This quick, no-fuss duck recipe makes a perfect, special main course. Serve with crunchy green beans and a side of sweet & sour red cabbage for colour and contrasting textures. Cook one more leg than you need — it makes a super salad shredded with an Asian-inspired dressing.
Method:
- Pre-heat oven to 190°C. Line a large oven tray with foil then a layer of baking parchment, which will help prevent sticking. You’ll need a nice large area, so even if you’re cooking only two legs choose a bigger pan than usual.
- Heat a deep-sided sauté pan over a low-medium flame. Trim any excess fat or skin from the underside of the duck legs and place, skin side down, in two batches in the sauté pan for 8-10 minutes each.
- While the fat is rendering and the skin is crisping, cut the new potatoes in half and place in the tin. Remove the outer skin from the garlic bulb and break it into cloves. No need to peel the individual cloves as they’ll steam and roast in their skins.
- Make space among the potatoes for the legs and season everything with freshly ground black pepper and Maldon salt. Place a sprig of thyme on each duck leg.
- Pour a little of the fat from the sauté pan over the potatoes and then roast for around 90 minutes or a little longer depending on the size of the legs.
- If you’ve stopped yourself eating that extra leg you might have cooked, let it cool, then shred the meat and refrigerate until needed. Use to top a salad of Chinese leaves, carrot and cucumber ribbons, coriander leaves and a dressing of soy or teriyaki sauce, vegetable oil, a splash of sesame oil and seeds and a spoonful or two of mirin.
Recipe first published in the December 17 2020
