There’s no question that duck is one of our favorite proteins to work with, but I will admit that we tend to rely on the same preparations for it: the breasts are usually grilled or simply seared in our iron skillet, and the legs and wings (and fat) generally make their way into confit. So when I spotted Mark Bittman’s recipe for a Vietnamese-style duck with green beans a little while back, I was intrigued: it had flavors that we love and don’t play with enough at home, and it looked like a good bet for a weeknight dinner, using things we already had on hand.
Mike volunteered to make it for our Wednesday night dinner, and while he would like to make a few tweaks to the recipe, we were both pretty pleased with the result. In particular, the method of putting the duck pieces in a dry pan and letting them cook in their own rendered fat was brilliant – the whole house smelled amazing, and the duck was intensely flavorful. We’re planning a do-over soon.
Thursday night’s duck dinner was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing: some friends started tweeting about burritos in the morning, which led to Mike and I both developing a massive craving for Mexican food, which led me to start desperately thinking of what I could put together with the stuff we had in our fridge and pantry that night. Which takes us to our ever-present tub of duck confit. It really is one of the best “convenience” foods I can think of, but as I said above, we tend to prepare it the same way. And while there’s nothing wrong with a crackly-skinned, seared confit leg, with potatoes fried in the duck fat and a salad with sharp vinaigrette served alongside, I planned to go in a very different direction.
I started by putting together a quick sort of mole sauce: shallots and garlic softened in a bit of duck fat, some toasted spices (whole cumin, coriander and cloves), toasted almonds and pumpkin seeds, reconstituted dried chiles, a couple of chipotles in adobo, and a bit of thawed, reheated roasted tomato sauce and stock (a chicken and duck blend) from the freezer. This all went into a blender, along with a blob of sesame tahini (we were out of the traditional sesame seeds, so I figured, why not), a bit of tomato paste, some sherry vinegar, salt, canela, Mexican oregano, and unsweetened cocoa powder, and I blended it to a creamy puree. I adjusted the salt and acid until it tasted right to me, and added a little of the liquid left over from soaking the chiles to thin it out a bit.
With the mole done, I set my attention to the duck, shredding off the meat from a leg and a couple of wings, cooking it in the little bits of fat that clung to the meat until the edges were a bit crispy. I softened up some tortillas in a little more duck fat, stuffed each of them with a bit of the duck, then put them in a baking dish and spooned some of the mole all around. I added a mixture of grated cheeses (Smith’s cheddar and Divine Providence) to the top, and baked the enchiladas for about 25 minutes in a 375 degree oven.
I made a sort of lime crema by whisking a little fresh lime juice into the last of a container of crème fraiche, which I drizzled over the tops of the finished enchiladas, sprinkling some minced scallion and lime zest on for garnish, and spooned some slow-cooked Rancho Gordo beans onto our plates as well.
The rich, flavorful duck was a wonderful match with the flavors in the mole sauce – we liked these enchiladas so much, in fact, we ate the entire batch. I made enough mole to feed an army, and I plan to portion out the remainder and freeze it, so we’ll definitely be doing this version of enchiladas again.
Alex and I have decided we’re eating at the wrong food blogger’s house for dinner each night. Want some uninvited guests to help you polish off that mole?
This looks so good it hurts. At my house, we do not have duck confit waiting around for such lovely concoctions. I am jealous.
I say, dinner on my balcony. You guys can cook.
deb, maggie – Thank you! And you bet the next time I’m in NYC I would be absolutely delighted to cook for you guys! Likewise, there’s always room at our table if you find yourselves in Providence. 😀
I just made duck for the first time about two weeks ago. I shredded it off the bone like your duck enchiladas and made a ragu to put over bucatini. Mmmm! Who knew shredded duck could be so luxurious. Your enchiladas look restaurant worthy. YUM!
Your duck enchiladas are swoon worthy!! If only I had some duck confit on hand, I’d be in business:-)!
Thanks for inspiring me! We seem to do the same old thing with duck every time, and I REALLY need to branch out. This looks like a lovely direction.
And those enchiladas! Oh, wow. I’ll take two! 🙂
duck is one of my favorites since i’m a little girl. somehow over the years it seems to have lost its delicious gamey flavor. and now it’s just big and meaty. is it me?
Anticiplate – Thanks! I love a good duck ragu. It’s such a versatile meat!
Keri – duck confit is easy as heck to make. You should give it a try!
lo – Thank you!
claudia – I don’t think I had duck until I was well into my 20s, but the biggest differences I have noticed are between the different breeds of duck. Maybe do a tasting of the various kinds D’Artagnan sells to find one with the flavor you remember? And invite me? 😀