When I make rillettes, I usually make two batches - one meat and one poultry. My favorite poultry for rillettes is duck. I wouldn't mind at all to make one from goose hindquarters, but unfortunately they are not sold separately, whereas duck whole legs can be found in Asian supermarkets like Uwajimaya and Ranch 99.
Duck goes well with wild mushrooms like porcini, trumpets (also known as black chanterelles) or yellowfoots, so I always try to buy some when making poultry rillettes. When, they are in season, or course. Other times, dried may work as well.
You will need:
- 4 whole duck legs (thighs and drumsticks)
- About 1- 1.5 cup chicken or duck stock
- ⅓ cup brandy or cognac
- 2-3 twigs of thyme
- 2-3 twigs of tarragon
- 2-3 whole cloves
- 2 small bay leaves or 1 large
- ¼ cup or more rendered duck fat to top the jars for storage (check frozen food section at Uwajimaya or other Asian stores or ask your butcher)
- 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
- A handful of trumpet or yellowfoot mushrooms or other wild mushrooms to your taste
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Trim all the fatty parts from the legs, place in a pan and render the fat slowly over medium heat. When all the fat has been rendered and only small golden bits are left floating in it, remove the pan from the heat. Strain the fat into a bowl, reserving the bits for later use (say, in a potato salad?). Or sprinkle them with salt and eat right away.
Put the duck legs skin side down in the same pan and place it on over medium low heat. Render as much fat from the skin as possible. Pour the excess to the same bowl. When the skin gets golden, turn the legs over, increase the heat and cook until golden brown. Transfer to a braising pot or leave in the same pan if it’s large enough for braising.
Add cognac to the pan and let boil down lightly. Add the stock, cloves, bay leaves, herbs, about ¼ cup of the duck fat you just rendered, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and pour over the duck legs, if using another pot. Cook on a low heat, turning legs over every half hour until they are fork tender and almost falling of the bones. Depending on the duck, it can take from 2.5 up to 4 hours.
When the duck has become perfectly tender, transfer it from the pot to a separate bowl and let cool enough to handle. Strain the braising liquid to remove the bay leaves, cloves and herbs and simmer it down until it thickens significantly. Meanwhile, clean trumpet mushrooms. I tear each in half lengthwise, put in a colander fitted into a bowl and fill it with cold water. After a minute or two, I change the water and repeat the procedure 2-3 more times or until water gets clear.
Add the trumpets and garlic to the reduced braising liquid and cook for a couple of more minutes. If using other mushrooms, like yellowfoot or chanterelles, clean them from dirt with a compressed air and wipe with a damp paper towel. Instead of adding them raw to the stock, I recommend caramelizing them in a bit of butter or oil and adding them directly to the rillettes mixture.
Remove the skin from the duck legs and either discard it, if you're not a fan, or mince and add it to the rillettes. Take off the meat from the bones (be very thorough to remove all the bones) and chop - how coarsely or finely is up to you. Add the meat to the reduced braising liquid and stir well. The mixture should be very thoroughly moist, but not soupy.
Distribute the rillettes mixture between the jars or ramekins, packing it lightly with a spoon. Top each jar with the liquid duck fat, about ⅕- ¼ inch thick layer will suffice. Cover, place in the fridge and let mature for at least a week. As with other rillettes, the flavor of duck rillettes significantly improves with time.
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