What I Ate For Dinner

Duck legs can be vexing. They're about half the price of the breasts if you buy them separately, which tells you something about how the callous capitalist system regards them relative to their boneless brethren. The meat is great, succulent and rich, but the bones, tendons and cartilage that traverse the thigh and drumstick compose an anatomical dragnet that can be daunting to navigate with a knife and fork. So I wanted to figure out a way to make finger food out of duck legs without offending their dignity. What I came up with is a savory crepe dish that's easy to eat and still features the duck's essential unctuous qualities.

The duck is easy, and I've done it before on the blog. Score the skin several times to allow the fat underneath to render out. Season with salt and pepper, and place in a moderately hot skillet or fry pan. No need for oil in the pan since tons of duck fat will soon coat the bottom anyway. Allow the skin to turn golden brown, about 7-8 minutes. Then transfer to another pan and place in a 350 degree oven to finish off. Should take 10 or so minutes. You do want to transfer the duck to a separate pan before roasting so that the rendered duck fat can cool before you discard it or use for the crepes; if you throw it in the oven with all the rendered duck fat, it'll start smoking something awful.

Now to the crepes. You'll need three per serving, so for two servings, combine two eggs, about a half cup or so of milk and about a cup of flour, along with salt and pepper. Those are approximate measurements. The idea is to have a thick but pourable batter--just like pancake batter. Adjust as you go; more flour to thicken it up, some water or milk to thin it out.

In a non-stick pan, heat some of the duck fat (or butter) on medium high heat. Pour enough batter in to put a thick coat on the bottom of the pan. Swirl the batter around the edge of the pan two or three times to thin it out and increase the size of the crepe. As it sets up, the top of the wet batter will dry out and become like a moist sponge; bubbles will form and then break. Once the batter starts to dry on top, flip it. This seeems tricky at first, and it's basically sink or swim. The basic technique, though, is to slide the crepe forward and then cock the back end down, flipping the crepe 180 degrees back into the pan. You could slide the crepe out of the pan onto a plate and the flop it back in, raw side down, if you want to avoid the flip. It's a very useful skill to have, though. Let the raw side get a bit of color, which should only take a moment or two. Yank it out and repeat.

I've also done the pico de gallo here before. It's just chopped tomato (small dice), a modest amount of chopped shallot, lots of chopped fresh cilantro, lime juice and pepper. Serrano chili would add some heat if you want it.

The vinaigrette for the duck is key since it gives a sweet/sour tang to the final product. Mix one part hoisin sauce, one part vinegar (white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar or rice vinegar is fine), one part sesame oil and one part soy sauce. Emulsify them. Once you have the duck off the bone, chop it into bite-sized pieces, drench in the vinaigrette, and allow the excess to drip off for a few seconds as you pull it out. Place in a bowl lined with a paper towel so that they don't get too saturated with the vinaigrette.

Quick pickled carrots top it off. Just slice the carrots as into strips as thinly as possible, sprinkle with kosher salt and let sit at room temp for 5 minutes. Bean sprouts are great, too, and require no preparation.

Assembly should be obvious.

Pan-seared and oven-roasted duck breast is one of my favorites--right up there with sea scallops and braised lamb shanks. And with the graces of my Safeway Club Card, I've recently been able to secure morsels of my most beloved fowl at half the going rate. This, I should add, is one of my greatest coups to-date using my new shopping method. I used to go to the farmers' market and cruise the stalls, stalking the freshest produce and choicest cuts. That's a great way to cook, if you have the time and the cash. I don't always. So, I came up with an improvised (but still interesting) alternative: go to Safeway and buy whatever meat is cheap, and figure out the meal from there. Saves cash and obviates delicate deliberations. That's how I got into Tri-Tip. Same with Beef Ribs. And I'm still trying to figure out something to do with 13 pounds of pork shoulder, because that stuff is always on sale. La cuisine du marché be damned! This is La Cuisine Pragmatique de Safeway!

So, I got the whole bird since it's only 8 bucks (that is, with your Safeway card; $16 normally). Slice off the breasts and that's all we need for this one. Save the thigh/drumstick nugget for another time.

