Americans eat 90 pounds of chicken per person per year. Consumption continues to increase while that of other meats goes down. There is much dispute about how chickens should be raised, but laws regulating the industry have made it possible for consumers to choose “organic” or “free-range” birds. Organically raised birds are raised without antibiotics, genetically modified feed, or other synthetic products. Free-range birds are allowed access to the outdoors, at least for part of their lives.
I hope the handling and raising of chickens will improve in this country as consumers become more aware of such factors as the age of the chicken (a chicken with a little bit more age will have more flavor), whether or not it was dry-plucked (rare in the United States but this may change; it helps the bird brown evenly), and whether or not it was allowed to roam freely in the outdoors.
When properly cooked, sautéed chicken is met with oohs and ahs. It takes about 30 minutes of cooking, but very little prep. You can buy chicken parts at the supermarket or, if you have a butcher, just have the bird cut into quarters for you. (Here, I use the thighs with the drumsticks and leave the first wing joint attached to the breast.)Because this chicken is cooked in butter, the butter leaves flavorful milk solids clinging to the chicken so that it has a buttery flavor without a lot of fat. Most of the butter and fat rendered from the chicken is discarded at the end.
Makes 4 main-course servings
4 bone-in chicken breasts or leg thighs or a combination
Salt
Pepper
5 tablespoons butter
Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.
Melt the butter over between medium and high heat in a pan (preferably nonstick) just large enough to hold the chicken in a single layer. When the butter stops frothing, add the chicken, skin side down. Sauté until the skin is crispy and well browned, about 15 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook just until it bounces back to the touch, about 10 minutes more. Serve immediately.
Note: To get chicken legs and breasts to cook at the same time, remove the thigh bone from the upper part of the leg but leave the bone in the drumstick. To remove the thigh bone, just slide a knife under the bone and keep sliding around and up to the joint until you can cut through the joint and detach the bone.
Authentic chicken mole is a complicated affair involving at least four kinds of chiles, innumerable spices, and nuts. This version captures much of the excitement of a mole because of the chiles it contains. It also contains cream, a heresy, but one that helps tie the flavors together.
Makes 4 main-course servings
Sautéed bone-in chicken parts (see Sautéed Chicken)
2 large or 4 small dried assorted chiles, such as anchos, guajillos, mulatos, or pasillas, soaked for 30 minutes in hot water
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, sauce rinsed off, stemmed, seeded, finely chopped (optional, for more heat)
1 cup heavy cream
Salt
Pepper
Juice of ½ lemon
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
Prepare the chicken as directed for sautéed chicken and keep the chicken warm, uncovered, in a 200°F oven.
Stem and seed the chiles and finely chop. Combine the chiles with the heavy cream and simmer gently, whisking every minute or so, until the cream thickens slightly, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the lemon and cilantro to the sauce, simmer a few seconds more, and serve the chicken with the sauce on top.
Variation:
Keep in mind that this sauce can be served over virtually anything, including seafood, other types of poultry, and meat.
The irresistible combination of saffron, cinnamon, ginger, and garlic infuses a broth that is best absorbed by couscous. This recipe calls for dried apricots, but it’s worth experimenting with fresh fruit added at the very end.
Makes 4 main-course servings
4 chicken thighs with drumsticks
Salt
Pepper
¼ cup olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch of saffron, soaked in 1 tablespoon hot water for 30 minutes
12 dried apricots, cut into quarters
About 4 cups Chicken Broth
⅔ cup slivered almonds, toasted
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
Couscous, to serve
Season the chicken legs with salt and pepper.
In a pan just large enough to hold the all the chicken legs in a single layer, heat the olive oil over high heat until it ripples. Add the chicken, skin side down, and cook for about 8 minutes on each side, or until well browned. Take the chicken out of the pan and keep warm in a low oven. Discard the oil.
Add the butter, onion, and carrots to the pan and cook, covered, over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften. Add the ginger, cinnamon, saffron with its soaking liquid, and the apricots. Nestle in the chicken, add enough chicken broth to come halfway up the sides of the chicken, and cover the pan. Cook over low heat for about 20 minutes, or until the legs feel firm to the touch.
Sprinkle with almonds and cilantro and serve with the couscous.
