Reheating time: 7-12 minutes
Do you remember the first time we did Duck Confit at WECO? It started as so many of our menu items do, with someone presenting a vague idea or concept, and then our whole group running with it and elaborating on the theme to piece together the bigger picture. The duck confit conversation was definitely hilarious. There was a big argument about what it meant to confit something, and where the word came from. Obviously, it’s French, but when you look at a word for long enough, it starts to become absolutely ridiculous. We just get excited about food, in general. But especially about the word confit. Tonight’s dinner is not all about the duck, however. That may be the star of the show, but there’s some serious supporting cast members here. We’ve got broccolini, in peak season right now, dressed simply in calabrian chili oil with fried garlic sprinkled on top. Roasted new potatoes? Yes please. And of course, a beautiful mixed greens salad. Summer on a plate. Look at the word confit, and tell us it’s not one of the most ridiculous words you’ve ever seen. You can’t. Get in there!
For the duck:
Two ways to go about this. You can either crisp up the skin in the broiler, which is the faster way – but yields less consistently golden and crispy skin, or you can render the skin in a pan. To broil, simply just lay out the duck legs skin side up on a sheet tray lined with foil, and pop them under the broiler on low for 5-7 minutes. To crisp them up in a pan, start with a good cast iron or nonstick and heat over medium low heat. Add a generous amount of olive oil or butter, and lay the duck legs skin side down in the pan. This definitely takes longer, but yields a way better end result. You basically want to fry and render out the skin until it is perfectly golden brown and crispy. Once the skin is ready, flip the duck legs over to warm the flesh side, and then you’re good to go. All the rendered duck fat can be saved (for delicious scrambled eggs?), or you can use it to heat potatoes. Either way, you win.
For the broccolini:
Set your oven to high broil. On a sheet tray lined with aluminum foil, arrange the pieces of broccolini in an even layer. Broil on high for 2-3 minutes, flip, and broil for another 2-3 minutes, until hot and charred. Remove tray from the oven.
For the potatoes:
Either fry them in the duck pan, or bake them in the oven! Arrange the potatoes in a large oven safe casserole dish. Bake at 400F for 5-10 minutes until hot. Or, if you’re frying, heat the duck fat, toss them in and roll them around. 3-5 minutes and they should be hot and crispy.
For the salad:
Don’t heat this one up! Just toss it in a bowl, dress with the lemon-dijon vinaigrette, and enjoy
🙂 dinner is served, and solved. #weareweco
