on top. Spoon round the gravy and serve with the potatoes. For a green vegetable, quickly stir fry some sugar snaps.

DUCK LEGS BRAISED WITH SEVILLE ORANGES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Season the duck legs on both sides. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan set over a medium heat. Place the legs in the pan, skin-side down, and fry until well browned. Turn them over and brown the flesh side. Remove the pan from the heat and pour away most of the fat. Lay the orange slices in the bottom of a ceramic baking dish and top with the duck legs.
• Return the pan to the heat. Add the chopped shallots, celery and carrot, and fry, stirring, for 4 mins to allow the vegetables to brown a little. Add the wine, bring to a simmer and cook for 2-3 mins. Add the herbs, garlic and chicken stock, mix everything together, then pour over the duck legs. Tuck the vegetable pieces in between the legs so they are submerged in the liquid. Add just enough water to almost cover the legs, then cook in the oven for 1 hr.
• Meanwhile, add half the butter to a frying pan set over a medium heat. Add the whole shallots and brown all over. After the duck has been in the oven for 1 hr, add the browned shallots and cook for a further 30 mins until tender. Remove the dish from the oven and transfer the legs to a baking tray. Lift out the whole shallots and put to one side. Strain the cooking liquid into a jug and skim off any fat or vegetable debris that comes to the surface.
• Increase oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Place the duck legs back in the oven and let them crisp for 10 mins while you finish the sauce. Boil the liquid in a large pan and reduce until you have about 300ml, then season to taste and add sugar, if necessary. Finally, add the remaining butter and stir to melt, before returning the shallots to the pan and gently reheating. Serve the legs on a bed of buttered kale, drizzling the light sauce around it, with roast parsnips on the side.

BRAISED DUCK

Steps:

• Salt and pepper the duck liberally on both sides.
• Place each half, skin side down, in a large, heavy-bottomed (preferably cast-iron) pan.
• Wedge the thyme and garlic under the skin.
• Cover the pan with its lid or with foil, and place it over low heat.
• Braise for one hour (duck should crackle and sizzle gently; skin should be golden and crisp; most fat should be rendered).
• Turn duck.
• Cover pan.
• Braise for another hour, until duck bottom is well browned and meat is quite tender.
• Remove duck to a cutting board; with a poultry shear, halve the halves.
• Place two tablespoons of the reserved fat from the pan into a clean saute pan, and heat the pan to medium high.
• Place duck pieces skin side down, and saute for 3 to 5 minutes, just until skin turns crisp and dark.
• Transfer to a dish.

BRAISED RADISHES AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS

Steps:

• Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the peas and blanch just long enough to remove the raw taste, about 30 seconds. Drain and cool quickly in ice water, then drain again and pat dry.
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the radishes, salt, and sugar. Stir to coat, then add the stock, cover, and simmer gently until tender when pierced, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the peas and cook, stirring, until they are hot. Taste for seasoning. Serve immediately.