This coq au vin isn’t really as mock as all that. In fact, if you use some of the Chicken Glaze or some meat glaze, your “mock” coq au vin will have much the flavor of the original. Authentic coq au vin calls for an old rooster and for finishing the sauce with the rooster’s blood, not exactly a Wednesday night project.
Makes 6 main-course servings
6 chicken leg quarters
Salt
Pepper
3 tablespoons butter or olive oil
2 cups red wine, or more as needed
¼ cup Chicken Glaze, or 2 tablespoons commercial meat glaze (optional)
10 sprigs thyme tied into a bundle
10 ounces cremini mushrooms
1 cup chicken broth
If you like, remove the thigh bone (see note in recipe for Sautéed Chicken). Season the chicken legs with salt and pepper.
In a pot or Dutch oven just large enough to hold the chicken in single layer, heat the butter or olive oil over medium heat. Add the chicken legs and cook until well browned, about 8 minutes on each side. Take the chicken out of the pan and pour out the fat. Return the chicken to the pot and pour in the wine, chicken broth, and chicken glaze. Nestle in the thyme. Cover the pot and simmer gently until the meat feels firm to the touch, for about 20 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the pot and move the pot to one side of the burner so it boils on one side of the pot instead of the middle. This makes it easier to skim off any fat that floats to the surface on the opposite side. Skim off fat with a small ladle or spoon. Boil the braising liquid down to about 1 cup.
Remove the thyme bundle and discard. Add the mushrooms, cover the pot, and simmer for 5 minutes. Uncover the pot and boil down again until there is about 1 cup of liquid left in the pot.
Serve the chicken and spoon over the sauce and the mushrooms.
I encountered these kebabs on a recent trip to India when I took cooking classes at a local restaurant. The savory marinade gives the kebabs their identity. Because this dish requires long marinating, it’s good to get it started in the morning, so it’s ready to cook in the evening.
Makes 8 first-course or 4 main-course servings
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
½ cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced and then crushed to a paste
Big pinch of salt
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 1½ pounds
Combine the tomatoes, yogurt, lime juice, coriander, cumin, ginger, garlic, and salt in a bowl. Cut the chicken into ¾-inch cubes. Slide them onto metal or wooden skewers. If you use wooden skewers, don’t leave any space between the chicken pieces and wrap the ends of the skewers in aluminum foil to prevent burning.
Put the skewers in a baking dish and top with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 12 hours. Turn the skewers around in the marinade every few hours if you’re around or not asleep. This isn’t essential.
Prepare a hot fire in a gas or charcoal grill (see section on Grilling) or preheat the broiler to high heat.
Grill or broil the kebabs for about 3 minutes on each side, or until the chicken feels firm to the touch. Serve immediately on the skewers.
The traditional cut for this dish is veal, pounded thin so it cooks for about 15 seconds on each side. Here I keep the chicken at almost its full thickness so the cooking time is considerably longer, but the chicken cooks without drying out.
Makes 4 main-course servings
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each)
Salt
Pepper
6 tablespoons butter
2 large slices prosciutto, thinly sliced (but not paper thin)
8 fresh sage leaves
Pound the chicken breasts on the thicker end with the side of a cleaver or the heel of your hand to make them of even thickness, ½ to ¾ inch. Season the breasts with salt and pepper.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat in a skillet just large enough to hold the breasts. Cook the breasts for about 5 minutes. Turn over and cook for about 2 minutes more, or until the chicken feels firm and no longer fleshy to the touch. Transfer to a heated plate.
Cut the prosciutto slices in half and place a half on each chicken breast. Place 2 sage leaves on top of each breast. Pour the burnt butter out of the pan and add the remaining butter. Heat the butter over medium heat until it froths and spoon it over the chicken breasts. Serve immediately.
While roasting a chicken takes close to an hour, there’s virtually no work involved. Remember to use very high heat so the chicken browns thoroughly. If the heat is too low, the chicken can overcook before the skin browns. If you’re being fastidious, cover the breasts with a triple-thick sheet of buttered aluminum foil for the first 20 minutes of roasting. This slows down their cooking so they don’t dry out by the time the thighs are done. To tell if a roast chicken is done, tilt the chicken forward so you can see the juices that have accumulated in the cavity. The juices go through three stages: first, they are cloudy and pink (the chicken is underdone), then clear with red streaks (the chicken is done), then perfectly clear (the chicken is overdone). Keep in mind that a properly cooked chicken is still pink near where the thigh joins the rest of the body. If you like your chicken cooked more than that, roast it until the juices run clear.
