12370 Duck Leg and Sweetbread Ragout Serves 6 Wed Aug 06 01:05:20 -0700 2008 Tue Feb 03 01:10:12 -0800 2009 Licensed http://www.chow.com/recipes/12370 Tue, 03 Feb 2009 09:10:12 GMT Here's a lucien vanel dish for the “thrifty cook,” though only a restaurant chef would consider this economical today. The dish derives from Vanel's mother's way with leftovers. I find it quite marvelous that he took this kind of simple home-cooking idea to the restaurant stage, gaining two Michelin stars in the process. I loved watching him work. The first thing he did every morning was look in the refrigerator and see what he could “use up” on that day's menu.

This fascinating ragout—two stews joined together after each has been fully cooked and degreased—has the contrapuntal quality of a great duet: tastes interweave, textures collide, and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This is one of those plats des pauvres (poor people's dishes) brought to a sophisticated and expensive level that might now be called a plat du haut bourgeois.

You'll find sweetbreads in a few supermarkets and specialty meat markets, and in stores in ethnic neighborhoods.

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  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Trim away excess skin and fat from the legs and thighs. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
  • Heat the butter in an ovenproof nonreactive skillet. Add the legs and brown briefly on both sides. Prick the fatty parts many times without piercing the flesh itself. Continue to sauté the duck for 5 minutes. Remove to a side dish lined with paper towels. Pour off all but 1½ tablespoons fat from skillet.
  • Add the onions to the skillet and sauté until limp, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain off the fat. Add the vinegar, mustard, and wine to the skillet, stirring. Over high heat, reduce rapidly by one third, scraping up all the little bits and pieces that cling to the bottom of the skillet, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, thyme, and stock.
  • Return the duck legs to the skillet and bring to a boil, skimming. Cover with a sheet of buttered parchment or waxed paper and a lid. Set in the oven to cook until legs are just tender, about 45 minutes for the Pekin duck, 1 hour for the Moulard, and 1½ hours for the Muscovy. (The recipe can be prepared ahead to this point; let cool, then cover and refrigerate overnight.)
  • The following day, make the Sweetbread Ragout up to 2 hours before serving. Cut the sweetbreads on a diagonal into 1-inch pieces. Skim the fat and reserve the sweetbread juices.
  • About 45 minutes before serving, preheat the oven to 300°F. Scrape off the chilled fat that has formed over the duck legs and sauce. Remove the legs from the sauce and pull the meat off the bone. Remove the skin and trim off any gristle. Cut the meat into 1-inch chunks.
  • Arrange the sweetbreads alternately with the chunks of duck in an ovenproof serving dish. Scrape the reserved duck sauce into the sweetbread pan juices. Add the cream and boil, stirring, until sauce has enough body to coat a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes. Adjust the seasoning and strain the sauce over the duck meat and sweetbreads. Transfer to the oven and gently heat until hot and ready to serve, 20 to 30 minutes.
  • Soak the sweetbreads in the refrigerator for 2 hours in 2 or 3 changes of acidulated water (1 tablespoon vinegar to 2 cups water). If using frozen sweetbreads, defrost directly in water; add 1 to 2 hours to soaking time. (Sweetbreads are not blanched for this dish.) Drain, peel, and cut away connective tube, gristle, and any fatty parts.
  • In a 10-inch skillet, melt the butter over low heat. Stir in the minced vegetables, cover, and sweat the vegetables for 5 minutes.
  • Uncover the skillet, add the sweetbreads, and turn them in the pan juices to moisten. Add the vermouth, cover, and gently cook for 10 minutes, turning the sweetbreads midway. Add the Port and boil over moderate heat until reduced to a glaze. Allow the sweetbreads to brown slightly on both sides in the syrupy juices.
  • Add the demi-glace or reduced stock and the tomato paste. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer, skimming. Swirl to combine pan juices and keep sweetbreads moist. Cover and cook over very low heat 7 to 8 minutes longer, turning sweetbreads once or twice. Let cool, uncovered. (The sweetbread ragout can be prepared to this point up to 2 hours in advance.)
    • ]]>     http://www.chow.com Paula Wolfert 50 Main 2 pounds whole duck legs, Moulard, Muscovy, or Pekin

    ]]>     Salt and freshly ground pepper

    ]]>     4 tablespoons unsalted butter

    ]]>     2 medium onions, coarsely chopped

    ]]>     ¼ cup red wine vinegar

    ]]>     1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

    ]]>     2 cups dry white wine

    ]]>     2 garlic cloves, halved

    ]]>     ¼ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

    ]]>     2 cups unsalted chicken stock (storebought or homemeade—page 405

    ]]>     Sweetbread Ragout (page 194)]]> 1 cup heavy cream

    ]]>     ¾ to 1 pound fresh or frozen sweetbreads

    ]]>     1 tablespoon wine vinegar

    ]]>     4 tablespoons unsalted butter

    ]]>     3 tablespoons minced carrot

    ]]>     3 tablespoons minced onion

    ]]>     1½ tablespoons minced celery

    ]]>     2 tablespoons dry vermouth

    ]]>     ¼ cup imported ruby Port

    ]]>     ½ cup Demi-Glace (page 406), or 2 cups unsalted chicken stock (storebought or homemade—page 405) reduced to ½ cup

    ]]>     1 teaspoon tomato paste

    ]]>     Salt and freshly ground pepper

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