Duck Rillettes Food

DUCK RILLETTES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 150ºC/gas 2.
• Place the duck legs and fat in a roasting tray, season, then smash and tuck in the garlic and 3 thyme sprigs.
• Cover with foil and roast for 2 hours, or until the meat is falling off the bone. Remove from the oven.
• Once cool, discard the skin and shred the meat off the bone.
• Roughly chop and mix in the pistachios and sultanas, then add the vinegar and remaining thyme leaves. Add enough cooking fat to bind the mixture - this should be about 2 tablespoons. Season to taste.
• Delicious served with sourdough toast.

RILLETTES

Steps:

• Place the pork belly and shoulder in the heavy-bottomed pot. Add water and bouquet garni and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally. After 6 hours, stir in salt and pepper and remove from heat. Discard bouquet garni.
• Once meat is cool enough to handle, transfer it to the mixing bowl; using a fork, shred the meat, taking care to preserve the natural filament -- meaning you want shreds, not mush. Feel free to shovel a little still-warm pork into your face. C'mon, you know you want to.
• Next, divide the mixture among several small containers. Top each portion with a slice or two of pork fat to completely cover it, fold the mixture together a bit, then wrap each container in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator and allow to sit for 3 days before serving. This is the hardest part -- just know that it only gets better as those flavors marry up in the fridge.
• To serve: Scoop some out, form it into a vaguely artful shape (with a metal ring for instance), and garnish with toasted baguette rounds and cornichons. Left covered, rillettes will keep in the refrigerator for up to a month.

CLASSIC FRENCH PORK RILLETTES

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Preheat oven to 325 F. In a large ovenproof baking dish, mix all the ingredients.
• Tightly cover the dish with foil or a well-fitting lid.
• Cook in the center of the oven for 3 hours, until the meat is falling apart. It is imperative to keep checking the dish to make sure the meat is not drying out as it cooks; add more water if needed. Once cooked, remove the dish from the heat, leave the foil or lid in place and allow the meat to cool in the dish for 30 to 45 minutes until it is warm.
• Remove the lid and discard the bay leaf and duck bones and any little pieces of meat which may have dried too far.
• Shred and stir the meat and fat with a large fork until it resembles a chunky, creamy spread, if correctly cooked this will be very easy to do.
• Place the rillettes in a beautiful serving pot and level with the back of a spoon.
• Pour any remaining fat in the cooking dish over the surface to help keep the rillettes moist.
• Chill for at least 24 hours before serving.

DUCK RILLETTE

Steps:

• Scatter a handful of salt with the bay leaves and half the thyme in a wide dish. Lay the duck legs on top, skin side up. Sprinkle with more salt and leave in the fridge overnight.
• Next day, scrape off the excess salt;keep the thyme and bay leaves. Preheat oven to 170°C Season the duck with black pepper, place in a roasting tin with the herbs from the earlier stage.
• Melt 600g of the duck fat and pour in to cover the duck. Heat the pan and bring the fat to a simmer. Carefully transfer to the oven and cook for 2-2.5 hours until the meat falls off the bone. Remove and leave to cool.
• Remove the duck legs from the fat and pat dry with kitchen paper. Strip the meat from the bone using two forks. Melt the remaining duck fat and add about 100g to moisten the meat. mix well and season if necessary. Divide the mixture between sterilised jars, pressing down to remove air pockets.
• Pour the last of the melted fat on top to seal. Pick the leaves from the remaining thyme sprigs and sprinkle over the fat.
• Seal the jars tightly and store in the fridge for up to a fortnight.

DUCK RILLETTE WITH CROSTINI

Steps:

