Social-Feeds-Cookbook-2016

Duck Leg
By @jacobm87
Cooking difficulty: medium
10 hours
Serves 4
“This dish is perfect for a cold winter’s night. The crisp skin in contrast with the tender,
slow–cooked meat is something special that is worth the time it takes to achieve.”
Ingredients
Method
2 chicken carcasses
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
2 brown onions, roughly chopped
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 oranges, sliced (zest of 1)
2 cinnamon sticks
1 crushed star anise pod
4 bay leaves
1 bunch of thyme, chop 2 tsp
4 sprigs of rosemary, chop 1 tsp
10 black peppercorns
4 medium duck legs
1 bottle of shiraz
54
1 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of red wine vinegar
4 dried figs
100g polenta
300ml milk
40g butter
50g parmesan
4 Dutch carrots
2 small parsnips
2 fresh figs, quartered
¼ head of cauliflower
2 shallots
1L sunflower oil, for frying
Preheat oven to 200°C.
In a deep roasting pan, roast the chicken
bones, roughly chopped carrots, celery,
onion and tomatoes for approximately
30 minutes until golden brown.
Place duck legs, sliced orange, 4 bay
leaves, cinnamon stick, star anise,
peppercorns, ½ bunch of thyme and
2 sprigs of rosemary into roasting pan
and cover with cold water. Using the
stovetop, warm to 75 – 80°C and hold
temperature for up to 10 hours, or until
meat is almost falling off the bone.
To make Vincotto: in a heavy based
saucepan, place shiraz, orange zest,
¼ bunch of thyme, 2 sprigs of rosemary,
brown sugar, red wine vinegar and dried
figs. Bring to a very low simmer and
reduce to a third of its original quantity.
Strain into a blender. Pluck figs from
strainer and place into blender with
reduced wine. Blend until smooth and
strain back into a clean pot. Consistency
should be a glossy syrup.
To make polenta: lightly grease a
10 x 10cm cake tin. Place polenta, milk,
300ml of stock from duck legs, chopped
rosemary and thyme, into a heavy
based saucepan. On low heat, whisk
until thick and the polenta is soft. Take
off heat, stir in butter and parmesan, and
season. Pour into cake tin and allow to
set in fridge.
Once set, cut into desired shapes and
pan fry for serving. Halve Dutch carrots,
shallots and parsnips lengthways. Cut
cauliflower into small florets and roast
all vegetables in oven at 180°C until
golden brown.
To serve, heat sunflower oil in a heavy
based saucepan to 180°C. Remove duck
legs carefully from roasting pan, taking
off the bottom knuckle. Dry with paper
towel to ensure no flare–ups. Fry skin
side down in oil until skin is crisp and
golden brown.
Serve with roasted vegetables, pan fried
polenta and Vincotto. Garnish with
quartered figs and thyme flowers.