BRAISED DUCK WITH GIBLETS, PARSLEY AND SHALLOTS

BRAISED DUCK WITH GIBLETS, PARSLEY AND SHALLOTS image

Yield 4

Number Of Ingredients 10

Ingredients

A 5-6 lb White Pekin duck with giblets (except neck and liver)
1 1/2 cups packed fresh flat-leafed parsley
4 shallots
Kitchen string
2 Tbs rendered duck fat or olive oil
1 Tbs all-purpose flour
2 cups dry white wine such as Sancerre
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup water
Garnish: sprigs of fresh flat-leafed parsley

Steps:

Coarsely chop giblets. Finely chop parsley and mince shallots. In a bowl stir together giblets, parsley, and half of shallots. With poultry shears or a sharp knife, cut off wing tips of duck and discard. Remove excess fat from body cavity of duck and reserve for rendered duck fat if desired. Rinse duck and pat dry inside and out. With a fork pierce skin of duck all over to allow fat to drain. Generously season cavity of duck with salt and fill with giblet mixture. Loosely tie legs together with kitchen string. In a heavy kettle, just large enough to hold duck, heat fat or oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown duck, breast side first. Remove duck from kettle and pour off all but about 2 Tbs fat. Cook remaining shallots over moderate heat, stirring, until softened. Add flour and cook roux, stirring, until golden brown. Stir in 1/2 cup wine and season roux mixture with pepper and salt. Stir in water and remaining 1 1/2 cup wine and add duck, breast side up. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer, covered, 1-1 1/4 hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted into fleshy part to an inner thigh registers 180 deg. F. for well done, but juicy duck (skin will not be crisp). Spoon any giblet mixture remaining in duck cavity into cooking liquid. Transfer duck, breast side down, to a cutting board and discard string. Let duck stand at least 10 minutes, loosely covered. Skim fat from cooking liquid and boil liquid until reduced to about 2 cups. Pour sauce through a fine sieve into a bowl and discard solids. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Arrange duck on a platter. Spoon sauce over duck and garnish with parsley.