Old-fashioned recipes usually call for trussing a chicken, something that takes a bit of a knack. Instead, just tie together the ends of the drumsticks with a little piece of string. This will help the chicken hold its shape.
Makes 4 main-course servings
1 chicken, about 4 pounds
Salt
Pepper
Preheat the oven to 500°F.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place breast side up in a roasting pan or oval dish just large enough to hold it. (Don’t use a roasting rack, which can cause the juices to drip down onto the pan and burn.) If you like, place foil over the breasts (see Notes).
Roast for 20 minutes and remove the foil. Roast for 20 minutes more and start checking the juices in the cavity. Roast until the juices in the cavity are clear with red streaks.
Transfer the chicken to a platter, tent with foil to keep warm, and let rest for about 15 minutes. Carve (ideally at the table) and serve.
Notes: To help the breasts of the chicken cook at the same rate as the thighs, cover the breasts loosely with a piece of buttered aluminum foil during the first half of the roasting. Many people ask my suggestions about stuffing, and I always dissuade them because to cook the stuffing, the chicken itself ends up overcooked.
Variations:
It’s always nice to serve a flavorful jus with a roast chicken. (A jus is simply a gravy without any thickener.) If you want to make a jus, be sure to use a roasting pan that can be heated on the stove burner. Tilt the chicken forward over the roasting pan so the juices fall into the pan. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Put the roasting pan on the stove and boil down the juices until they caramelize into a crust on the roasting pan. At this point the fat will be floating over the caramelized juices, so you can just pour it out. (Don’t try to pour it out before the juices have caramelized or you’ll waste juices.) When the fat is gone, add about ½ cup of water or chicken broth to the pan and place the pan over medium heat. Scrape the crusty juices with a wooden spoon to get them to dissolve. Pass the jus in a sauceboat at the table.
It may appear that baked chicken and roast chicken are the same thing. In essence they are, it’s just that baked chicken is cooked in pieces instead of whole. It’s the easiest way to cook chicken.
Makes 4 main-course servings
2 bone-in chicken thighs with drumsticks and 2 bone-in chicken breasts, or other combination
Salt
Pepper
4 tablespoons butter (optional)
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and arrange it, skin side up, in a baking dish or ovenproof skillet just large enough to hold it in a single layer. Dot with butter.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is golden brown and firm to the touch, basting every 10 minutes with the melted butter. Serve immediately.
When making this dish, it helps to find a narrow pot—or better, an oval pot—just large enough to hold a chicken. It’s okay if the chicken protrudes a little over the top. You can save the poaching liquid when you’re done and use it again. Cold Watercress with Sesame and Ginger is a good accompaniment to the chicken.
Makes 4 main-course servings
3 cups soy sauce
3 cups water
¼ cup dry white wine
1 cup sugar
1 star anise (optional)
1 strip orange zest (optional)
1 chicken, about 4 pounds
In a saucepan just large enough to hold the chicken, combine the soy sauce, water, wine, sugar, star anise, and orange zest and bring to a boil over high heat. When the sugar dissolves, turn the heat down to maintain a simmer and add the chicken, breast side down in the liquid. Ideally, the chicken should be just half submerged, but if the liquid doesn’t come halfway up, don’t worry. Cover the pot, adjust the heat to maintain a bare simmer, and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn the chicken over and simmer for 20 minutes more, or until the breasts feel firm to the touch.
Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, cut into quarters, and serve.
I have to admit it. Maybe it’s my Yankee roots, but I’ve never been a big fan of fried chicken. I think it’s because I don’t like thick batter and so often the chicken is overcooked. Here is a simple recipe in which the chicken is sprinkled with fresh thyme before it is floured. Flouring alone keeps the crust light and delicate. If you have some bacon fat—remember how we always saved bacon fat? Still a good idea—add it to the frying oil to give it flavor. Here I recommend frying in pure olive oil. This oil is less expensive than extra virgin olive oil, which would be a waste since its delicate flavor would be destroyed by the heat.
Makes 4 main-course servings
8 cups olive oil
1 cup bacon fat (optional)
2 cups flour
2 bone-in chicken thighs with drumsticks
2 bone-in chicken breasts
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Salt
Pepper
Basic Mayonnaise made with extra mustard, for serving
Pour the oil into a large, deep, heavy-bottomed pot. It should come no more than halfway up the sides of the pot. Add the bacon fat and heat over high heat until it ripples.
