As my grandpa always says, “martinis are like breasts.  One’s not enough.  And three’s too many.”

While that may be true, I’m a bit of a leg man myself.

Especially when it comes to duck!  If I have many hours (6 or more) on a day off, you might just catch me attempting the ol’ ‘duck leg confit‘ trick!  But for the purposes of this blog, and your valuable time…let’s just roast our duck leg and cut it down to a couple hours.

That being said, as usual, though we are NOT on a “diet” here…we are conscientious 😉

Duck leg will be accompanied by the duck skin, which is so friggin’ delicious!  However, it is basically fat (which of course would be why it is so delicious).  So…I choose to think about portion control here, in order to really enjoy the flavor I crave, but not over-do the unhealthy aspect of it.  Therefore, I will only be having 1 duck leg (which is not a real large portion by any means).

Pommes Sarladaise (potatoes fried in duck fat with garlic) would seem the obvious pairing here, with the rendered duck fat and all…BUT, in order to take out the “if” and the “and”, we are going to enjoy brussells sprouts instead.  Now, for the fun part….you better believe I’m going to sear those little babies up in duck fat though!

Fun Fact:  Duck fat is way closer to olive oil, than it is butter.  You:  “Really!??”   Me:  “Yup!”   You:  “So then everything should be cooked in duck fat?”   Me:  “Yes!     …ummm…I mean….no?”  

…anyway, that’s a whole other show.      Meanwhile, back in the kitchen….

What you’ll need:

• Duck Leg (one per person)
• Brussells Sprouts [11(for good luck) per person]
• Fresh Rosemary
• 1 Clove Garlic
• Sea Salt
• Cracked Black Pepper
• Pyrex Bowl
• 2 Medium Pans
• Plate
• Wine Glass 😉

The cooking time will be about 2 hours, however keep in mind the portion is far from huge.  I might suggest thinking about a first and/or second course prior to the duck leg course…you’ll have plenty of time!  Perhaps a small shrimp or scallop appetizer, followed by a small salad mid-course?  Yum!

Oh!  …and of course, the wine!  I suggest a fabulous Hermitage (any nice rhone red would do here though).  Open that now and let it breathe..  It will be perfect in 2 hours 🙂

Prep first!  (You know the rules)

Set your duck leg on a plate, skin side down, and season the leg meat with salt, pepper and chopped rosemary.   Cut each of your brussells sprouts in half.  If you do not have a garlic press, go ahead and mince your peeled garlic clove now and set aside.

Cooking duck releases very heavy aromas.  You may want to have your fan on high prior to setting the duck in the pan…

Heat a pan over low-med heat and set your duck leg, skin side down, into the pan.  Wiggle it back and forth gently for a few seconds to avoid the duck skin from “sticking” to the pan.  After searing for just a bit, turn the heat up to medium, or just under, and loosely cover.  {Being that stovetop temperatures vary, keep your eye on it and adjust accordingly, so that you do not burn the skin.}  Allow the duck leg to continue searing for a bit…maybe check back in 10 minutes or so.  The duck fat will render out rapidly, and excessively.  Pour much of the rendered duck fat off into the pyrex bowl.  The duck will continue to sear.

Put 1 tbsp of the rendered duck fat from your pyrex bowl into your other pan and evenly distribute it across the surface.  Place your halved brussells sprouts cut-side down into the duck fat so that there is one even layer of brussells sprouts in the pan.  Set aside.

After allowing the duck to sear up a bit more (10 minutes or so again), check the skin color…it should be a beautiful, rich golden brown.  If it is, flip it over and allow the meat to be semi-submerged in the excess duck fat in the pan.  Now cover and let continue to poach over the medium heat.  Check back every so often to ensure the heat is right, and no burning is occurring.  I tend to take a peek every 20 minutes or so.

One hour later:

Place the pan with your brussells sprouts over medium heat.  Once they have seared up in the duck fat (7-10 minutes) and are carmelized over with a rich golden brown color, season them with salt and pepper and minced garlic.  Cover the pan and while holding the cover in place with one hand…flip the pan with the brussells sprouts vigorously (wiggling back and forth) with your other hand so that the S&P and garlic can be evenly distributed.  Continue to leave covered and return to the burner, but shut the heat off (if you are working with a gas burner, turn it to very low).

Your duck should be ready (meat is beginning to separate from the bone) and the color should look just delicious!  Remove it and plate it.  Let it rest on the plate for 5 minutes or so (this allows cooking to finish and juices to distribute evenly).  Then drizzle 1 tbsp or so of the rendered duck fat from the pan evenly over the leg.  Now, plate your duck fat fried brussells sprouts next to it and note how your mouth is watering 😉      ….mmmm, mmmm, mmmm….you are in for a treat!

Now, for goodness sake, pour the vino!  You’ve been waiting 2 hours for this!

Bon Appetit!