Confit Duck Leg With White Beans Hfw Recipes

Steps:

• Quick-soak beans by putting them in cold water to cover by 2 inches in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and cover, then soak 1 hour. Drain, discarding liquid.
• Remove skin and bones from duck legs, reserving both, then coarsely shred meat.
• Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat until it shimmers, then cook reserved bones, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and cloves, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes.
• Add drained beans, broth, water, and tomatoes and simmer, partially covered, stirring and skimming froth occasionally, until beans are tender, about 50 minutes.
• Meanwhile, thinly slice reserved skin, then lightly season with salt and pepper. Cook in a dry medium nonstick skillet over low heat, stirring to separate, until fat is rendered and skin is crisp, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Discard bay leaves, bones, and thyme from soup. Transfer 2 cups solids and 1 cup liquid from soup to a blender and blend until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids), then return to soup. Stir in 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and keep warm, covered.
• Heat Armagnac in a small saucepan over low heat just until warm, then carefully ignite with a kitchen match (use caution; flames will shoot up). When flames subside, stir Armagnac into soup along with meat, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve sprinkled with crisp skin.

Steps:

• Cook the beans: Rinse beans and put them, along with the onion, bay leaves, cloves and garlic, in a large heavy-bottomed pot with a lid. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Add 2 teaspoons salt, reduce heat to low, and bring beans to a bare simmer. Cover, but leave lid ajar. Cook very slowly, adding water as needed, for about 1 1/2 hours, or until beans are soft. Taste broth and adjust seasoning. Remove onion, bay leaves, cloves and garlic, and discard. Let beans cool uncovered in the cooking liquid. (They may be cooked up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated.)
• As beans cook, prepare the duck legs: Lay them on a cutting board skin-side up, and use a skewer or the tip of a knife to prick the skin of each leg all over.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Season each leg generously on both sides with salt and pepper - don't go crazy, but don't be meek.
• Place legs in a roasting pan, in a single layer skin-side up. (Take care that the roasting pan is high-sided enough, as a fair amount of fat will be produced as legs cook.) Roast, uncovered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the meat is quite tender, nearly falling off the bone. At this point, check to see the skin is crisp and nicely browned.If not, raise oven temperature to 400 degrees, and roast for another 10 minutes, or perhaps more, until skin is crisped. Remove legs from roasting pan and keep warm. (An inch or more of liquid fat will have accumulated in the roasting pan. Let it cool a bit before pouring it into a jar for future use.)
• Bring beans to a boil in a pot over medium-high heat. Pull them off the heat, and drain in a colander, reserving liquid. Put three-quarters of the beans in a mixing bowl and use a potato masher to mash them. (Alternatively, you can purée the beans in a food processor.) Add bean broth as needed to loosen the mixture to the consistency of soft mashed potatoes. Stir in the reserved whole beans. Adjust the seasoning. Keep warm.
• Prepare sizzled herbs: Add 3 tablespoons olive oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add sage and rosemary until they're coated with oil. When all the sage leaves have wilted, keep stirring until the herbs begin to fry and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn heat to low, then swirl in the garlic and red-pepper flakes. Immediately add olives and warm through.
• To serve, pair one duck leg with a spoonful of mashed beans. Spoon some of the olive mixture over the duck and beans. If desired, dress crisp green arugula with just a few drops of lemon juice and a little salt, and serve alongside for a refreshing counterpoint to the rich, salty duck and beans.

Steps:

• Season the duck legs with kosher salt on both sides. Place them in a large resealable bag. Add the lemon zest and slices, garlic, allspice berries, juniper berries and fresh thyme. Seal, and massage the duck legs through the bag until all of the ingredients are evenly dispersed. Refrigerate for 24 hours to marinate.
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F (93 degrees C).
• Remove the duck legs from the marinade. Rinse them off and pat dry. Place the rest of the contents of the bag into the bottom of an oven safe dish just large enough to hold the legs in a single layer, preferably enameled cast iron or glass. Arrange the duck legs skin side down in the dish. Pour the duck fat into a small saucepan and warm over low heat until liquid. Pour over the duck legs until they are completely covered. If the legs are not covered, you can top it off with some olive oil. As the legs cook, more fat will be rendered from the skin. Cover the dish with a lid.
• Bake for 6 to 7 hours in the preheated oven, until the meat pulls easily from the bone. Remove the duck legs from the fat and place in a sealable container. You may leave the bones in or remove them. Make sure there is room at the top of the container. Strain all of the solids from the remaining fat and discard the solids. Pour the fat over the duck in the container, covering completely. Seal and allow to come to room temperature. Once the jar is cool, place in the refrigerator and let the duck meat cure for 2 months. Reserve any leftover duck fat for other uses.

Steps:

• If you have time, lightly salt the duck legs a day or two before cooking, scatter with some of the thyme sprigs, then cover and chill until needed. (If you don't have the time, this is not an essential step.) Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Heat a little oil in a shallow flameproof casserole or roasting tin. If the duck legs have been salted in advance, pat them dry with kitchen paper. Sizzle the legs in the tin or casserole, skin-side down, until golden brown and the fat has rendered out. Turn and cook for 10-15 mins to brown them all over.
• Remove the duck legs to a plate and pour away half the fat from the casserole or tin (you can save this for roasties). Return it to the heat and fry the carrots, garlic and thyme along with some seasoning for 5 mins until the carrots are starting to soften. Sit the duck legs on top, skin-side up, then pour about 100ml water over the veg. Bring to a simmer, cover and transfer to the oven to cook for 1 hr 30 mins.
• Remove the casserole from the oven and uncover. Turn the oven up to 200C/180C/gas 6. Lift the duck out onto a plate and stir the beans through the carrots and thyme. Sit the duck back on top, then return to the oven, uncovered, to cook for another 20-30 mins until the duck skin is crisp and the beans are simmering. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10 mins, then serve straight from the dish.