Smoked Duck Rillettes

Posted by BBQ Resources at 1/5/2009 3:45 PM
Categories: Projects
Smoked Duck Rillettes

On the heels of the very successful smoked duck confit project, I took the confit method and results a step further by turning 1 cup of the confit meat into something called 'rillettes'.  Rillettes is slightly different from pate and/or potted meat in that the meat has been cooked in its own fat to the point of falling-apart-tender.  That way, it's easy to shred and season a bit beyond where the confit is at, and then packed in a ramekin and topped/sealed with its own fat to preserve the finished product.  From there, you can 'break the seal' when you want and dig on in to that rich, smokey, spiced tender duck.  There's worse ways to spend an evening than noshing on rich, delicious duck treats, but I'm hard pressed to come up with better..... Felt like royalty with all these delicate, rich treats.  Just waiting to have a bout of gout flare up with all this rich,decadent fatty food!  So far so good, so til then, it's pork and duck fat full speed ahead!

Smoked Duck Rillettes
- 1 cup shredded duck confit meat, including outer fat
- 1 tablespoon white wine
- 3 tablespoons concentrated duck stock (or smoked chicken stock, which I was lucky enough to have on-hand from a smoked chicken lasagna I had made earlier in the holidays)
- 1/2 teaspoon Cointreau (or equivalent) orange liqueur
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic juice (or minced garlic)
- pinch of ground bay leaf and ground corriander
- dash each of salt and pepper or to taste
Shred the duck confit by hand, incorporating both meat and fat.  Add in the other ingredients, plus extra wet ingredients (stock or wine, to preference and taste) until the meat is spongy and saturated with liquid.  Pack into a 1/2 cup ramekin and pour in warmed duck fat to cover by 1/4 inch. Refrigerate to solidify fat and seal the rillettes in the ramekin. This seal will preserve the rillettes until ready to eat.  Put a layer of plastic wrap over top.  Will keep like this in the fridge for a couple weeks and if you 'break the fat seal', use up within 2 days.  Serve on small wedges of toast or baguette.  Best at room temp, as eating the fat when it is firm can seem a bit daunting.  At room temp, the fat is very soft and dissolves almost the instant it hits your tongue.  'Not enough o's in smoooooth' to describe this one, as my bro-in-law would say!


(from top left, baguette slices with duck rillettes, centre is green olives, olive oil-drizzled parmesan slices, crispy duck confit legs and thigh, front is duck proscuitto with gerkins)

Enjoy!
Qfan

 

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