Duck Confit Risotto

I had not realized until my sisters visit from Texas these past few weeks...she had never tried risotto, or even duck. I was glad when she asked me to show her how to make a few dishes from her last visit. It would include a few ingredients she also had not tried before.

Here is a recipe for Duck confit risotto I have made. Generally at a local market Wegman's you can purchase duck fat. Simply cover duck legs with this fat and chill over night. Cook in 200 degree oven until meat falls off bones. Using the duck meat and fat in making the risotto and sauteed vegetables, topped off with duck breast you will have made a delicious meal for a food exploring newbie like my little sister.

Next she wants a lesson in goat cheese gnocchi with my lemon chicken...we might even throw in a watermelon martini!

Duck Confit- Oyster Mushroom Risotto

One of the best experiences I have had with risotto at restaurants was at Phicoline's in NYC, possibly as far back as 1999. I was in one of those phases of 'try' everything and all things risotto. I had made it on my own, but had not quite captured its true essence; that is until I had Phicoline's Duck Confit Risotto. I even made hubby take me back twice more, if we were in town for another bowl; it proved to be consistently delicious!

















This past Sunday hubby went out to the market for me, as I was trying to keep my foot up, and was in considerable pain. How did you cook you ask, well for that I will endure the process, but had the help of a rolling office chair. I did however ask hubby to get the meat department at Wegmen's to cut up the D'artangan whole duck, but he missed that instruction, so I decided to split it breast side up; removed enough of the rib cage to push it down flat into my roasting pan; covered it in salt and seasonings; let it sit for a while, and then cover with EVO. Place into a preheated oven, turning it down to 250 and began rendering the duck fat for my cassoulet, and risotto post.

















That duck I had photographed may have looked big, but believe me; it had more skin than meat. Hubby got a nice piece of duck breast for his cassoulet, and some for his lunch; otherwise take the meat off of the bone, and place down into the fat. Refrigerate. You may store this for up to two months, and must be at least one inch under oil and duck fat mixture(using glass jar is appropriate). Reserve some gelee for making risotto.

Sauteing vidalia onions, herbs, Merlot salt, pepper in five tablespoons of duck fat; I began the base for the risotto. Place the bones into two cups water to make a duck stock; add at least two cups of stock to your sauteed onions, and turn to medium high heat. Then add one cup of duck gelee from bottom of roasting pan. When it begins to boil add two cups of risotto grain. Also adding some chopped shredded duck, one cup of chopped oyster mushrooms, and more salt and pepper if needed. Staying close by, stirring as the risotto soaks up the stock, and carefully adding a half cup as needed until it is done.

I have never really timed this process. I just do other things while I am watching over the pot. Cutting up some sweet potato sticks along with zucchini wedges I make a ginger pear vinegar water bath for both. Letting them soak to give me a crisp bite once I fry them in some duck fat as a side.















Now that the risotto is cooked I add one cup of heavy cream, and stir. Taste for seasoning purposes, and then I stir in some left over piece of Camembert cheese. Cover and begin frying your vegetables. I saved some of the oyster mushrooms for a little garnish, and served up a side of the extra duck for hubby to enjoy.

















CONFIT INFORMATION: The restaurants, Chefs I have worked with that serve duck confit made a considerable amount on a weekly basis. Once it is preserved in the fat, one inch over the meat; it will keep for weeks, and even a few months. Duck confit is used for many dishes where I worked, and the meat shredded and covered in the fat was served on a charcutterie dish I was responsible for.

'Confit' is generic French for 'preserve'; although you have to add EVO to creat a considerable amount of fat, and salt it to preserve the meat (has to be at least once inch above meat during storage). Legs are typically and traditionally used for this dish in Southwestern France. To many of us, we think of 'Duck confit' as a concept, or cooking method, because that is what we generally are told when asking waitstaff from the menu.

New American cuisine that began appearing on menus, such as Tomato confit, works on the same concept; slow cooked tomatoes in their own juices. You still have to add oil to make up for the lack of fat. Some recipes like rendering pork lard call for pan rendering small pieces, but you also can boil it in some amount of water to pull out the fat, but simply using EVO along with duck fat is simply the best method..


















What is duck confit?

You may have seen duck confit, or confit de canard, on a menu or in a can and wondered what this specialty food from France was all about.

In France 'Confit' is often a duck but it can be a goose, turkey or even pork. The meat is cooked in its own fat before being canned and preserved in it as well. If you ever saw the meat covered in this fat for yourselves, well it may not look too appetizing at this point, but you are just minutes away from enjoying a delicious gourmet dish. Many specialty markets carry small cans of this already prepared, but make sure you look to see if it contains 'duck.