While the oil is heating, spread the flour in a baking dish. Sprinkle the chicken with the thyme leaves, salt, and pepper, and then dredge it in flour. Pat off any excess. Gently lower the chicken legs into the hot oil and fry for 3 minutes, then add the chicken breasts and fry for about 7 minutes longer. Take a piece of chicken out with a spider or slotted spoon and touch it quickly; it should be firm to the touch.
Transfer the chicken to a paper towel–lined plate to drain. Serve with homemade mayonnaise.
When grilling chicken, it’s best to buy whole leg quarters (thighs and drumsticks attached) and breasts (with the bone on) rather than trying to cut up a whole chicken yourself. You can also buy chicken halves and grill them as is.
There isn’t much to grilled chicken, except for marinating, which is completely optional. To prevent flare-ups, cook the chicken bone side first, and then cook the skin side once the coals have died down and the fire isn’t as hot. If you’re using a gas grill, grill the bone side over high heat and the skin side over medium heat.
One trick for getting the thighs and breasts to cook at the same time is to remove the thigh bone before grilling. To create a neater appearance, you can use an old knife to hack off the nub at the end of each drumstick.
Makes 8 main-course servings
4 bone-in chicken leg quarters
4 bone-in chicken breasts
½ cup white wine or vermouth
1 shallot or 1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced and then crushed to a paste
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
¼ cup soy sauce
If you like, cut the bone out of each of the thighs by scraping along and under it with a sharp paring or boning knife. Cut through the joint and twist it out. If you like, hack the nub off the drumsticks with an old knife.
In a bowl or baking dish, combine the wine, shallot, garlic, thyme, and soy sauce. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for up to 4 hours. If you’re in a rush, you can marinate for less—even 20 minutes helps.
Prepare a medium hot fire in a gas or charcoal grill (see section on Grilling). Pat the chicken dry to get rid of excess marinade and place the chicken bone side down on the grill, and grill for about 15 minutes. Turn and grill on the skin side for about 10 minutes, or until the meat feels firm to the touch. If the fire flares up, move the chicken around to keep it out of the flames. If you’re using a gas grill, and it flares up, turn down the heat. When the chicken is universally firm to the touch, go ahead and serve.
This recipe is a little time-consuming for a weeknight, but it’s worth doing on the weekend. The hard part—making the fruit salad—can be done earlier the same day. Only the addition of the still-hot grilled chicken is a last-minute thing.
Makes 4 main-course servings
1 ripe mango
1 Hawaiian papaya or ½ Mexican papaya (Solo variety)
1 cucumber
1 avocado
2 chipotle chiles, either dried (and soaked for 30 minutes in hot water) or canned in adobo sauce (and rinsed), stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup fresh lime juice
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 boneless chicken breasts
Peel the mangoes by cutting them in half along the thinner side, sliding the knife along each side of the flat pit, detaching it from the flesh. When you get one half off, slide the knife under the pit and pull it away. Slide a knife along the inside of the mango, pointing toward the peel, and make a crisscross pattern. Push the skin inward so it turns inside out. Cut away the flesh. Repeat with the other side. Chop coarsely and put in a large bowl.
Peel the papaya, cut it in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds. Cut each half into long strips about ½ inch thick. Cut the strips into ½-inch cubes. Put in a bowl with the mango.
Peel the cucumber, cut it in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Slice the cucumber into crescent shapes about ¼ inch thick. Add to the bowl with the fruit.
Cut around and through the length of the avocados all the way down to the pit. Rotate the two sides in opposing directions and pull them apart. Whack at the pit with a knife, give it a twist, and lift it out; discard the pit. Cut the avocado lengthwise into quarters and pull away the peel from each elongated wedge. Cut the flesh into strips, then cubes, as with the papaya. Add it to the fruits and vegetables in the bowl along with the chiles. Toss gently.
Prepare a hot fire in a gas or charcoal grill (see section on Grilling). Grill the chicken breasts for about 3 to 5 minutes on each side, or until the meat feels firm to the touch. If the fire flares up, move the chicken around to keep it out of the flames. If you’re using a gas grill, and it flares up, turn down the heat.
