Best Duck Legs With Cabbage And Tomatoes Recipes

RED-WINE-BRAISED DUCK LEGS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. and season duck legs with salt and pepper.
• In a heavy kettle just large enough to hold legs in one layer, cook legs, skin sides down, over moderately high heat 10 to 15 minutes, or until skin in scrip and mahogany colored, removing fat from kettle as it is rendered with a metal bulb baster (or very carefully tilting the kettle and spooning off). Turn legs over and cook until browned on the other side, about 2 minutes, transferring to a plate.
• Pour off fat from kettle and deglaze with wine, scraping up brown bits. Boil wine until reduced to a syrup and add garlic, thyme and 1/2 cup dried fruit. Return duck legs, skin sides up, to kettle and add broth. Bring mixture to a simmer and braise, uncovered, in oven 2 hours, or until legs are very tender. Transfer legs to a platter and keep warm.
• Pour braising mixture into a 1-quart measuring cup and let stand until fat rises to the top. Skim off fat and pour liquid through a sieve into a saucepan, pressing hard on solids. Boil liquid until reduced by about one third and slightly thickened and add remaining 1/2 cup dried fruit. Simmer sauce until fruit is softened, about 5 minutes, and season with salt and pepper.
• Serve duck legs with sauce and noodles or roasted and mashed potatoes.

ONE-PAN DUCK WITH SAVOY CABBAGE

Steps:

• Lightly score the skin of the duck breasts, then generously season with the peppercorns and a sprinkling of salt. Lay the duck breasts, skin-side down, in a non-stick sauté pan, then place over a low heat. Leave the duck for 15 mins to brown and release its fat, then flip over onto the flesh side for 5 mins.
• Remove the duck from the pan, then turn up the heat. Add the potatoes to the pan, fry until brown and crisp, then scatter over the parsley and garlic. Scoop out with a slotted spoon onto a plate, then season with salt.
• Keep the pan on the heat. Fry the bacon until crisp, then add the cabbage. Cook for 1 min, add a splash of water, then fry for 2 mins, just until the cabbage is wilted. While the cabbage is cooking, whisk any juices from the duck with the vinegar and olive oil. To serve, carve the duck breast into slices. Fan out on large dinner plates, spoon a neat bundle of cabbage on one side, then pile a serving of potatoes on the other. Drizzle over the dressing and serve.

ROASTED DUCK LEGS AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• On the stove, heat a small roasting pan (I use one like a slightly oversized tarte tatin pan) and sear the duck legs, skin-side down over medium heat until the skin turns golden and gives out some oil.
• Turn the legs over, and take the pan off the heat while you cut the potatoes into 1-inch slices across, then cut each slice into 4. Arrange these potato pieces around the duck legs, then let a few sprigs of thyme fall over the duck and potatoes, and season with salt and pepper, before putting into the preheated oven.
• Cook for two hours, occasionally turning the potatoes, for optimal outcome, which is tender duck legs and crispy potatoes, though both will be ready to eat after 1 1/2 hours.
• Making leftovers right: If you have even a small amount of meat left, you could bag and mark it up and store it in the freezer for up to two months for future use. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

SIMMERED DUCK WITH CABBAGE & POTATO

Steps:

• Heat a small saucepan (one with a lid) on a medium heat. Season the breast, lay it skin side down in the pan and reduce the heat to the lowest it will go. Leave to sizzle for about 15 minutes, uncovered, until the skin is golden and crisp and has rendered most of its fat. Don't shake the pan or move the duck.
• Remove the duck (the meat side will be raw). Pour out just over half the fat (save it for frying vegetables another time) and turn up the heat slightly. Add the bacon and fry for 2-3 minutes until starting to crisp. Add the potato, cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potato looks sticky and has just started to brown at the edges.
• Tip in the cabbage and stir until glossy, then pour in the stock. Nestle the duck, skin side up, among the cabbage and potato and cover the pan. Simmer gently for 10 minutes until the veg is tender and the duck cooked. Remove the duck from the pan and stir in the parsley and garlic. To serve, spoon the veg, bacon and juice on to a plate and sit the duck on top. Pour a glass of wine and enjoy the flavours of autumn.

RAYMOND BLANC'S CASSOULET

Steps:

• To cut the meats, roll up the pork rind like a Swiss roll. With the seam underneath, use a very sharp knife to cut the roll across into thin slices, then chop the rolled-up slices across into dice. Chop the bacon into small cubes (lardons). Cut the garlic sausage into 1cm thick slices.
• Drain the soaked beans and discard the soaking water. Tip the beans into a large saucepan, add the diced pork rind and lardons and cover with fresh cold water. Bring to the boil and blanch for 15-20 minutes. Drain the beans, rind and lardons into a colander, and discard the cooking water.
• Roughly chop the celery, onion and carrot. Peel the garlic cloves but leave them whole. Cut each tomato into eight wedges. (You never see tomatoes in a traditional cassoulet, but chef Raymond Blanc likes them for their colour and sweetness, so he puts a couple in.) Preheat the oven to 120C/fan 100C. (If cooking in a gas oven, use mark 2.)
• Heat the goose fat or olive oil in a 26cm flameproof casserole or deep overproof sauté pan over a low heat and sweat the celery, onion, carrot and garlic for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bouquet garni and cook slowly to get a sugary caramelisation (about 5 minutes). Add the sausage, beans, pork rind and lardons and pour in 1.2 litres/2 pints water. Bring to the boil, skim off the scum, then add the salt, pepper, clove and lemon juice.
• Transfer the casserole to the oven and cook, uncovered, for 2 hours, stirring every hour. At the end of this time, the beans will be soft and creamy in texture and the juices should have thickened. You may need to cook it for longer than 2 hours (say up to 2½ hours) to get to this stage - it depends
• Remove the cassoulet from the oven. Bury the duck legs in the beans and sprinkle over the goose fat or olive oil, breadcrumbs and garlic. Return to the oven and cook for a further 2 hours. Serve the cassoulet in bowls, sprinkled with chopped parsley.

CRISP-BRAISED DUCK LEGS WITH AROMATIC VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Put duck legs, skin side down, in a skillet large enough to accommodate all ingredients comfortably; turn heat to medium. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brown duck legs carefully and evenly, sprinkling them with salt and pepper as they cook. Meanwhile, peel and dice vegetables.
• When legs are nicely browned, turn them over and sear for just a minute or two. Remove to a plate; remove all but enough fat to moisten vegetables. Add vegetables to skillet along with some salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Return duck legs to pan, skin side up, and add stock; it should come about halfway up duck legs but should not cover them. Turn heat to high, bring to a boil, and transfer to oven.
• Cook for 30 minutes, then lower heat to 350 degrees. Continue to cook, undisturbed, until duck is tender and liquid reduced, at least another half hour. The duck is done when a thin-bladed knife pierces the meat with little resistance. When done, duck will hold nicely in a warm oven for another hour. Serve hot.