Duck Leg Confit with Naan Bread, Vegetables in Coconut Milk

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Sunday lunch preparation started early today. Naan bread needs time to rise so I made that quite early, just after feeding the pigs. Next was the duck leg confit. This involves taking the rendered duck fat out, and putting the marinated duck legs in to cook in the fat. This is slow cooking, and fat cooks really hot so you only need a low fire. Like olive oil, duck fat has a very high burning point so this can be used many times over, it is fantastic rich oil.

Rendered duck fat.
Rendered duck fat.

Duck legs were cooked in oil for about an hour, just enough to make soft meat, not too much that it falls off the bone. The flavour and texture of this meat is remarkable.

Duck leg confit.
Duck leg confit.

My own recipe for using this duck confit is quite simple, and duck confit can be used in a wide range of ways. In this case, I cooked the duck legs in some peanuts with garlic and a bit of red chili. Side vegetables consist of what’s available, for now it’s squash, carrots and red bell peppers. Just a quick simmer in freshly squeezed coconut milk to keep the vegetables crisp, not overcooked.

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This is then served with the naan bread. The rich sauce of the duck and vegetables go very well with flatbreads, you really clean up your plate with that bread, it’s wonderful doing that!

In a previous post, we showed how the duck breast is prepared. We still have some duck bones to use in stock or some brown sauce. That’ll be for next time. Bon appétit!

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Duck Breast with Roti and Curry Sauce

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We had two ducks slaughtered yesterday afternoon and I finally came up with something new, something absolutely fantastic with this extraordinary meat. I started by butchering the whole duck, separating legs, wings and breasts. It is not difficult at all, it is much like butchering a chicken. I’ll post something about that next time.

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How Much Did the Ducks Weigh?

Before butchering, the ducks weighed 1.65 and 1.4 kilos. After dressing, the carcass (with heart and liver) weighed 1.45 and 1.2 kilos. Both ducks were about 4 months old. We’re trying to feed the ducks better so as to get more meat before they get to 6 months. I would personally like to be able to have barbary ducks of about 2 kilos dressed weight.

How Do You Butcher a Duck and What Do You Do With It?

Although you can cook a whole duck – baked or braised – you can cut it up and use when needed. Today, I cut up the legs for use in confit. The leg pieces are salted and spiced, then placed in the refrigerator for no less then 36 hours. Later, these duck legs will be cooked slowly in duck fat until the meat falls off the bone.

Duck legs salted and spiced for confit.
Duck legs salted and spiced for confit.

The fat and skin are trimmed off the duck and rendered – that is, heated slowly until all the fat has melted into oil. This rendered duck fat is phenomenal in French cuisine. This is the fat that I will be using later for the confit.

Rendering duck fats (trims of fat, skin, wings, neck etc) to collected the oil.
Rendering duck fats (trims of fat, skin, wings, neck etc) to collect the oil.

The breasts (in halves) are salted and peppered on the skin side (skin sliced first to let the fat through when cooking). Don’t salt the meat side because this will dehydrate the meat and make it tough. Cook skin down, don’t use any oil because the duck fat will melt and it will be enough to cook the duck skin crisp.

The duck bones (head, feet, wings, backbones etc) will be used later to make delicious stock or brown sauce. More about those in the next posts!

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Note: I prepared all this in the evening because the ducks were butchered late in the afternoon and I didn’t want to freeze them before using. This way, the ducks are prepared fresh.

Then I stored the duck legs in a sealed container and put it in the refrigerator, together with the seared duck breasts. The duck breasts will be prepared the next day for lunch.

Cooking The Duck Breasts

The seared duck breasts could be used right away – it can be grilled and cut up. However, today, I decided to fry it up, again with no additional oil – and no additional salt. I cooked it on the meat side using a non-stick pan. More duck fat oozed while cooking. Cooking doesn’t take long, maybe about 5 minutes on this side. Then I turned it over on the skin side again and cooked for about 3 minutes. What we mustn’t do is overcook the meat otherwise it will become dry and tough. Aim for medium rare meat.

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To go with the duck breasts I decided on rotis and curry sauce. I made the rotis using flour, water and salt, and a small amount of oil, cooked in a non-stick pan on one side, then turn the other side directly over the fire. Cooking is about a minute on each side. My rotis have black sesame seeds, and I love these!

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The curry sauce is prepared Thai red curry with lots of coconut milk and sliced string beans, and two red chilli. I used the same pan used to cook the duck breasts so as not to waste that fantastic fat and flavour.