Pull the chicken breasts apart in strips and quickly toss them in the salad. Serve immediately.
Chicken Salad with Fresh Tarragon
Chicken salad with homemade mayonnaise is a revelation. Fresh tarragon is a natural with chicken.
Makes 4 main-course servings
4 cups cooked chicken (from 2 large boneless breasts), cut into small chunks (about ½ inch on each side) (see note)
1 cup Basic Mayonnaise
½ cup crème fraîche
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh tarragon
1 cup walnut halves, toasted
4 celery stalks, cut into ½-inch dice
2 Granny Smith apples, cut into ½-inch dice (optional)
Salt
Pepper
Lettuce leaves, to serve
In a bowl, stir together the chicken, mayonnaise, crème fraîche, tarragon, walnuts, celery, and apples. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until chilled.
Serve chilled on lettuce leaves set on individual plates (don’t serve on a platter as the chicken can easily fall off the leaves as someone transfers it to a plate).
Note: You can cook the chicken either on the grill, under the broiler, or poached in just enough water and white wine (1 cup wine to 3 cups water) to cover.
Variations:
Try other herbs, instead of tarragon, such as chives, chervil, or parsley. You can also add some heat with some chopped chiles, and then use cilantro as the only herb. Curry powder, about 1 tablespoon cooked for a minute in 1 tablespoon of oil, is also a lovely addition.
Stir-Fried Chicken with Cashews and Snow Peas
Stir-frying is essentially sautéing except that stir-frying involves continuous stirring. A wok is, of course, the ideal instrument for stir-frying, but a large cast-iron skillet will do the trick as well. To grate fresh ginger, peel a section of the ginger by scraping it with a spoon and then use the finest side of a box grater to grate. And last, keep in mind that the time-consuming part of this recipe is the prep work—what’s done ahead; the actual cooking of the dish takes only minutes.
Makes 4 main-course servings
¼ cup peanut oil
3 cloves garlic, minced and then crushed to a paste
3 tablespoons grated ginger, or 1 tablespoon powdered ginger
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 6 to 8 ounces each, diagonally sliced into 3 by ½-inch strips
1 pound snow peas, ends broken off
1 cup roasted salted cashews
Salt
In a wok or large skillet, heat the peanut oil over high heat until it ripples. Carefully add the garlic and ginger and, about 10 seconds later, add the chicken. Spread the chicken out in the wok or pan—it will probably have clumped together—and give it a moment to brown on one side. When it begins to brown, stir it around in the wok for a second to break it apart and brown on another side. Add the snow peas and stir everything together. Stir every 30 seconds or so until you smell the aroma of the peas and the chicken, about 3 minutes. Add the cashews, season with salt, and stir. Serve immediately.
Chicken or Turkey Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce
Make this dish with leftover chicken or turkey. Once you have the green sauce made—you can make it up to 3 days in advance and keep it in the refrigerator—assembling the enchiladas only takes a few minutes.
Makes 4 main-course servings
3 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey
Salt
Pepper
8 corn tortillas
¼ cup corn oil
Sour cream, for serving
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
In a skillet over medium heat, warm the corn oil. One at a time, warm the tortillas in the oil for about 30 seconds on each side, or just until they smell fragrant. (If you sauté too long, the tortillas lose their flexibility.) Reserve on a baking sheet or plate.
Divide the chicken evenly among the tortillas and roll up the tortillas. Arrange the enchiladas in a baking dish just large enough to hold them in a single layer. Pour over the sauce.
Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly. Serve immediately, passing the sour cream at the table.
This is a great way to deal with leftover turkey or chicken. Sherry and curry are really a lovely combination. Be sure to use dry sherry and make sure that it’s authentic (that is, it comes from Spain). Don’t use cream sherry but rather a fino or dry amontillado. An oloroso will do in a pinch.
Makes 4 main-course servings
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons butter
1½ cups milk
½ cup dry Spanish sherry
1 tablespoon curry powder
3 cups cooked chicken or turkey, cut into cubes or pulled into strips
Salt
Pepper
Hot cooked rice, to serve
In a saucepan, heat together the flour and 2 tablespoons of the butter until the butter melts and the mixture smells toasty, about 2 minutes. Stir constantly with a whisk so the mixture stays smooth. Whisk in the milk and sherry and bring the sauce to a simmer.
