Ingredients
Duck confit
1 cup salt
Zest from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon chili flakes
10 bay leaves, crushed
2 tablespoons thyme, dried
2 tablespoons pepper
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
2 tablespoons sugar
6 duck legs
1½ quarts rendered duck fat
Stewed white beans (recipe follows)
Bourbon mustard (recipe follows)
Sprouts for garnish, optional
Stewed White Beans
1 pound dried white beans
1 ounce rendered duck or bacon fat
1 cup yellow onion, diced small
½ cup celery, diced small
4 garlic cloves, sliced
¼ teaspoon chili flakes
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 quarts chicken stock
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Bourbon mustard
1 cup bourbon
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 cup dijon mustard
Directions
Duck Confit
- Make duck cure by mixing together first 8 ingredients.
- Season duck legs well with duck cure and refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Rinse duck legs well and set in a small baking dish, covering with rendered duck fat (legs should be completely submerged in fat). Roast in oven until tender, without coloring—lower the oven temperature if browning—about 1 hour.
- Before serving, carefully brown duck legs, skin side down, in a large skillet until crispy.
- To serve, scoop about 1 cup stewed white beans into center of each plate. Carefully top with a crisp skinned duck leg. Drizzle bourbon mustard lightly off the end of a spoon over the duck leg and on plate. Garnish with sprouts or small salad for height and color.
Stewed Beans
- Soak white beans overnight in clean, cool water; rinse.
- In a large saucepot, heat rendered fat over medium heat. Add onion, celery, garlic, and chili flakes and cook 5 minutes.
- Add all other ingredients and bring to a boil, then reduce to a light simmer. Cook, stirring often, until beans begin to break down and become creamy, about 1 hour. Note: You may need to add water or stock as beans cook. Stir often to avoid scorching.
Bourbon Mustard
- Add bourbon and both sugars to a stainless steel pot. Reduce mixture by 1/3 over low heat, until slightly syrupy, being careful not to scorch or ignite the bourbon. Whisk in mustard and let cool.
Yields: 1 cup
