Duck Confit On Country Toast With Fig Chutney Recipes

DUCK CONFIT

Steps:

• Combine salt, sage, lavender, allspice, juniper berries, coriander, canela or cinnamon and pepper. Spread over the duck legs, and allow to cure, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 3 days.
• After removing the duck legs from the refrigerator, brush off the excess spices, and place the duck in an oven-proof pottery or ceramic casserole that holds them snugly. If necessary, separate the legs from the thighs. Add the chili powder and garlic.
• Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Warm the duck fat in a saucepan, and pour enough into the casserole to cover the duck legs. Place in the oven, and bake about 3 hours, until the duck is very tender. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 10 days in the casserole.

"CHEATER'S" DUCK CONFIT

Steps:

• Season the duck legs with salt. Coat a large wide pot lightly with olive oil. Lay the duck legs skin side down, in a single layer, in the pan.
• Cook the duck legs low and slow over low heat to render the fat. This process will take a while, don't rush it. It is really important to render as much fat out of the duck legs as possible. Once the pan is full of fat, turn up the heat and brown the duck legs on both sides.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Once the legs have rendered and are nice and brown, remove them from the pan and reserve. Add the onions and season with salt. Stir to coat with the duck fat. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Once the onions are really nice and wilted, remove the lid and cook for another 15 minutes or until the onions start to caramelize. Taste to make sure they are very well seasoned, add salt if needed. Return the duck legs to the pan, snuggle them in with all the onions and add the wine, thyme and bay leaves.
• Cover the pan and place in the preheated oven. Braise the duck in the oven for about 90 minutes. Stir the onion and duck every 30 minutes to be sure that the onions are not burning. When done, the duck should be incredibly flavorful, tender and falling off the bone.
• Remove the tough lower stems from the dandelion greens, wash and spin them dry. Cut them into 1 -inch lengths. Place the greens in a large bowl with red wine vinegar. Season with salt and some of the warm duck fat. Strain some the onions out of the duck fat and toss them in with the greens.
• Place a large mound of the dressed dandelion greens on each serving plate, lay a duck leg on the greens and top with a little more of the onions.
• It's just ducky!!!

FIG CHUTNEY

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring the red wine to a simmer and cook until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add the figs, orange juice, honey, cayenne, rosemary and star anise and bring back to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the figs soften and the mixture thickens, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching on the bottom. Cool to room temperature before removing the anise and rosemary.

FRESH FIG CHUTNEY

Steps:

• In a large saucepan combine the vinegar, sugar, onion, ginger, mustard seeds, lemon zest, cinnamon stick, salt, allspice, and cloves and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until mixture is thickened and reduced by 2/3, forming a thick syrup. Add the figs and cook gently until the figs are very soft and beginning to fall apart and most of the liquid they've given off has evaporated, about 30 minutes.
• Transfer the chutney to a non-reactive container and allow to come to room temperature before serving. The chutney may be made up to 3 weeks in advance and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. (Alternately, hot chutney may be ladled into hot sterilized canning jars and processed in a hot-water bath according to manufacturer's directions.)