fat and skin---just a typical frugal French cook. Recipes for everything.
Skillet Duck / Red Oak Leaf Salad / Fried Egg Garnish
Jacques says:" Easy/delicious, cooked like Southern fried chicken in its own fat in covered pot to develop steam; very moist and tender, w/ crisp skin. Use very large lidded skillet/pan. Rendered duck fat goes in dressing; rest is delicious for sautéing potatoes or flavoring soup. Serve duck lukewarm to warm, salad room temp, eggs warm. Serves 4."
BEGIN W/ knife or poultry shears halve 5 lb duck lengthwise, slicing thru carcass bones. Then cut each half into 2 pieces: each w/ leg/breast/wing attached. Cut off backbone; cut duck into pieces. Reserve neck, gizzard, liver, heart.
COOK METHOD Place duck pieces skin side down in heated pan w/ cracklings, add salt; cook on high 5 min. Liftup to dislodge from pan bottom then reset skin side down in pan. Add neck/gizzard, cover/cook on med 15 min. Should be cooking in deep fat; skin should be very brown at this point. Reset heat very low, cover/cook 30 min (almost immersed in fat.) Add liver/ heart; cover/cook 5 min. Liftout duck to sheetpan; set in 170 deg oven. Pour pan fat into bowl; cool. (Usable 2 months for sautéing potatoes, veg.)
SAUCE Deglaze skillet caramelization w/ 1/4 cup fruity dry white wine. Keep warm.
PLATING Center on 4 plates, dressed salad, duck piece, sprinkle duck w/pan drippings; spoon egg garnish around duck. Serve.
GARNISH: Add 2 tea sweet butter to hot skillet heated a min; when butter is hot, add/stir/scramble 2 lge fork-beaten eggs gently on high (should stay runny). S/p.
SALAD Combine/stir gently head red oak leaf lettuce/bunch arugula leaves, Dressing (should look separated). 1/2 tea minced garlic, tbl ea chp shallot, wh/wine vinegar, 3 tbl mixture duck fat/peanut oil/ol/oil, tea light soy sauce, s/p.
CRACKLINGS Cook down diced skin/fat trimmings. Use to fry duck and add to dressing.