Duck Confit over Polenta with a Balsamic Reduction and Spring Mix Salad

This is probably the single most complicated recipe I've ever attempted to do and it turned out amazingly. This recipe is not for those with little time because it's a very time intensive recipe BUT IT'S WORTH IT. So, on with the show:

Duck Ingredients:

• 1/2 a Duck
• 0.5 cup of Kosher Salt
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 2 tablespoons of Chopped Thyme
• 1 teaspoon of Black Peppercorns
• (optional) 0.25 cup of packed Parsley Leaves

Balsamic Reduction Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups of Balsamic Vinegar
• 0.25 cup of sugar

Duck Step 1: Butcher It

Buy a whole duck and chop it in half. It helps to have a really sharp cleaver.

Step 2: Make Green Salt for the Rub

In a spice grinder, mix 0.5 cup of Kosher Salt, 2 Bay Leaves, 2 tablespoons of Chopped Thyme, 1 teaspoon of Black Peppercorns and, if you have it (which I did not) 0.25 cup of packed Parsley Leaves.

Step 3: Grind It

 Grind the mixture until it become a semi-fine powder.

Step 4: Trim the Fat

Use a sharp knife and trim the fat and skin off of about half of the duck, making sure to not touch the wing or leg. you want to take most of the fat and skin from the fore and aft of the duck, as pictured. Toss the trimmed skin and fat in a frying pan.

Step 5: Rub the duck in Green Salt

Rub down the entire duck, inside and out with the Green Salt. You'll have a lot of Green Salt left over but you can always use it for other recipes, so it's not a waste.

Step 6: Wrap it and Gather Approval

Wrap the duck in saran wrap, feel slightly insecure and get your roommate to give his approval. Looks like this gets a thumbs up! So, stick it in the refrigerator for AT LEAST 24 hours.

Step 7: Render the fat

Put the frying pan on the stove and turn the heat on low. Let it stay that way for several hours, you want all of the delicious fat to render out until you get, effectively, duck cracklins and this:

Step 9: Pour the fat off

Set aside, eat or throw away the duck cracklins and pour the fat off in to a bowl. You're going to need this later.

Step 10: Rinse and cure

After 24 hours, rinse the duck off and pat it dry with a paper towel. Then, take the fat you saved in step 9 and drizzle a bit of it over one side of the duck, then flip it over and do the same with the opposite side:

Put it back in the fridge and let it sit for 4 hours.

Step 11: The Second Dousing

4 hours later, pull the duck back out and repeat the process. You should have about 1/3 of the fat left by the end of the second dousing. Put it back in the fridge and let it sit for another day.

Step 12: The lead up to cooking

Place the duck in a baking dish and pour the remaining fat overtop of it. Cover it with foil and put it in the oven on 190 degrees (yes, really, as low as most modern ovens can possibly go) for 12 to 14 hours. Yes, you read that correctly, between 12 and 14 hours at 190 degrees.

Step 13: Check It

After 12 hours, take the duck out and see if you can pull a bit of meat from the duck with a fork without exerting any effort at all:

If you can, great! Cover the duck again and let it rest elsewhere while you make the Polenta and Balsamic Reduction.

Balsamic Reduction Step 1: Add it to a sauce pan

Mix 0.25 cup of sugar and 1.5 cups of Balsamic Vinegar to a sauce pan and turn the heat on high.

Step 2: Let it Reduce

Once the mixture comes to a boil, turn the heat down to medium and let it bubble until between 1/2 and 2/3 of the liquid has boiled away. The longer you let it reduce, the thicker the reduction will be in the end.

So, two days of curing and a day of cooking later, we have Duck Confit over Polenta with a Balsamic Reduction and Spring Mix Salad!

In a ramequin, I mixed part of the reduction with olive oil and a single raspberry to make a Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette to go with the spring mix. I laid down a bed of Polenta and placed a piece of the confit, then drizzled the Balsamic reduction over it. I paired it with a Petit Shiraz but a Pinot Grigio might have paired a little better. It's all personal taste, really.


This is the picture of four very happy bellies:

 

Also, since apparently I decide today was French day, I made Beignets for desert. :d