Description

Need comfort food this weekend? Plan ahead but leg quarters are perfect when it comes to preparing the tastiest braised duck legs recipe.

Scale

Ingredients

2 fresh duck leg quarters (thighs and drumstick) – do not buy “confit“

4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch piece
2 large shallots, sliced thin
Turnips, 2 – cut in small pieces
1/2 can of green olives
4 oz. of diced bacon, a pack of diced pancetta or 1/3 cup of diced jowl

Fresh thyme sprigs
A large bay leaf
Salt and freshly cracked pepper
1 tablespoon of D’Artagnan® duck fat
Tub of Knorr® Homestyle chicken stock
1 to 1/2 cups of water
1/2 cup of Holland House® white cooking wine

Instructions

Melt the duck fat in a cast iron or heavy duty dutch oven. I use commercial grade Calphalon
Dry the duck on paper towels.

Over medium high heat, fry the duck legs in the duck fat, skin side down until golden brown. Season to taste with salt and freshly cracked pepper. Turn to fry on the other side until it is also golden brown. Set aside.

Lower the heat to medium.
Remove excess fat from the pan and add the chopped carrots, turnips and sliced shallots.
Sauté until the vegetables take on some color along the edges. Sprinkle with the fresh thyme.
Spread evenly in the bottom of the pan.
Top with the duck legs. Season the meat again to taste.
Add chicken broth, water, white wine, bay leaf and olives to the pan.
Cover and simmer on low heat for about 2 hours.

Braised Duck Legs Recipe - Ready To Eat

Cool and place the meat in a deep Pyrex dish.
Remove the vegetables with a strainer type ladle and place around the meat.
Strain the cooking liquid to remove all bits of herbs and pepper. Pour the liquid over the meat to cover completely. This will allow the fat to form a single, even layer at the top that can easily be removed the next day.
Knorr® contains 750 mg. of sodium. Adjust seasonings accordingly.
Before serving, remove the layer of fat and heat over low heat until ready to serve.

Notes

To Make This Recipe…

Close to thirty years ago, I started a collection of commercial quality Calphalon® hard anodized cookware. It was available at prices I just could not pass up and was designed to gradually replace the vintage Revere Ware® collection I started with in 1970.

Many of the pieces have served me well but guess what… they have become extremely heavy to handle – especially when full. But they are not about to become “used”. The entire collection is of hand-me-down quality so if you find one at a great price, grab it. You will use it over and over again.

Keywords: duck, braise, olives