Duck 5 Ways!

I mentioned to my mom that we were having difficulty finding our favorite food (DUCK!) in NYC grocery stores so she went out in Westchester and bought us a WHOLE DUCK! Thanks Mom!!

So of course we wanted to use every piece! This process took an entire day (and our duck confit is still cooking... so it really took us two days) but it was worth it! #nofoodwaste

• Duck broth - made with the scraps, carrots, garlic, and onions.

• Duck fat - which also makes cracklings! Two recipes in one.

• Duck breast - seasoned with fresh rosemary & garlic

• Duck confit - made in a sous vide for 16 hours

Scroll down for our Rosemary Garlic Duck Breast, Duck Soup, and Duck Confit recipes!

Let's start with butchering the duck. Remove excess fat & skin. These pieces will be used for your cracklings and duck fat. Carve out the duck breasts & legs and set aside to cook later. Use the remaining scraps and bones for your duck broth.

Pro tip! Season the non skin side of your duck breasts with garlic and fresh herbs. Sandwich the two seasoned sides together and put in the fridge to marinate until you are ready to start cooking.

Cracklings & Duck Fat

Add your excess fat & skin into a small saucepan and cover with water. Boil until your skin gets crispy and water evaporates.

Strain duck fat and let cool. It will start to thicken as it cools. Store in the fridge. Definitely make potatoes with this!

Sprinkle the cracklings with salt. We snacked on these while we cooked everything else. Soooo crispy & delicious!

Broth time!

Add your duck bones and scraps (gizzards and all!) to a pot, along with carrots, onions, garlic, and any other veggies & scraps you have on hand. Add water and simmer all day, covered. The longer you cook the broth, the more flavorful it will be! The only benefit of our Covid-19 lockdown is that we seem to have the time to make things extra delicious!

It's smelling SO GOOD...

Strain the broth! Use a cheesecloth to finely strain the broth. Once the duck cools down, you can pick off any remaining meat with your hands and set aside for later. We're going to make duck soup with our broth!

Tada! Once cooled, transfer to a tupperware and refrigerate overnight. You will be able to skim off excess fat in the morning (it will rise to the top as the broth cools).

Prep your Duck Confit!

Season your duck legs with sugar, salt, and fresh herbs. We used homegrown fresh lemon thyme (also courtesy of Mom!). Brush with duck fat. We pre-frenched the leg bones by cutting the skin and cartilage around the bone. This will make it easy for us to remove after cooking in the sous vide.

Vacuum seal (or use a ziploc).

Cook in a sous vide at 165*F for 16 hours. NOTE* - This process took the longest. Sous vide overnight so you can enjoy for dinner the following day! That's what we did.

Fresh out of the sous vide! Frenching the bone was SO EASY once it came out of the sous vide. Discard all liquid in your plastic bag.

Roast some veggies in your duck fat. Potatoes are a MUST! So crispy.

We also made candied carrots to go with our dish (just add brown sugar, salt, pepper, and of course, duck fat, to a pan and saute`!)

Definitely worth the wait! The duck is so tender and falls right off the bone.

Since your duck confit won't be ready until tomorrow... now it's time to make dinner for today! All this prepping made us hungry...

Rosemary & Garlic Duck Breasts with Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes & Asparagus

Serves 2

Ingredients:

Two duck breasts, marinated in garlic & fresh rosemary

4 oz confetti potatoes (any potatoes will do, but these are cute and don't require any prep)

15 sprigs of asparagus, cut in half

Duck fat

Salt & Pepper

Sauce Ingredients:

1 snack sized box of Craisins

1/2 cup Red wine (we used Malbec)

1 cup Duck broth, warmed

1 tab of butter

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

1. Wash the potatoes & asparagus. Dry well (especially the potatoes... these need to be dry in order to crisp up). Preheat the oven to 400*F.

2. Mix potatoes with duck fat and season with salt & pepper. Don't skimp on the salt! Season asparagus with duck fat, salt & pepper and set aside. Roast potatoes for approx. 35 minutes. Add in asparagus during the last 15 minutes of roasting.

3. Put craisins in the warmed duck broth. This will help break down the craisins and rehydrate them. Let sit until ready to make your sauce.

4. Start cooking your duck! Start with a cold pan on low heat and place your duck breasts skin-side-down in the pan. Slowly raise your heat on the pan until you get to medium high. The slow increase of heat will help render the fat. Turn once fat is rendered and skin is crispy. Cook until desired temp is reached. We like it medium rare! Approximately 15 minutes total (10 on the skin side, 5 once you flip). Remove from pan and let rest for 10 minutes.

5. Cook the sauce! Reduce red wine in a small saucepan on medium heat until liquid is reduced by half. Add in craisins, butter, & broth and cook down. This sauce can simmer until the rest of your meal is ready to be served.

6. Plate your dishes! Divide your potatoes & asparagus between two plates. Plate your duck breast (you can pre slice the duck) and top with sauce.

7. Enjoy!

But what should we make with our fresh broth? Great question...

Duck Soup!

Use the excess duck from the scraps along with any veggies you have on hand to make this duck soup using the broth you just made! Chop veggies into bite sized pieces. We're using onions, carrots, cauliflower, potatoes and asparagus. We will also be adding orzo to make this soup more filling. Perfect for a working-from-home lunch!

Pro tip! If your broth seems too thick, simply add water. The broth is more concentrated the longer it simmered.

This is so much more flavorful than a chicken soup!

Lunch time!

Pro tip! Use your cracklings as "soup croutons".

And that's how you utilize every piece of your whole duck! Save money and limit food waste with this method! There are limitless recipes you can create using the broth, fat, and scraps!