In a small pan, heat the curry powder and the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat until it smells fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir it into the sherry sauce. Add the turkey or chicken to the sherry sauce and heat it gently just long enough to heat it through, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with the rice.
Variation:
Try using the chicken mixture to make crepes. Reserve about half of the sauce for the top, and add the turkey to the remaining sauce. Make 8 crepes. Roll the chicken mixture in the crepes. Arrange the crepes in a baking dish just large enough to hold them in a single layer. Spoon over the reserved sauce, sprinkle with 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and bake in a 350°F oven for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve hot.
Turkey breast cooks a lot faster than a whole turkey and is a boon for those who like white meat. The important thing is not to overcook it—roast just long enough for it to be firm to the touch, or until a thermometer stuck inside measures 135°F. If the meat is slightly pink, that’s okay—as long as it’s not shiny and translucent. Keep in mind that this is a far lower temperature than recommended by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, which recommends 165 degrees. You’re welcome to heed these recommendations, but do keep in mind that your turkey will be dry.
Makes 6 main-course servings
1 turkey breast half, about 4 pounds, skin off, bone in
Salt
Pepper
Let the turkey breast come to room temperature so it cooks more evenly.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Set the turkey breast, skin side up, in a roasting panand season with salt and pepper.
Roast for about 1 hour, or until the turkey is firm to the touch and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 135°F. Take the breast out of the oven and cover it loosely with aluminum foil. Let it rest for 20 minutes before carving.
To carve, just slice parallel with the surface of the meat, cutting across the top. The thickness of the slices is up to you.
Slow-Roasted Duck Legs with Sauerkraut
This isn’t a quick dish, but it’s easy and comes in handy when you have raw duck legs leftover from when you use the breasts for sautéing. You can also buy raw duck legs (not the drumsticks, but the thighs and drumsticks attached). This dish is also very tasty, especially when the duck legs are further cooked with sauerkraut.
Makes 4 main-course servings
4 Moulard duck legs or 8 Pekin or Muscovy duck legs
Salt
Pepper
Two 1-pound bags sauerkraut
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Season the duck legs on both sides with salt and pepper. Place them skin side up in a pan (with a lid, but at this stage uncovered) just large enough to hold them in a single layer.
Roast for about 2 hours, or until the skin turns brown and crispy and a knife slides easily in and out one of the legs. If the skin is browning too fast, turn down the oven to 325 degrees.
Spoon or drain off all but 1 tablespoon of fat in the pan and discard it or save it for sautéing. Drain the sauerkraut in a colander—don’t rinse it—and spread it over and around the legs. Cover the pan and bake for 30 minutes more, or until the sauerkraut is heated through.
Serve the legs atop a mound of sauerkraut.
It used to be that in order to get at a duck breast, you had to cut up a whole duck. Nowadays, duck breasts are sold alone in high-quality butcher shops and supermarkets. Few things are as simple as sautéing a duck breast.
There are two kinds of duck breasts available in most places—so-called Pekin duck breasts (not to be confused with Peking duck), available on both coasts and Moulard duck breasts on the East Coast or Muscovy ducks on the West Coast. Pekin duck breasts are smaller and make one generous serving. Moulard duck breasts are much larger and will serve at least two. I like the flavor of Moulard breasts more than Pekin duck breasts but still, in spite of that, I still adore a Pekin duck breast. Muscovy duck breasts, slightly larger than those of Pekin ducks, are equally as succulent.
Makes 4 main-course servings
2 Moulard duck breasts, or 4 Pekin or Muscovy duck breasts
Salt
Pepper
Use a sharp knife to score the skin of the duck breasts. Hold the knife at an angle so you’re cutting in diagonally. This is to expose more skin, which will allow it to render its fat. Make about twenty incisions, then make twenty more incisions at a 90-degree angle with the first incisions. Cut as deeply as you can into the skin without cutting all the way down to the meat.
Season the duck breasts with salt and pepper and put them skin side down in a sauté pan just large enough to hold them, or use two pans. Put the pan(s) over between medium and high heat and cook until the fat is rendered and the skin is nicely browned, about 12 minutes for Pekin and Muscovy duck breasts or 20 minutes for Moulard duck breasts. You want to render as much fat from the skin as you can without it burning, and without the meat overcooking. Check the skin periodically to see if it’s browning too quickly; if it is, lower the heat. When the fat is rendered and the skin is nicely browned, turn the breasts over. Cook the flesh side of the breasts for about 2 minutes for Pekin and Muscovy breasts and 4 minutes for Moulard breasts.
