Duck Rillettes

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Description

Duck rillettes is one of the most amazing culinary magic tricks of all time. Even though most of the spread is made up of fairly lean duck meat, by emulsifying it in a little butter, duck fat, and duck gelatin, you’ll swear the final product has the fat content of the finest foie gras torchon. By the way, I miss foie gras torchon.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ tablespoons kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground black pepper, or more to taste
  • 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 12 cloves garlic
  • 6 (1/4 inch thick) slices fresh ginger
  • 1 orange, zest cut into thin strips
  • 1 bunch fresh thyme, plus more for garnish
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 whole duck
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 tablespoon brandy (such as Armagnac)
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
  • ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper
  • salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • ½ teaspoon grated orange zest

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Line a 9×13 baking dish with 2 pieces of aluminum foil.
  2. Stir kosher salt
  3. 2 teaspoons black pepper
  4. and dried thyme together in a bowl. Mix garlic
  5. ginger
  6. orange zest strips
  7. fresh thyme
  8. and bay leaves together in another bowl.
  9. Season duck all over
  10. inside and out
  11. with about 2/3 of the kosher salt mixture. Fill duck cavity with garlic mixture.
  12. Place duck
  13. breast-side up
  14. into prepared baking dish and season with remaining salt mixture. Wrap duck tightly in aluminum foil.
  15. Roast in the preheated oven until meat pulls away from the bones
  16. 5 to 6 hours. Cool duck with its accumulated juices
  17. wrapped in aluminum foil
  18. to room temperature. Chill in the refrigerator for 12 hours or overnight.
  19. Pick meat from bones and place in a bowl.
  20. Spoon all accumulated juices in the foil into a saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Cook until hot throughout; strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Let fat and stock separate; transfer fat from the top to another bowl.
  21. Mash duck meat
  22. 3 tablespoons duck fat
  23. 2 tablespoons duck stock
  24. butter
  25. brandy
  26. parsley
  27. chives
  28. Dijon mustard
  29. cayenne pepper
  30. salt
  31. and ground black pepper together in a bowl with a wooden spoon; transfer to a sealable container
  32. press down
  33. and drizzle a little duck fat over the top. Sprinkle thyme leaves
  34. black pepper
  35. and orange zest over the top. Seal the container and refrigerate for the flavors to blend
  36. 1 to 3 days.

Prep Time: 1 min

Cook Time: 5 mins

Total Time: 1 day

Servings: 3

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