Start by scoring the skin of the breasts several times to allow the fat below to render out. Then throw them in a sauté or fry pan heated to medium-high. I don't think you have to even put oil in the pan since you'll soon have duck fat rollin' out by the barrel. Render out the fat and crisp the skins. I usually remove the liquefied fat halfway through to reduce smokage/stinkage.

Once seared, the breasts will only take a few minutes (7-8?) in an oven preheated to 350. To allow for a margin of timing error, let them rest on the stove while you start the potatoes and carrots. Put a quarter-inch coat of the liquefied duck fat on the bottom of a skillet, and when heated to medium-high, roll in with a one-inch dice of potatoes and carrots. Sometimes they stick, so be sure to push them around a few times with a spoon as you season with salt and pepper. With the root vegetables, you're going for golden-brown on the edges of the potatoes. They should still be firm to the tooth when finished. Should take 10 or so minutes.

Throw the duck in the oven once you have the taters goin'. Look for doneness on the duck as you would on filet mignon. It should still be tender, even soft, to the touch and juicy when you pull it out. As I say, this won't take long in a preheated oven, so keep an eye on it.

Now the sauce. Sauté shallots in duck fat (you can't throw it down the disposal, so you might as well use it up now) until blonde. Then add two cubes of demi or a half-cup (or so) of beef or chicken stock. Bring to a simmer. While that's happening, place several blackberries (or raspberries) in a glass and fill with enough red wine to cover the berries. Smash the berries against the side of the glass with a spoon. You probably want to do this over the sink with the glass pointed away from you since any splatter quickly becomes an irredeemable stain. You don't need to purée this all the way; just get some of the berry liquid out and call it done. Consider it a rustic, provincial preparation. Pour the wine/berry mix in with the demi/stock and simmer for a few moments. Thicken if you need to with a simple roux (equal parts oil and flour), season and you're done. This sauce can go on most anything and is excellent with duck.

I finish this one off with green beans. Sauté them in duck fat on medium-high heat briefly (a minute or two) and then kill the heat and deglaze with a thick coat (half inch) of white wine. Turn the heat back on to medium and allow the beans to simmer in the wine until they green up (you'll notice a change in color) and become firm to the tooth. It should only take a moment. Et Voila!

Tonight: Duck. There are a few things to keep in mind when preparing this toothsome bird at home that will ensure a crispy bronze skin and moist meaty morsels. Most importantly, remember that duck has a substantial layer of fat between the skin and meat. If you don't render it out before roasting, the fatty layer can make some bites feel greasy (this ain't no Double Down, ya'll!). The solution is quite simple: you need only prick the skin several times and brown on medium heat on the stovetop to liquefy the duck fat, which will seep out into the skillet through the piercings. By the time you throw it in the oven, the duck will be substantially leaner, moist, and already quite crispy.

So to start, dust the leg and thigh piece with seasoned flour and brown in olive oil. Since the duck fat will soon begin to render out, you'll need only a minimal amount of oil in the pan--just enough to kickstart the rendering. You can prick the skin before putting the duck in the skillet, or allow it brown up a bit and then make your piercings. In any event, you want to render on medium heat so that the rendered fat won't start smoking and also so that you can get as much of the fat out as possible without overcooking the outside layer.

Once you've got a golden brown color on both sides, it's ready for the oven. I usually put a thin coating of white wine on the bottom of the oven vessel to add moisture and flavor to the roasting process. Drain the rendered duck fat out of the skillet and into a dish and reserve; it will add complexity to the sauce, as well as offer an interesting grounding for a salad vinaigrette. Once in the oven, two leg-thigh pieces take about 10-15 minutes at 325.

Now for the sauce. Start by sautéing shallots in the rendered duck fat. Once colored, deglaze with white wine and reduce by approximately half. Then add the blackberry purée. I find that the easiest way to purée blackberries is to force them through a metal sieve. This will yield a good mash, as well as automatically remove all those pesky seeds, which you certainly don't want in the sauce.

Once the purée is in the skillet, season with salt, pepper and balsamic, and allow to simmer and reduce for a few moments. To thicken, stir in a simple roux (equal parts flour and oil).

I've finished this one off with a salad dressed in the duck fat, almonds and goat cheese. In place of olive oil, the duck fat offers itself as the foundation of a tasty vinaigrette: simply emulsify the rendered fat with balsamic and a bit of whole grain mustard. To finish the plate, I've added parmesan-rosemary mashed potatoes.