What’s new? Duck ragù!
Last Friday night was an exploration of tagliatelle with four new ways to serve them. That, of course, starts with making tagliatelle, which we have done before. This photo is not of blog reader jke rolling out the noodles, but of Jonathan my cute Swiss friend when he made pasta with me last year. But roll pasta she did! I made 800 grams of flour worth of pasta dough with 8 big eggs. jke rolled it all and cut it into her personal vision of pappardelle and the machine’s version of tagliatelle. Remember, if you are traveling in central Italy in the cooler months, you’re invited as well. The first and the third Friday of every month except December we gather and eat food being prepared for new recipes. Please don’t miss the economics of this dish at the end of the article. I think this has become an important part of cookery these days.
When I decided to make a new duck sauce recipe for pasta, I only had one fixed idea, and that was that it would be made of the thigh and leg quarters of the duck, because when I cook duck breast for an elegant meal I always have these left in the freezer. I've usually made a braise of them, good but after all not that distinguishable from a braise of pork or beef.
So the last time I was left with duck leg quarters I let them collect for experimentation. I mentally subtracted the typical ingredients of a braise and then added them back, one by one, if they seemed essential for duck. I went back to Artusi's Bible of cookery and raked through it for hints. I looked through every Italian language cookbook I have for more ideas. It was clear that the earlier duck recipes depended on ducks that were less fatty than those we get nowadays. I don't mind that so much, because duck fat is very useful in the kitchen and if you like you can substitute it for shortening in lots of recipes to fabulous effect. Just try it sometime. That does mean, however, that you can't reliably follow an old recipe for duck that may have been not much fattier than today's roasting chickens.
If I were making this in summer it would be entirely different because of the fresh tomatoes I would use instead of the tomato puree. Those differences don't bother me at all, but if they bother you don't make the change. Passata is available all year round so use it.
This ragù is what I found essential and distinguished. It will not be mistaken for any other braise or sauce. I was sure I liked it very much, and then a trusted Italian friend called it perfect. Perfect I do not make, but this will do for close enough!
Ragù of Duck
Serves 4-8 depending which course
Some duck fat or the skin from the duck legs-thighs
2 leg quarters of a duck
3-4 whole cloves of garlic
5 whole cloves
1 sprig rosemary
750 ml tomato puree (passata, not sauce nor paste. You can make it by putting canned tomatoes through a food mill or sieve)
salt as needed
water as needed
a good handful of raisins
an ounce of butter or about ¼ cup (2 ounces) heavy cream
In a heavy pan heat the duck fat or the skin and then brown the legs and thighs in it. When sealed nicely, add the garlic, cloves, rosemary and tomato puree, then lower the heat to a simmer. After about 30 minutes, add a teaspoon or so of salt. Cover the pan and cook slowly for several hours, adding water as needed to keep it from thickening too much and catching. I find it easier to cook in a low oven at about 125°C / 225°F.
When it is cooked, remove the duck pieces and bone them. Cut or shred the meat into small pieces and return to the sauce. Remove the rosemary and the garlic cloves. Add the raisins.
At this point, you may freeze the whole thing or refrigerate for use the next day, and it only gets better. You may cook 400 g or nearly a pound of tagliatelle and toss it with this austere sauce immediately, too.
Not before freezing or refrigerating, but when the sauce is heated to serve, stir in either the cold butter or the cream. I think that ricotta salata suits this sauce, but any grated cheese you like may be used.
Because the spicing of this sauce is limited and severe, it ends up being quite different. It's not hard to love, but different in a very particular way. There is no soffritto, no onion, none of the usual red pasta sauce herbs. Do not be tempted to add them and miss out on this delicious pasta.
Let's talk about the economics of this dish. Economics seems to be on everyone's mind, after all. Duck is not something I purchase every week. I buy it for very special dinners and because of the composition of an Italian dinner, I make the breasts according to alta cucina recipes and serve them carved into slices, with each breast serving two people. I use the carcass and trimmings to make duck stock for risotto. I render the fat and skin to make duck fat to keep in a jar in the fridge for cooking. All animal fats are equal after all, and duck fat is no better nor worse than butter, ghee or lard, but quite a bit healthier than Crisco or margarine. You should feel free to use it in moderation just as you use those other fats. The hindquarters then make dishes like this one.
Effectively that means that a duck for which I pay from €9-10 (about $11.25 to 12.50 in the USA) makes a main course for 4, about three-fourths pint of usable kitchen fat, a liter or so of strong stock and pasta sauce for four as a supper or eight if served as a first course of an Italian meal. Compare that to how I used to use duck in the United States. Back then I roasted the whole duck, leaving my oven fat-spattered, then made a wonderful sauce and one duck would serve two to three people as a main course. Was it a good dinner? You bet it was! But it was several times as costly as my Italian approach. Duck was a messy and troublesome meal in those days. This is cleaner and cheaper, and I like that. That's not to say that duck with black cherry sauce is forever gone from my repertoire, but that it needs to be reborn as a recipe using duck breasts and leaving the oven clean.
I have decided to send this to Nilmandra, who is hosting Presto Pasta Night at Soy & Pepper this coming Friday 21 November. Check in and see what's there once it goes up!
I am so thrilled to see that someone is advertising an ocean-going yacht on this post! Will someone please buy it and tell me how it is?
The duck ragu sounds awesome. It’s the cloves that really intrigue me. Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Night.
Judith–I never even think of making duck, but this just sounds so good I think I\’ll have to give it a try. I\’ve not seen one at my butcher so I may have to order it, but it will definitely be something I\’ll try soon. I always find your recipes inspiring and enjoy reading your blog on a regular basis.
@Ruth:
Try it, you’ll like it. It’s something special to me.
@Diane:
Do you think it’s for the same reason I avoided it? Messy and expensive? Actually it was the messy that bothered me the most because I have never had a self-cleaning oven. I find them at the supermarket, but my butcher also will sell them to me with a day’s notice.
Duck with pasta, now that’s refreshing! Thanks for the entry into Presto Pasta Nights :)
This dish is tempting in so many different ways, but I want to ask you about how to render the duck\’s fat! I\’ve just started using the fat I skim off the top of my chicken stock in cooking, but wouldn\’t even know where to begin to render it.
@Libby:
I use a heavy iron pot with lid because I am not doing a great deal at a time. If I were, I would use a roaster in the oven. Just keep the pot of fat on a low flame until all the fat bits and skin are crisp and swimming in liquid fat. Strain into containers and refrigerate. Use it like any fat.
You can also do it in water. This supposedly “cleans” the fat as it renders. The fat I am rendering is scrupulously clean, so I never do that. If I just got a bunch of scraps from a butcher and didn’t know how it had been handled, I probably would.
I hope this helps you, because rendered fat is not only practical but is just delicious. Potatoes roasted in it are the very tops!