• Pull duck meat from the bones and shred. Discard skin and bones.
• Combine the pulled meat, and all of the remaining ingredients, except for the crostini, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Beat at medium speed for about 1 minute, or until everything is well mixed. Or use a food processor, taking care not to puree the mixture or let it turn into a paste. The texture should be like finely chopped meat.
• Serve rillette with crostini.
• If not using immediately, spoon rillette into ramekins and cover with reserved fat from the duck confit. Store in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
• Lay the leg portions on a platter, skin side down. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the kosher salt and the black pepper. Place the garlic cloves, bay leaves, and sprigs of thyme on each of 2 leg portions. Lay the remaining 2 leg portions, flesh to flesh, on top. Put the reserved fat from the ducks in the bottom of a glass or plastic container. Top with the sandwiched leg portions. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
• Remove the duck from the refrigerator. Remove the garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and duck fat and reserve. Rinse the duck with cool water, rubbing off some of the salt and pepper. Pat dry with paper towels.
• Put the reserved garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and duck fat in the bottom of an enameled cast iron pot. Sprinkle evenly with the peppercorns and table salt. Lay the duck on top, skin side down. Add the olive oil. Cover and bake for 12 to 14 hours, or until the meat pulls away from the bone.
• Remove the duck from the fat. Strain the fat and reserve. To store the duck confit, place the duck leg portions in a container, cover with the reserved cooking fat, and store in the refrigerator. Alternately, pick the meat from the bones and place it in a stoneware container. Cover the meat with a thin layer of some of the strained fat. The duck confit can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one month.
• The excess oil can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and used like butter for cooking. The tinge of duck taste in the oil is wonderful.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and brush generously with olive oil on both sides. Sprinkle lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Bake for 2 to 4 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. (Watch carefully while they are baking to make sure they don't burn.)

DUCK RILLETTES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Line a 9x13 baking dish with 2 pieces of aluminum foil.
• Stir kosher salt, 2 teaspoons black pepper, and dried thyme together in a bowl. Mix garlic, ginger, orange zest strips, fresh thyme, and bay leaves together in another bowl.
• Season duck all over, inside and out, with about 2/3 of the kosher salt mixture. Fill duck cavity with garlic mixture.
• Place duck, breast-side up, into prepared baking dish and season with remaining salt mixture. Wrap duck tightly in aluminum foil.
• Roast in the preheated oven until meat pulls away from the bones, 5 to 6 hours. Cool duck with its accumulated juices, wrapped in aluminum foil, to room temperature. Chill in the refrigerator for 12 hours or overnight.
• Pick meat from bones and place in a bowl.
• Spoon all accumulated juices in the foil into a saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Cook until hot throughout; strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Let fat and stock separate; transfer fat from the top to another bowl.
• Mash duck meat, 3 tablespoons duck fat, 2 tablespoons duck stock, butter, brandy, parsley, chives, Dijon mustard, cayenne pepper, salt, and ground black pepper together in a bowl with a wooden spoon; transfer to a sealable container, press down, and drizzle a little duck fat over the top. Sprinkle thyme leaves, black pepper, and orange zest over the top. Seal the container and refrigerate for the flavors to blend, 1 to 3 days.

DUCK RILLETTE

Steps:

• Combine all of the ingredients, except fat, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Beat at medium speed for about 1 minute, or until everything is well mixed. Or use a food processor, taking care not to puree the mixture or let it turn into a paste. The texture should be like finely chopped meat.
• Use immediately or place in an airtight container, drizzle some of the reserved fat over the top, and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week

DUCK RILLETTES

Steps:

• Cut breasts from duck and discard skin and all visible fat. Reserve legs and carcass for another use.
• Brown duck neck (halved if necessary) in a dry 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, turning once, about 10 minutes total. Transfer to a plate. Pat duck breasts dry and season with salt and pepper, then add to pan and brown over moderate heat, turning once, about 8 minutes total. Transfer to plate with duck neck.
• Add Armagnac to pan and deglaze by boiling, scraping up any brown bits, until most of liquid is evaporated. Add 2 cups water, shallots, garlic, sliced carrot, thyme, bay leaf, kosher salt, peppercorns, and duck breasts and neck with any juices on plate and cook at a bare simmer, covered, 1 hour. Discard neck, then transfer breasts to a plate and cool. Shred duck meat, then chop.
• Pour broth through a sieve into a bowl, discarding solids. (If liquid measures less than 2 cups, add water.) Return to cleaned pan and add chopped carrot. Simmer, covered, until carrot is tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
• While carrot is cooking, sprinkle gelatin over remaining 2 tablespoons water in a cup and let soften 1 minute.
• Stir softened gelatin into hot broth until dissolved, then stir in duck meat, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into crocks (you'll have about 3 cups total) and chill, covered, until set, 3 to 4 hours. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes before serving.

DUCK-CONFIT RILLETTES

Steps:

• Shred the duck meat, discarding the skin and bones. Place the shredded meat in a food processor and add 1 tablespoon of duck fat. Pulse the machine and add enough of the remaining fat so the rillettes hold together. Season the rillettes with plenty of pepper and serve with toasted country bread. Alternatively, spoon the rillettes into ramekins, top with a layer of duck fat, and store in the refrigerator. They will keep for several weeks.