Tamarind duck with fried cauliflower

by Steve Drake
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servings6
3 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

Duck thigh

  • 6 duck legs, including thigh
  • 25g of pink salt
  • 25g of salt
  • 1/4 cinnamon stick
  • 5 black peppercorns
  • 5 coriander seeds
  • 1 star anise
  • 500ml of water

Duck leg braise

  • 325ml of red wine
  • 325ml of brown chicken stock
  • 3 garlic cloves, bruised
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 sprig of fresh thyme
  • 1/2 large onion, large dice
  • 1/2 carrot, large dice
  • 1/2 celery stick, large dice

Duck sauce

  • 1000g of duck bones
  • 125g of shallots, medium dice
  • 125g of carrots, medium dice
  • 50g of celery, medium dice
  • 1/2 head of garlic, bruised
  • 1 sprig of fresh thyme
  • 100ml of white wine
  • 1000ml of brown chicken stock
  • 5 black peppercorns
  • 5 coriander seeds

Tamarind glaze

  • 230g of tamarind paste
  • 105g of brown sugar
  • 105ml of red wine vinegar
  • 105ml of white chicken stock

Garnish

  • 500g of spinach, picked and washed
  • 2 cauliflowers
  • rapeseed oil
  • butter
  • 1 handful of lemon cress

Method

1
For the brine, bring a pot of water to the boil. Once boiling add the salt and stir to dissolve
  • 500ml of water
  • 25g of salt
2
In dry pan, toast the cinnamon, pepper, coriander and star anise. As soon as the spices begin to release a strong aroma, remove them from pan and add to the brine. Transfer the brine to a suitable container and set aside in the fridge
  • 25g of pink salt
  • 1/4 cinnamon stick
  • 5 black peppercorns
  • 5 coriander seeds
  • 1 star anise
3
To separate the duck thighs from the leg, pull back the skin to expose the line of fat that lines the joint. Slice through the line of fat and into the cartilage, ensuring you leave as much skin intact as possible. Set aside the duck legs
  • 6 duck legs
4
Remove the bones from the thighs by running a small knife down alongside the thigh bone and gently underneath to release the whole bone. Stretch the skin around the thigh to cover all the flesh and tie with a needle and thread ensuring that all the flesh is covered
5
Submerge the thighs in the brine for 12 hours. Remove the thighs from the curing brine and wash thoroughly with cold water. Dab dry, vacuum seal and cook in a water bath at 62˚C for 12 hours. Allow to cool in the water, remove and refrigerate until required
6
Pour enough rapeseed oil to cover the base of a large pan and place on a high heat. Place the duck legs in the pan and brown evenly all over. Place into a large, high-sided baking tray
  • rapeseed oil
7
Combine the wine, stock, garlic, bay, thyme, onion, carrot, and celery in a pot and bring to the boil. Once boiling, remove from the heat and pour the liquid over the duck legs, being sure that the legs are standing on their end and half of each leg is exposed
  • 325ml of red wine
  • 325ml of brown chicken stock
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 large onion
  • 5 carrots
  • 1 sprig of fresh thyme
8
Heat the oven to 180˚C/gas mark 4. Place the legs and bones in the oven for 2 hours
9
After 1 hour of cooking, remove the duck bones and set aside. Leave the duck legs in to continue braising
  • 1000g of duck bones
10
For the duck sauce, pour enough rapeseed oil to cover the base of a large saucepan and place on a high heat. As soon as the pan begins to smoke, add the shallots, carrot, celery, garlic and thyme and cook until the ingredients are a dark golden brown colour
  • rapeseed oil
  • 125g of shallots
  • 125g of carrots
  • 50g of celery
  • 1/2 head of garlic
  • 1 sprig of fresh thyme
11
Turn down to a medium heat, add the wine and reduce until almost dry. Once dry, add the browned bones, brown chicken stock, peppercorns and coriander seeds and reduce to 250ml. Pour through a fine strainer and season to taste with salt
  • 100ml of white wine
  • 1 sprig of fresh thyme
  • 5 black peppercorns
  • 5 coriander seeds
  • 1000ml of brown chicken stock
12
For the tamarind glaze, whisk together the paste, brown sugar, vinegar and white chicken stock. Place into a small saucepan, bring to a simmer and reduce to 200ml. Set aside until required
  • 230g of tamarind paste
  • 105g of brown sugar
  • 105ml of red wine vinegar
  • 105ml of white chicken stock
13
For the cauliflower, remove the stalks and cut into medium sized florets. Reserve 3 florets of cauliflower for the raw garnish. Drop into salted boiling water for 1 minute, strain and refresh in ice cold water
  • 2 cauliflowers
14
Place a pan on a medium-high heat and add enough rapeseed oil to cover the base of the pan. As soon as the pan beings to smoke, add the drained florets and cook until a dark golden colour. Remove from the pan, season with salt and set aside until required
15
Now, remove the thighs from the sous vide bags and the legs from the braising liquid. Toss gently in the tamarind glaze and place into the oven at 180˚C/gas mark 4 for the last 25 minutes of brasing time. After 15 minutes add the cauliflower into the oven
16
Meanwhile, place a large knob of butter in a medium sized pan on a medium heat. As soon as the butter begins to foam add the spinach and a pinch of salt. Cook until all the spinach has wilted and leave in the pan
  • butter
  • 500g of spinach
17
Heat the duck sauce to a simmer, remove the duck and cauliflower from the oven and cut away the string from the thigh
18
To plate, place a bed of spinach into the middle of each plate, slice the thigh in half and place the leg on the spinach, supported by the thigh. Arrange the cauliflower around the duck and thinly shave the raw cauliflower to add to the duck. Spoon over the sauce, add a couple of sprigs of lemon cress and serve immediately
  • 1 handful of lemon cress