Asian Duck Confit With Shiitake Mushroom Couscous Recipes

ASIAN DUCK CONFIT WITH SHIITAKE MUSHROOM COUSCOUS

Steps:

• TRIM EXCESS FAT from the duck legs.
• COMBINE THE WATER, sherry, onion, honey, soy sauce, green onions, lemongrass, oyster sauce, ginger, sesame oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the duck legs and return to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the duck is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
• REMOVE THE DUCK from the broth with a slotted spoon and let cool slightly. Remove and discard the skin; cover to keep warm. Using a large spoon, skim off and discard the fat that has risen to the top of the broth. Strain the broth into a smaller saucepan and boil until reduced by about half, about 20 minutes.
• PREPARE THE COUSCOUS while the broth is reducing. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the leek and cook, stirring, until it softens and begins brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking until they are rider and begin to give off their liquid, 3 to 4 minutes longer.
• ADD THE CHICKEN STOCK and bring to a boil. Stir in the couscous, remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let sit until the liquid has been absorbed and the couscous tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Keep warm.
• RETURN THE DUCK LEGS to the broth and reheat for a few minutes. Spoon the couscous onto individual plates and top each serving with a duck leg. Spoon some of the reduced cooking liquid over the duck and couscous and serve.

CHINESE DUCK WITH SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS AND WIDE RICE STICKS

Steps:

• Make the broth: Remove meat with skin from duck; keep legs intact. Cut meat into large chunks; remove excess fat, and discard. Set aside. Remove fat from bones; cut bones into large pieces. Put 6 cups water, the bones, star anise, cinnamon stick, ginger, about two-thirds of the scallions, dried shrimp, fish sauce, and sugar into a large pot. Bring to a simmer; skim foam from the surface. Cook, covered, 45 minutes. Pour through a fine sieve into another large pot; discard solids. Let broth stand 10 minutes; skim fat from the surface. Return to a simmer.
• Add mushrooms to broth, and cook until they are tender, about 5 minutes. Add duck meat and remaining scallions; cook until duck is heated through. Reduce heat to low, and cover.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add sprouts; cook until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate. Add bok choy to pot, and cook until bright green and tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to plate.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles; cook according to package instructions, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain; rinse under cold running water. Set aside.
• Using a slotted spoon, remove duck meat; divide among 4 serving bowls. Divide noodles, sprouts, and bok choy among bowls. Ladle broth into bowls, dividing evenly. Serve immediately.

CHINESE-STYLE DUCK CONFIT

Steps:

• Combine the peppercorns and salt in a heavy skillet and toast over moderate heat, stirring, until the salt turns off-white, about 5 minutes.
• Adjust the heat so the peppercorns do not burn, but expect them to smoke.
• Let the mixture cool slightly, then run through a spice grinder or food processor until you get a very fine powder.
• Sieve to get rid of any husks from the peppercorns.
• Set aside.
• Sprinkle about 1/3 (about 1 tbl.) of the pepper-salt generously over the duck legs, massaging it well into the skin.
• Save the rest of the pepper-salt for another use.
• Put the legs in a zip-lock bag or a glass container covered tightly with plastic wrap and let marinate in the fridge overnight.
• Let come to room temperature before cooking.
• Heat a large heavy casserole over moderate heat until hot enough to evaporate a bead of water on contact.
• Add 2 tbl.
• of the duck fat and swirl to glaze the bottom of the pan.
• Add the duck legs in a single layer and brown on both sides.
• Adjust the heat so the skin browns without scorching and drizzle in a bit more fat if needed.
• Remove the pot from the heat and carefully drain off any burned fat.
• Return the pot and seared duck legs to moderate heat.
• Add the duck fat and the confit seasonings.
• Nudge the legs from the bottom while the mixture comes to a gentle simmer, then adjust the heat so that the fat does not boil.
• Simmer uncovered until the duck is very tender at it's thickest part and almost falling off the bone, about 40 minutes.
• Use tongs to carefully transfer the legs to a shallow container.
• Let the fat cool until tepid, about 30 minutes, then carefully strain over the duck legs.
• Discard the solids.
• Arrange the legs so they are completely submerged in the fat, and place, uncovered, in the refrigerator.
• Once the fat congeals, cover the container tightly.
• In this state, the confit can be stored for 1 day to 2 weeks before using.
• To serve, warm the container over low heat or in a slow oven until the fat turns liquid, then remove the legs.
• Strip the legs of skin, then pull the meat from the bone in shreds.
• Discard the skin, bones and any cartilage.
• The meat is best when just taken from the bone, but you can store it in the refrigerator in shreds, just warm to room temperature before using.
• You may have to adjust the seasonings with more pepper-salt.
• The seasoned duck fat can be frozen indefinitely.
• Strain through several layers of dry cheesecloth to trap excess pepper-salt, then seal and freeze for your next batch of confit.
• On the second go-round you won't need to season the duck fat, but you will need to add 2 cups of fresh duck fat to the pot in order to cover the same amount of legs.