I'm a line cook in a restaurant and a pretty big food nerd, so naturally, my girlfriend loves when I plan out a fancy special occasion meal for us. I found a small farm in Ann Arbor, Michigan near where I live that raises Pekin ducks for eggs and meat. Not feeling like something quite so decadent (or pricy) as beef or lamb for V-Day, which many of my non-single work friends went in for to treat their ladies, we decided duck would be a good bet. Being half French, surprisingly, my girlfriend had never had duck in her life but was excited to try it, especially once the smell of rendering duck fat had filled my apartment.
Confit seemed like a natural choice for the legs and thighs, and I had never made it before so it seemed like a fun project. I cured the legs with salt, sugar, and a spice blend I threw together which included black pepper, coriander, cinnamon, clove, star anise, nutmeg, orange peel, crushed garlic, and bay leaf. After curing in a vacuum bag for a couple nights, I rinsed the legs and soaked them in ice water for about an hour to cut back on the salt content. I sealed them in a fresh bag with a few tablespoons of duck fat and a bay leaf and cooked them at 60C for 24 hours. after that, I chilled them and laid them out on a rack in the fridge overnight for the skin to dry out. I ended up cooking the breasts pretty much by the method laid out in the tender cuts course. I let them rest on a rack overnight with the legs, though, after keeping them sealed in a vacuum bag for a couple days to prevent oxidation over the course of making the confit. As the breasts came up to the 132 F I was looking for, I crisped up the legs in a skillet with some more duck fat.
We ended up eating only one breast, and I served it over the ChefSteps beet risotto. For the risotto I swapped the onion cream for some homemade crème fraîche, which I needed to use up. I served the confit with a simple salad of watercress, radish, and pea microgreens which I grew myself, dressed in a tart shallot, honey and dijon vinaigrette.
The photos don't do it justice, but the breast over the risotto was one of the prettiest dishes I've ever put on my table. The breast came out perfectly cooked, exactly what I wanted, and the risotto was wonderfully creamy with perfectly al dente rice.
The confit was incredibly tender, not too salty, and covered by a paper-thin, glassy layer of crackly duck skin. It is difficult to put into words how satisfied I am with the results.
The earthiness of the risotto was a great match for the flavor and richness of the breast, and the sharpness of the greens dressed in the tart vinaigrette did a nice job of complimenting the succulent leg meat. This was a meal my lady and I will not soon forget. Thanks ChefSteps!