Transfer the duck breasts to a cutting board. Slice the breasts on an angle and arrange the slices on heated plates. Serve immediately.
Variations:
To serve the duck with a sauce, it helps to have some Chicken Glaze on hand. First, pour the fat out of the pan used to sauté the duck breasts. If the bottom of the pan is burnt, make the sauce in a clean saucepan; otherwise use the sauté pan. Combine ½ cup wine (Madeira is especially good, but any red or white will do) and 2 tablespoons of chicken glaze in the pan. Boil the mixture down until it has a lightly syrupy consistency. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon over the duck and serve.
This is not a quick dish, but it’s such a useful thing to know how to do that I’ve included it. This is a project best started the night before—so the garlic- and thyme-rubbed thighs have time to absorb flavor. But if you’re in a rush, skip this step.
The idea is to cook duck thighs completely submerged in rendered fat. One would think the result would be unbearably rich, but it is not since most of the fat attached to the thighs ends up rendered and what you end up eating is almost pure meat.
Keep in mind when selecting ducks that there are three kinds: Pekin ducks (not to be confused with Peking duck), Muscovy ducks, and Moulard ducks. Pekin ducks are the ducks most of us are used to seeing and the kind encountered in most Chinese restaurants. They also are most likely to show up at the supermarket. If you have a good butcher or supermarket, you may be able to find Moulard or Muscovy duck breasts and thighs (for some reason they never sell the ducks whole). A Pekin or Muscovy duck breast makes a generous main course and a Moulard duck breast will serve two.
If you’re using whole ducks, you’ll have plenty of extra fat that you can render and use to cook the thighs. If you just buy thighs, you’ll have to augment the fat with fat you’ve saved. To render fat from whole ducks, trim off any loose fat and process it in a food processor. Cook it gently in a heavy-bottomed pot until the fat is clear, about 2 hours. Strain and reserve.
Makes 4 main-course servings
4 Pekin Muscovy or Moulard duck thighs with drumsticks attached
4 cloves garlic, minced and then crushed to a paste (optional)
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped (optional)
Salt
Pepper
2 cups rendered duck, goose, or pork fat (see above)
If you have the time, rub the duck thighs with the garlic and thyme. Whether you have time or not, season them with salt and pepper. Again, if you have time, let them sit overnight in a bowl in the refrigerator.
Put the rendered fat in a heavy-bottom pot just large enough to hold the thighs in a single layer. Arrange the thighs in the pot, skin side down. Heat over between low and medium heat and cook until the fat on the thighs renders and covers them completely, about 2 hours. Continue to cook until the fat turns from cloudy to clear and a small knife slides easily in and out of the duck thighs, about 1 hour more.
You can serve the duck thighs as they are or put them in jars and cover them with their own fat. As long as no meat protrudes out of the fat, they’ll keep this way in the refrigerator for weeks.
It’s the flavor of duck fat that makes this salad such a winner. In a pinch, of course, you can replace it with olive oil, but if you’re using confit then you should have plenty of duck fat. If you don’t have wild mushrooms, use cremini mushrooms cut vertically into quarters.
Makes 4 first-course or light main-course servings
1½ pounds assorted wild mushrooms, such as morels, porcini, black trumpets, or oyster
¼ cup duck fat or olive oil
1 cup shredded duck confit
¼ cup sherry vinegar, or more as needed
Salt
Pepper
4 large handfuls mixed greens, such as arugula, basil, and frisée
Pick through the mushrooms and look for dirt or sand. If they’re dirty, wash them by putting them in a bowl of cold water and then lifting them out. Spin them dry in a salad spinner, then pat them dry on paper towels.
Heat the duck fat in a large sauté pan with sloping sides over high heat and toss in the mushrooms. Keep the heat high and toss or stir the mushrooms until they brown, shrink, and release their aroma. Continue sautéing until there’s no liquid left in the pan, from 2 to 10 minutes depending on the variety of mushroom. Add the confit and the vinegar and season with salt and pepper.
Wash the greens and spin dry (see box on Washing Greens). Put the greens in a salad bowl and pour over the contents of the sauté pan. Toss and serve.
