Duck leg "Confi", the recipe of which you will like, is not only one of the most popular dishes of French cuisine, but also the best way to cook meat of this exquisite bird.
Duck "Confi"
Ingredients:
- duck hams - 4 pcs .;
- potatoes - 600 g;
- fat duck - 400 g;
- butter - 100 g;
- shallots - 400 g:
- garlic - 50 g;
- thyme - 10 g;
- rosemary - 5 g;
- salt, pepper to taste.
Preparation
"Confit" is a French word and culinary term meaning that the dish is cooked by roasting in oil. Duck "Confi" - the recipe is unique, because instead of oil it uses the fat of the bird itself.
Preparation "Confite" takes several hours, and the recipe itself requires the utmost attention and concentration.
The first stage is marinating duck meat. Pound thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper in a mortar, add to them a teaspoon of butter and the resulting paste thoroughly wipe the ham. If desired, you can add basil, bay leaf, garlic, thyme or any other herb or seasoning. The duck should be marinated for 24-36 hours in a cold and dark place. Separated when marinating juice do not discard.
Cut the duck fat as small as possible and place it in a cauldron or pot with high sides. Fat should get as much as possible, so heat it until it turns into a homogeneous mass, a consistency resembling butter.
Pickled duck folded in a small heat resistant form, overlay it on all sides with a shallot with garlic and pour the dish with melted fat. Crinkets should be previously obtained, and the largest ones should be postponed for further decoration. Form with a bird and vegetables put in the oven, heated to 180 degrees, for 2 hours. If you caught a large duck, or you cook for a large number of people, the oven dish will have 2.5-3 hours. From time to time, check the readiness of the meat and water it with fat.
Duck "Confi" is considered an exquisite and refined dish, so the usual side dish does not suit it. To prepare a suitable garnish, cook the potatoes until they are ready. Chop it with the remaining butter, add a pinch of grated nutmeg and the seeded cardamom seeds.
Remove the prepared duck from the form in which it was prepared and place it on a paper towel so that it absorbs excess fat.
For serving, lay a portion of mashed potatoes with a round metal mold on the edge of the plate and sprinkle it with nutmeg. The ready duck leg "Confi" is served portion by piece, on a cushion of leeks and garlic, with which the bird was prepared. Decorate the dish with cracklings and fresh salad greens, for example - arugula.
For a duck, a red semi-sweet table wine is ideal.
Honey duck "Confi"
The second variant of preparation of this delicacy, except for the use of honey glaze, does not differ from the first.
Ingredients:
- honey - 75 ml;
- cinnamon - 10 g;
- saffron - 2 g;
- Ground pepper - 5 g.
Preparation
In a small saucepan mix honey with two tablespoons of water, bring the mixture to a boil and add spices to it. Stir the whole mixture to uniformity, and keep it on fire until the honey becomes denser and slightly darkened, then turn off the fire.
Prepare the duck according to the directions described in the recipe above, and cover the skin of the bird with a boiling glaze before you lay it on a paper towel. The remainder of the glaze is mixed with water and served to the table as a sauce. If you are preparing the duck "Confi" not for the first time, be sure to try this option.
On the occasion of the celebration, you can also please the loved ones with a classic duck with apples , or a more unusual variant - with oranges .