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Putting it all together – two pieces of roti, sliced duck breast on top, curry sauce around it and some sliced cucumbers. Absolutely fantastic.

The taste of duck meat is indeed amazing, and the fat (which is considered not as unhealthy as beef or pork fat!) exudes this extraordinary rich aroma. I personally don’t find duck meat gamey at all perhaps because I am very fond of beef, especially served medium to rare. There’ll be more recipe experiments to come with this fantastic meat! Bon appétit!

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But What’s For Dinner?

There were some duck breast and rotis leftover. So I cut of the duck breast into small strips, intending to wrap them in the roti. But I couldn’t wrap up the duck slices in the roti, because the rotis were too small. So I decided to cook the duck breast slices with some string beans, onions, tomatoes, make some scrambled duck eggs with garlic, tomatoes and rosemary, served on top of the rotis and with some sate sauce on the side (sate sauce goes very well with duck!) Dinner solved! Thanks to the ducks! 😉 Confit will be for tomorrow!

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Duck Pizza?

Sunday lunch is salted duck breast pizza, winged beans, soursop and homemade bread.
Sunday lunch is salted duck breast pizza, winged beans, soursop and homemade bread.

Another way to serve duck -particularly the “duck bacon”  🙂 is as pizza topping. For the “pizza crust” we used homemade bread (topped with oatmeal and black sesame seeds!). Then some onions, garlic and tomatoes are sautéed with tomato paste and spread over the slices of bread. On top of this are laid crispy fried thin slices of duck bacon. Garnish is a tiny bit of blue cheese and slices of cucumber (the cucumber tones down the saltiness).

Sunday lunch includes winged beans (a huge harvest from the garden – it’s winged bean season) sautéed in garlic and chili, and guyabano fruit (soursop) from Terry’s garden. Perfect! 🙂

Salted duck breast with tomato sauce, onion, tomatoes, tiny bit of blue cheese and sliced cucumber (to temper the saltiness!)
Salted duck breast with tomato sauce, onion, tomatoes, tiny bit of blue cheese and sliced cucumber (to temper the saltiness!)

Inasnan na Pato (Salted Duck Meat)

“Tinabal” is the Bisayan term given to salted fish and “Inasnan” for salted meat, a tradition that goes back hundreds of years. Without the modern conveniences of refrigeration and freezing, our ancestors relied on such methods as salting to preserve meats for future use.

Here in Bohol, “Tinabal” may still be found in public markets and some supermarkets such as BQ and ICM in Tagbilaran City. A few households unreached by electricity or those without refrigerators still salt their meat and fish. The basic process involves cleaning of the meat product, rubbing with salt, keeping in a container such as a large earthenware jar, and storing in a cool dry place.

Occasionally, I make salted (and cured) meats. I do this because of the taste and texture which I sometimes crave for. Also, instead of buying cured meats from the shops, I prefer to make my own so I can control how much curing powder (nitrite, key ingredient in Prague Powder) is used. Another reason to salt meat is when we have just slaughtered a pig and there is a surplus of meat that cannot be placed in the freezer.

Here are some of the basic principles of salting and curing meat:

  1. Fish or meat is dried to prevent microbial and enzymatic transformations – this preserves the flesh before putrefaction can set in.
  2. In humid environments, fish or meat cannot dry quickly enough before putrefaction. Here, salting is used to hasten the drying process. Smoking is yet another means of drying meat and fish.
  3. Through the physical process of osmosis, salting draws water out of flesh and at the same time, renders the meat less hospitable for microbial growth. The longer you keep meat in salt, the more stable and salty it becomes.
  4. Salted meats like bacon and some types of ham are salted for only a short time because they are cooked before eating. Country hams, prosciutto, ham and other meats eaten raw are salted and hung to dry for much longer time.
  5. While salting adds to the flavour, taste and texture of meat and fish, sugar and spices may be included in the salt. Curing salt (Prague Powder) which contains nitrates/nitrites is sometimes used, especially in the case of sausages where food safety is more critical because ground meat means more of the flesh is exposed to air and microbial activity than whole slabs of meat.

Salting the Duck Meat

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So, here’s the duck breast and thighs that I prepared several days ago. The duck breast without the bone weighs about 250 grams and the thighs (with a bit of bone intact) weighs 150 grams. This is a total of 400 grams of meat that I’ll be salting.

