Dec DOTM: Twice-cooked Duck Legs

Holy cow, how did we get to December? It’s going to be a crazy month of festivities – bring it on!

December’s Dish of the Month (DOTM) was a fun one. I started out with an intention to make a western meal with duck but it ended up being I don’t know, fusion (?). At least it worked. Haha!

The recipe might seem tedious but I assure you it’s not as bad a it seems. The searing, braising and – finally - grilling creates a wonderfully tender duck that might surprise duck-hatin’ folks

I paired the duck with a crispy fried egg (oozy yolk) , red rice and lao gan ma chili. I don’t blame you for raising an eyebrow or two but this was a delicious mix where every last morsel was scrapped up.

Ingredients
Serves 6 adults

• 3 tbsp olive oil, plus 1 tsp 
• 6 duck legs 
• 1.5 onion, finely chopped 
• 4 garlic cloves, flinely chopped
• 225ml red wine 
• 900ml chicken stock 
• 1.5 oranges, juiced and 1 zested
• 3 tbsp tomato puree 
• 3 bay leaf 
• 10g butter 
• 1 tbsp spring onio, finely chopped

Instructions 

1. Heat the 1 tsp oil in a lidded nonstick pan over a medium-high heat. Season the duck and fry for 3-4 mins each side. Remove and set aside. 
2. Drain all but 1 tsp of fat from the pan. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 mins until golden. Add the crushed garlic, wait 10 secs, then stir in the wine, stock, orange juice, tomato purée and bay leaf. Season and bring to the boil. 
3. Return the duck legs to the pan, skin side up, cover and cook on a low heat for 1 hr until cooked through. 
4. Preheat the grill to high. Lift the duck from the pan, put on a rack and grill for 2-3 mins until crisp. 
5. Meanwhile, bring the sauce to the boil, then add 10g butter and cook, stirring often, for 8 mins or until reduced by just over half. 
6. Spoon the sauce over the duck and top with orange zest and spring onion.