This fashion of preparing a duck is considered a specialty of the Gascony region in south-west France, reputed for its foie gras and Armagnac brandy as well.

Someone mentioned in a comment on my recent 'duck' post, "Is duck greasy"; well making confit can be messy, but the duck fat is worth the effort. I recommend purchasing duck breast if this method of cooking it does not sound like your cup of tea. Use a soy ginger glaze under, and on the outside of the skin, just just simply sear it in a pan, or place it on the grill!
















Here is a closer look, just in case someone out there does not believe it is 'dark meat' duck...

Monday Mouthful- Duck Duck Goose Confit Cassoulet

I remember when I first heard the name of this dish, 'Cassoulet'. I was taking french in college, and began watching french movies at the Inwood Theater off Lovers and Inwood. I even named my daughters second cat, a white Persian, Manon from 'Manon Of The Spring'. Even being obsessed with wanting to make this dish, it just never happened. That is why I picked it for today's post. Mindy @ Mindy's Mouthful and I are hosting a German/French Challenge every two weeks. She picks German, I chose the French dishes, and all you have to do is send us a link, and you are in!

Hubby loves duck, so I decided to go that route. I read that this dish origin is not very clear. Some historians say it is an Arab dish, some other says it was created in Castelnaudary during the Hundred Years' war (14-15th Century). The clay pot that this is traditionally cooked in could hint to its origins of being similar to the Moroccan cooking pot, the tagine. The 'cassole' in its design, resembles more of a cone shape, but the idea remains similar.















In spite of my camera lens having a smudge; which shows in every photo cooking this dish went smoothly. Taking a whole duck and splitting it down the breast, and placing it back and fat side up I would begin a duck confit early in the afternoon. While the duck is slowly cooking I make some beans. Girlichef's Merlot salt I received will add an interesting flavor to the duck. I will be using the meat and duck fat to cook a few more dishes for my blog this week. My dish is my own interpretation, and there are many varieties of it out there.

I like to stretch ingredients into other dishes when going to so much trouble. Oregano lamb meatballs will be the extra meat in this recipe. I will post the recipe at a later date. This dish has the traditional white beans, but my addition of ramps and fresh grown tomatoes make it my own. Typically this is a pheasant dish, so using duck, and goose liver is an expensive means of making it, but you can use sausage, or even make it vegetarian if you desire. Tuck all the ingredients down in a baking dish; cook until all ingredients have melded.
















Hubby picked up some Red, White, and Blue loaf at Wegmans for me to make crostini. Camembert along with fresh artichoke spread adds an extra layer, and crisp on the side. The artichoke spread were about three fresh chokes that I steamed, chopped along with some parsley, ramps, EVO, and a splash of Girlichef's Merlot salt. Let it sit overnight to meld. (in the small chopper you can use the inner soft leaves; along with the hearts)
















Cassoulet (from Occitan caçolet [kasuˈlet]) is a rich, slow-cooked bean stew or casserole originating in the south of France, containing meat (typically pork sausages, pork, goose, duck and sometimes mutton), pork skin (couennes) and white haricot beans.

The dish is named after the cassole, the distinctive deep round earthenware pot with slanting sides in which cassoulet is ideally cooked.

Numerous regional variations exist, the best-known being from Castelnaudary, the self-proclaimed "Capital of Cassoulet", Toulouse, and Carcassonne. All are made with white beans (haricots blancs, lingots), duck or goose confit, meat and sausages. In the cassoulet of Toulouse, the meats are pork and mutton, the latter frequently a cold roast shoulder. The Carcassonne version is similar but doubles the portion of mutton and sometimes replaces the duck with partridge. The cassoulet of Castelnaudary uses a duck confit (duck cooked for several hours in its own fat) instead of mutton and serves it in a special dish (the "cassole")

Cassoulet is also sold in France as a commercial product in cans and can be found in supermarkets and grocery stores across the country. These cassoulets vary in price and quality. The cheapest ones contain only beans, tomato sauce, sausages, and bacon — duck and goose are expensive and thus are absent from such preparations. More expensive versions are likely to be cooked with goose fat and to include Toulouse sausages, lamb, goose, or duck confit.




















Go check out Mindy's 'Cassoulet'...

Sam @ My Carolina Kitchens posted her version during February, 'Cassoulet'...




















Here is a little email I received shortly after hubby ate the cassoulet...

Thanks for a wonderful meal. I haven’t had cassoulet too many times, but it was better than Lavendou (Preston Road north of Frankford in Dallas) and others I remember.

Love,

Your best taster