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Confit Duck Leg
Recipe by Matt Sinclair
For take on a more elaborate duck recipe, try to make your own confit duck.
- Steps
- Ingredients
Ingredients
Confit Duck Leg
Date Reduction
Dukkah
Roasted Baby Beets
Harissa Pumpkin Puree
Gremolata
Garnish
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Steps
- Preheat oven to 160C.
- For the Confit Duck Legs, place duck fat into a medium sized, flameproof, deep roasting dish. Place onto a low heat until fat has completely melted. Remove from heat and add duck legs, garlic and thyme. Cover pan tightly with foil and cook in the oven until very tender, about 2 ½ hours. Remove from oven and set aside in the roasting dish.
- To finish the Confit Duck Legs, place a large fry over medium heat. Add enough duck fat from the baking dish to fill the frypan to a depth of 1cm. Reserve tray of remaining duck fat for later use. Allow duck fat to heat up in the frypan then add duck legs, skin side down. Season and cook for 4 minutes each side until crispy and golden. Remove from pan and set aside to rest.
- Meanwhile, for the Date Reduction, chop duck necks and wings into small pieces and place into a large fry pan over high heat. Cook, turning until bones are caramelised and golden. Add Madeira and cook until reduced by half. Transfer to a large saucepan and add dates and chicken stock, then cover and simmer for 45 minutes on low heat. Skim impurities from the surface of the stock then strain through a sieve into a clean saucepan over low heat. Simmer until reduced to a syrup then add sherry vinegar and season with salt. Transfer to a serving jug and set aside, keeping warm.
- For the Dukkah, spread pistachios and hazelnuts onto a small baking tray and toast in the oven until golden, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Combine white peppercorns, cumin, coriander and fennel seeds in a small fry pan and toast over a medium heat until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a mortar and pestle or spice grinder with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and grind to a fine powder. Add toasted nuts to the mortar and pestle and crush coarsely. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside. Place sesame seeds in fry pan and toast for 2-3 minutes until golden. Remove from heat and stir sesame seeds through crushed nuts and spices. Season to taste and set aside.
- Increase oven to 180C.
- For the Roasted Baby Beets, trim beetroots, leaving 2cm of stem attached and place into a small roasting tray. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and toss through to coat. Roast until tender and crispy, about 15-18 minutes. Remove from the oven and add 1 tablespoon of reserved duck fat from the Confit Duck Leg and toss to coat. Set aside.
- For the Harissa Pumpkin Puree Place grated pumpkin into a large saucepan with 50ml water over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until softened. Add Harissa paste, butter and season with salt. Remove from heat and use a stick blender to process until smooth. Add xanthan gum and process until fully incorporated. Set aside.
- For the Gremolata, combine ingredients in a small bowl and mix well to combine. Adjust seasoning to taste and set aside.
- To serve, spoon 3 circles of Harissa Pumpkin Puree onto each serving plate and top with a sprinkle of Dukkah. Spoon some Gremolata on top of the layer of Dukkah and top with a Confit Duck leg. Place 3 Roasted Baby Beets around the Confit Duck Leg. Finish with a drizzle of Date Reduction and a sprinkle of micro coriander and micro basil.
