This recipe truly is a Mexico meets France classic, you get a traditionally french protein – duck, give it the french treatment and then at the very end you twist it, throw it in a taco, make some salsa and call it a day. The richness of the duck is balanced perfectly with a tart salsa verde and fresh tortillas make for the perfect vehicle for flavor. This recipe was originally created by the chef duo Enrique Olvera and Daniela Soto Ines for their NYC flagship Cosme. The first time I tried it I was blown away by the complexity yet simplicity of this dish. And although the recipe takes time to execute, it ends up being overall easy to handle. Good food comes to those that wait!
About the wine: Today’s delicious dish of duck carnitas paves the way for pairing a gorgeous Red Zinfandel to go with it. I chose a perennial favorite, Dry Creek Old Vine Zinfandel. This wine is a deep and concentrated crimson color, with delicious aromas of red and black cherries, along with some baking spice. On the palate, a cascade of deep black fruit- more black cherry, blackberry, black raspberry; followed closely by cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper. There’s enough acidity to be refreshing, and firm tannic structure is present, yet this has a plush mouthfeel. Boldly flavored enough to stand up to all types of meat or fowl. Dry Creek has been making excellent Zinfandel in Sonoma County for years- if you haven’t tried it, pick some up today. – Cuvée Conversations
Equipment: Roasting pan with a stainless steel rack, blender, sharp 8” chefs knife, stainless steel bowls, aluminum foil, half-sized baking sheet pan, mandolin slicer
Serves: 4
Estimated Prep Time: 3 days curing, 12 hours cooking, 1 hour to finish
Ingredients
For the duck
- 1 organic free-range duck
- 3 cups kosher salt
- ½ cup water
- 1 qt duck fat
- 1 large yellow onion, rough chop
- 2 large carrots, rough chop
- 3 stalks celery, rough chop
- 1 large yellow bell pepper, rough chop
- 3 ancho chilies, remove seeds
- 4 x 12 oz bottles Mexican coke
- 1 can of condensed milk
- 1 can of evaporated milk
- 1 orange, cut in quarter segments
- 1 grapefruit, cut in quarter segments
For the tacos
- 12 organic corn tortillas
- Raw salsa verde:
- 5 tomatillos
- 3 serrano chilies
- 1 small white onion
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 2 large limes
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 small white onion, julienned
- 1 bunch cilantro, minced
- 2 radishes, thinly sliced
Preparation
- Clean and the whole dry the duck
- Mix the 3 cups of kosher salt with ½ cup water and form a slush, it should resemble wet snow
- Liberally cover the duck with the salt all around the outside of the duck
- Place the duck in a large roasting pan on top of an elevated stainless steel rack. The idea is to dry out the duck as much as possible
- Place the roasting rack with duck into the fridge, uncovered for 72 hours
- ***Optional*** – rather than use a roasted rack, remove an entire shelf from the fridge and replace it with an oven rack (if it fits snugly) and hang the duck using kitchen twine fro the rack, tying the duck around the wishbone so that you dry the ducks vertically. Remember to place a drip pan below the carcass as they will release a lot of moisture over 72 hours.
- Remove the duck from the fridge and using a paper towel, dry the exterior of the duck further and remove any excess salt if present
- Using the broiler function of your oven, place the duck on the roasting pan with rack into the oven and brown the exterior of the duck until golden brown on all sides. Remove the roasting pan from the oven, transfer the duck onto a plate or cutting board, and remove the stainless steel rack.
- Adjust oven temperature to 195° F (bake, no convection)
- Place the roasting rack (without duck) onto the stove and place on high heat
- Add the roughly chopped onions, celery, carrots, and bell pepper. Roast the vegetables for 10 minutes, stirring constantly until browned. Deglaze the roasting rack with Mexican coke and turn off the heat. Add the rest of the coke, evaporated and condensed milk, orange, grapefruit, and ancho chilies. Return the duck to the pan and add the duck fat until the duck is fully submerged. Cover the roasting pan with aluminum foil tightly. Place the entire roasting pan on a large baking sheet pan and return to the oven.
- Roast in the oven for 12 hours
- Remove the duck fro the oven, remove the duck from the fat and drain out the fat fro the duck as best as possible without using paper towels
- Using a knife, remove the breast from the carcass as well as the thigh and drumstick. Using gloved hands, remove the bones from the thigh. Make sure to keep the skin attached throughout this process
Building the tacos
- Prepare the salsa: Place the onions, cilantro, tomatillos, serrano chilies, lime juice and salt in a blender and puree until smooth, reserve for later
- Julienne the white onion and mince the cilantro and reserve for taco garnish
- Using a mandolin, slice the radishes very thinly
- Place the duck breast and thighs on an aluminum paper-lined baking sheet, skin side up and drizzle ¼ cup of roasting liquid over the top
- Adjust the oven to hi heat broil function
- Place the duck in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the skin is toasted and golden brown, remove from the oven and transfer onto a cutting board. Cut the meat into manageable chunks
- Build the tacos by adding duck meat then salsa, cilantro, onions, and radishes
- Serve immediately
Swipe through the post below for more photos PLUS footage of Pancho making heirloom blue corn tortillas from scratch.
Little Bouzy 