ZINFANDEL-BRAISED DUCK LEGS

SOURCE: ALICE WATERS. CHEZ PANISSE CAFÉ COOKBOOK.

To champion “America’s Quintessential Grape”, which accounts for more than a tenth of the vineyards in California, Chez Panisse holds an annual Zinfandel Festival every fall by offering a versatile weeklong arsenal of hearty fares that revolve around the eponymous red wine. Past examples include a dessert of Zinfandel-poached pears for buttermilk panna cotta and main dishes of spit-roasted pork in Zinfandel sauce, and a stew of duck legs braised in Zinfandel, the latter of the two being an American and gamey twist on Coq au Vin. The mastermind behind the festival remains highly debatable even to this day. In his memoir, California Dish: What I Saw (and Cooked) at the American Culinary Revolution, Jeremiah Tower recollects receiving encouragement from Richard Olney to consider the wine as an inherent American possibility on French countryside cooking while the chef was on a sabbatical leave at the residence of the bon vivant in Solliès-Toucas. On the other hand, Alice Waters has staked a claim for the ownership of the idea after striking a deal with the vintner Joseph Phelps, who agreed to bottle Zinfandel Nouveau for the restaurant.

Ingredients

6 whole duck legs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon/15 mL rendered duck fat OR olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped to

2 medium carrots, finely chopped

1 bay leaf

2 thyme branches

2 garlic cloves, sliced

Zest of 1/2 orange

1 cup/240 mL zinfandel

1 1/2 cups/360 mL hot chicken stock, preferably homemade

OPTIONAL: 1/2 teaspoon/2 grams potato starch or arrowroot powder

Specific Equipment

Large nonreactive bowl

Plastic wrap

Sauté pan or cast-iron skillet

Deep-bottomed earthenware baking dish

Aluminum foil

Saucepan

Serves 6

Instructions

1. Trim the duck legs of excess fat and season with salt and pepper. Place the legs in a large nonreactive bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the duck legs for several hours or overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 450°F/230°C.

3. Heat the duck fat or olive oil in a sauté pan or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Sauté in the onions and carrots for 5 minutes or until they are lightly browned.

4. Spread the onions and carrots over the earthenware baking dish. Stir in the bay leaf, thyme, garlic, orange zest, and zinfandel. Arrange the duck legs, skin side down, on top in one layer. Pour in the hot chicken stock, almost covering the duck.

5. Seal the earthenware tightly with an aluminum foil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the stock begins to simmer gently.

6. Lower the temperature to 350°F/180°C and continue braising for 45 minutes.

7. Remove the earthenware dish from the oven and discard the foil. Turn the duck legs over, skin side up. and return the earthenware dish to the oven. Cook for another 15 minutes or until the skin is crispy and golden.

8. Remove the earthenware dish from the oven and lower the temperature to 250°F/120°C. Set the duck pieces aside over an ovenproof serving platter and keep warm.

9. Pour the braising liquid and vegetables into a saucepan and skim off the fat. Reduce the sauce to half its volume over medium heat. Stir in the potato starch or arrowroot powder, if desired.

10. Pour the sauce over the duck legs and reheat inside the oven for 5 to 6 minutes before serving.