So, how much salt should be added? The standard is 6% salt based on the weight of the meat. So, 400 grams of meat need about 24 grams of salt. To this I added the same amount of sugar for flavour.

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I prepared the meat and with clean hands, massaged the salt (and sugar) all over the meat (use coarse sea salt which naturally contains nitrate). When done, I put the salted meat in a sealed container, this is plastic. Don’t use metal because the salt will cause a chemical reaction. You can use earthenware, ceramic or glass. The meat is then placed in the refrigerator. Check on the meat after a day or so to pour out any liquid that has accumulated.

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How long should the meat be salted?

It takes about 1-2 days for every 500 grams of meat to be adequately salted or you can weigh the meat to find out: the meat should lose about 15 percent of its initial weight. For my 400-gram duck meat, that means the meat is ready at 340 grams.

duckbaconweighing

Should I Use Prague Powder?

You can use Prague Powder #1 (6.25% sodium nitrite) to achieve that colour, taste and texture associated with cured meats like bacon and ham. Although not necessary when curing meat for a short period (a few days to a couple of weeks) and under refrigeration, you might wish to use this curing salt in addition to the salt and spices. The amount to be used is 1/2 teaspoon per kilo of meat. Mix with cold water to use.

If you are curing sausages as well as certain types of hams intended to be eaten raw, you should use Prague Powder #2 (6.25% sodium nitrite and 4% sodium nitrate). The amount to be used is 1/2 teaspoon per kilo of meat. Mix with cold water to use.

Finishing

At this point, all I need to do is wash the duck meat in cold water to remove the salt, dry thoroughly with paper towels, then wrap in cheesecloth, wax paper or plastic and keep in a cool dry place, or refrigerate – and slice as desired.

To test the salted duck meat, you can slice  bit off and cook it. If it is too salty, soak it in cold water and put in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Then drain and dry as described above.

Here’s some of the salted duck meat chopped and cooked with some string beans and okra. It’s the perfect flavouring for vegetables!

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Pato Halang-Halang

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Our “Pato Halang-Halang” is more on the dry, thick side than the soupy side. Add more water if you prefer soupy!

“Halang” means “spicy”, “chili hot” and for many in the Visayas and some in Mindanao, “halang-halang” is real comfort food. The meat used in halang-halang is chicken, preferably native chicken or manok Bisaya. In the Tagalog region, the “Halang-Halang” is often compared to the “Chicken Tinola.”

Regional Variations of the (Chicken) Halang-Halang

While there are regional variations, such as a dry stew or a clear broth, the base for “Chicken Halang-Halang” is often coconut milk. Green birds eye chilli provide the most exquisite heat although red chilli as well as siling haba or siling espada (long green chilli) can also be used. The subtle flavour of this delicacy also varies: ginger and lemongrass (tanlad) is the most widely used in Bohol. In some places it is turmeric (luyang dilaw). Others include basil leaves, peppercorns, Chinese chives or spring onions. In some instances, some vinegar is used to wash the meat if not added in the initial sautéing of the meat with the panakot (sauté ingredients such as garlic and onion) – a technique that helps reduce the gamey smell and taste of native chicken.

Green unripe papaya for the
Green unripe papaya for the “Halang-Halang.” Substitute with sayote or labong (bamboo shoots), or carrots and potatoes.

Vegetables to Use

The type of vegetables added to the stew vary, depending on tradition and availability. Fleshy vegetables are desired as focal ingredient since the native chicken does not have a lot of meat. Vegetables of choice may be sayote or unripe papaya. More expensive commercial vegetables such as potatoes and carrots may also be used instead.

Secondary vegetables add colour, contrast and subtle flavour to the stew. Examples used may one of or a combination of chilli leaves, string beans, spinach, malunggay leaves, and atsal (native red bell pepper). More interesting versions include the addition of (one or more of the following): coconut meat cut into strips, sliced bamboo shoots (labong), fish sauce (often added in the sauté), soy sauce (used to marinate the chicken for a few minutes),

“Halang-Halang” has strong spicy flavour so it needs to be eaten with a starchy staple such as rice. In Bohol, the famous ubi – boiled and peeled – particularly the white (kabus-ok) variety, is excellent.

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Cooking “Halang-Halang” takes an hour or so, depending on the meat used. Older native chickens are tougher and can take longer to cook. So the best way to cook “Halang-Halang” is over wood fire, instead of gas or electricity, to be more economical. Wood fire also imparts this subtle smokey flavour to the stew, something which we often take for granted and then become nostalgic for when we move to the city and only use gas stoves or electric stoves.

