Braised Duck on a Bed of Jeweled Rice
To cook a duck and make this salad, Chico chef Emily Porter provides the way. If you’re in need of duck, check out lopesfarms.com, as Bruce and Christopher Lopes make their ducks available for purchase this December.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 Lopes Family Farm duck fully thawed
- 3-4 cups duck fat or 3-4 pounds butter yes! But feel free to halve the amount of butter
- ½ head celery chopped
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 1 head garlic cut in half horizontally and not peeled
- 1 orange halved
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon whole white peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
- 2 dried ancho peppers toasted
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 3 –4 cups dry white wine or poultry stock
for Jeweled Rice
- 1½ cups Lopes Farms rice
Instructions
Two to three days in advance:
- Salt the fully thawed duck well on all sides. Cover it with a cheesecloth and set it in your fridge for 2–3 days. This will tenderize the skin for a crisp finish when the duck is cooked, and the salt will help keep the duck moist while it is cooking. Two-to-three days later, unwrap the duck, rinse off all the salt, and pat the duck dry.
The day you want to serve:
- Heat several tablespoons of duck fat or oil in a deep braising pan. Add and sauté the celery, onion, herbs, and chilies, along with the halves of garlic and orange, cut side down, until softened. Then deglaze the mixture with some white wine or chicken or duck stock.
- Heat 1 tablespoon duck fat or oil in a large sauté pan and sear the duck well on all sides, browning as much of the bird as you can. Remove the duck and add it breast side up to the braising mixture. Add more wine/stock until the liquid halfway covers the duck. Place 3–4 cups of duck fat on top of the bird (or use 3–4 pounds butter—the result is like duck confit). Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 225° for 6–8 hours, to an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Remove from oven, uncover, and let duck cool on the countertop until it can be easily handled. Gently remove duck from the braising liquid, making sure to save that liquid for later.
- At this point decide whether to serve the duck whole or pick off the meat for enchiladas, tacos, salads, or sandwiches. If you decide to pick your duck (I like wearing gloves for this part), the skin can be saved and crisped up either in a sauté pan or in the oven for a delicious garnish or snack.
To serve the duck whole, continue:
- Place duck, breast side up in a shallow baking dish with a little bit of the braising liquid and broil until the skin is deliciously crisp and the duck reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
To prepare the jeweled rice:
- Cook 1½ cups Lopes Farms rice.
Add the following and mix well:
- ¼ cup chopped pecans or other chopped nuts ⅛ cup dried currant or ¼ cup diced apple 1 teaspoon chopped parsley 1 teaspoon chopped basil 1 teaspoon chopped oregano Salt and pepper to taste ½ cup braising liquid (optional)
- Mound the rice on a serving platter and make a depression in the center to hold the cooked duck. Serve and enjoy.
Chef Emily Porter practices a core belief, that food is language. The hallmark of Emily Porter’s approach to cooking is its emphasis on local sourcing. A longtime chef at Chico’s Winchester Goose, she says that using those fresh local ingredients helps any cook make food that is “delicious and also your body feels good when you’re done eating.”
