Duck Breast

SAVORY

Nov 3

Confit Duck Legs, Delicata Squash, Glazed Cranberry, and Duck Jus

Chef Mike Reilly of The NoMad | New York

INGREDIENTS:

Squash Purée:
(Yield: 15 servings)
20 grams butter, plus additional as needed
600 grams peeled and thinly sliced butternut squash
50 grams thinly sliced shallots
200 grams half-and-half
Salt

Delicata Rings:
(Yield: 10 servings)
453 grams butter, melted
250 grams yellow miso
1 delicata squash, seeded, thinly sliced
Salt

Delicata Chips:
(Yield: 10 servings)
Oil for frying
100 grams glucose powder
1 delicata squash, seeded, thinly sliced
Salt

Confit Duck Legs:
(Yield: 20 servings)
10 duck legs, trimmed (trimmings reserved)
Salt
2 quarts duck fat

Glazed Cranberry:
(Yield: 1 liter)
12 ounces cranberries
100 grams simple syrup
Salt

Duck Jus:
(Yield: 10 servings)
2 kilograms duck trimmings
100 grams frozen cranberries
400 grams thinly sliced shallots
5 pods star anise
1 sprig thyme
Dry white wine
1 liter chicken jus
Peel of 1 orange
20 grams cranberry chutney

To Assemble and Serve:
(Yield: 4 to 6 servings)
Neutral oil
1 duck breast
Mustard frills

METHOD:

For the Squash Purée:
In a rondeau over medium flame, heat butter until foamy. Add squash and shallots. Sweat until tender. Stir in half-and-half and cook until vegetables are mushy. Transfer to a Vitamix blender and purée, adding more butter as needed to help emulsify. Season with salt. Cool. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator.

For the Delicata Rings:
Heat the water bath of an immersion circulator to 90ºC. In a bowl, combine butter and miso. On a sheet tray, arrange squash in a single layer and season with salt. In a vacuum bag, combine miso butter and half the squash. In a separate vacuum bag, combine smoked butter and remaining squash. Seal both bags. Cook sous vide 11 minutes. Keep warm.

For the Delicata Chips:
In a deep fryer, heat oil to 350°F. To a saucepan over medium heat, add glucose and 100 grams water. Heat just enough to combine. Season with salt. In a vacuum bag, seal squash and glucose syrup. After 4 to 5 minutes, drain squash, and fry until crisp; drain. Immediately reshape squash so it retains a circular shape. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

For the Confit Duck Legs:
Heat oven to 350ºF. In a hotel pan, arrange duck legs in a single layer. Cover completely with salt. Cure 1 hour. Rinse legs and pat dry. In a separate hotel pan, arrange duck legs in a single layer and cover with duck fat. Tightly cover with foil. Confit in oven 3 hours, until tender. Cool to room temperature. Drain legs and remove and reserve bones. Reserve strained fat. Seal leg meat in a vacuum bag and refrigerate.

For the Glazed Cranberry:
Heat combination oven to 68ºC on steam. In a vacuum bag, combine cranberries and syrup and season with salt. Seal. Steam 10 minutes. Keep warm.

For the Duck Jus:
Heat oven to 450ºF. On a sheet tray, place duck trimmings and reserved bones from Confit Duck Legs. Roast until browned. Into a stock pot over medium heat, scrape roasted duck trimmings, bones, and fond. Add cranberries, shallots, anise, and thyme. Cook until shallots are brown and cranberries release most of their liquid. Deglaze with wine, reduce to au sec, add jus, and simmer 1½ to 2 hours. Add orange peel and steep 10 minutes. Strain through a chinois into a nonreactive, heatproof container. Stir in chutney. Keep warm.

To Assemble and Serve:
In a sauté pan over medium-high flame, heat oil and pan-fry duck breast to medium; rest. Sear Confit Duck Legs until browned. Thickly slice breast. On a serving plate, arrange 1 slice duck breast and 1 small piece Confit Duck Leg. Adjacent to duck, spoon a generous dollop of Squash Purée. Stack 4 Delicata Rings on top, alternating between miso-buttered and smoked rings. Top stack with Delicata Chips. Garnish with Glazed Cranberries and mustard frills. Finish with drizzle of Duck Jus.

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