A number of times we have used duck to make “Halang-Halang.” I have to admit that nothing beats the native chicken when it comes to “Halang-Halang”. Maybe this means we’ll need to improvise and invent a new variant of “Halang-Halang” that would be most suitable for duck.

Fresh ginger and freshly extracted coconut milk.
Fresh ginger and freshly extracted coconut milk.

Nevertheless, today’s experiment was a success, though not a resounding one. We used ingredients from the garden: unripe papaya, lemongrass, sigarilyas (winged beans), ginger, atsal, red and green chilli and coconut milk squeezed from fresh grated coconuts. We have not been successful growing garlic or onions so we had to get those from the public market.

Dressed duck ready to cook!
Dressed duck ready to cook!

Duck Bacon?

The duck carcass, about 4 months old, weighed 1.25kg. I took the breast and meaty thighs for an experiment in curing (or what I call, “duck bacon.”) The deboned breast weighed about 250 grams and the meat of the thighs (with small bone included) weighed about 150 grams. I’ll post about the duck bacon later.

Making a Better Pato Halang-Halang”

When we make “Pato Halang-Halang” again, I would do the following to improve the taste and texture of the dish: (1) use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil to improve the flavour; (2) use more lemongrass (duck and lemongrass go very well together!) and birds eye green chilli (instead of red chilli) and chilli leaves (add the chilli leaves last just to wilt it instead of over-cooking it, otherwise it will be bitter); (3) use the second extract of coconut milk to the sauté to bring out its flavour and use the first extract of coconut milk when the stew is 10-15 minutes from done (this will prevent the stew from becoming too oily because the first extract of coconut milk produces a lot of oil when cooked for long time; (4) add more onions to the sauté and allow it to caramelise with the duck for subtle sweetness; (5) use vinegar to marinate the duck meat for a smoother cleaner flavour; and (6) cut the winged beans into thinner slices and add all vegetables (like the unripe papaya) last so they don’t overcook; it is easy to overcook food when you’re cooking over a wood fire.

If you have experience with cooking “Halang-Halang” in your home province, please share with us what makes your “Halang-Halang” special!

Halang-Halang must be served hot with rice cooked with fragrant pandan leaves!
Halang-Halang must be served hot with rice cooked with fragrant pandan leaves!

Pato Halang-Halang

(We encourage you to improvise on this basic recipe – substitute with ingredients available in your location; learn about tastes (spicy? salty? sweet? creamy? sour?), textures (thick? dry? soupy? oily?) and flavour (fragrant? gamey? savoury? herbal?) that you prefer and modify the recipe to suit that. For example, you can sauté with a bit of fish sauce or patis to deepen the savoury taste or marinate the duck in soy sauce instead of vinegar to make a richer bolder flavour; add more or less chilli to your taste; substitute ginger with turmeric, etc.)

Ingredients:

800 grams to 1 kilo whole dressed Muscovy duck (pato)
1 cup white vinegar
1 green unripe papaya of medium size, cut into small chunks
3 small native red bell pepper, sliced into strips
5 winged beans cut into thin slices
Coconut milk from one coconut (separate first and second extract)
1 cup of water
2 medium sized onions (sliced) and one head of garlic (crushed)
2 stalk lemongrass, white pulpy stems crushed and tied into a bundle
Ginger about a thumb size, sliced and crushed
Whole green birds eye chilli (labuyo)
A handful of chilli leaves
Spring onion, chopped
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Salt and crushed peppercorns
Coconut oil

Directions:

Clean the duck and cut into serving sizes. Massage it with vinegar and let sit for a while. Prepare the other ingredients. Drain the duck when ready to cook.

Heat oil in a suitable size stock pot. Add onion and garlic. Sauté until fragrant. Add the duck, ginger and lemongrass. Sauté until the duck skin becomes light brown on all sides and some of the duck fat begins to ooze. Add sugar and stir to cook evenly.

Pour second extract of coconut milk to deglaze the stock pot. Continue cooking and mixing for about 2 minutes. Add water, then cover and simmer until the duck meat is tender. Add more water if you prefer a soupy stew.

Add green chilli, papaya and native red bell pepper. Add the first extract of coconut milk. Simmer until the papaya is soft. Add salt and peppercorns to taste. Remove from heat and add the chilli leaves and spring onions. Serve piping hot!