Best meal ever. Heard that before? I’ve said it many times, and truth be told, every time I say it, it feels like it’s the first time I’ve ever said it. But, I know I’m not the only one who’s fallen prey to this conundrum. If you’ve ever watched Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive Ins and Dives television program, you will be all too familiar with what I’m talking about. How often have you seen Guy utter the words “best ever”, or “definitely in my top five ever”, when he’s sampling some awesome barbecue, or chili, or burgers? And you know what? I really think he’s being sincere, if not entirely accurate. Not to say the man is wrong, but I’m sure he’s had more than five experiences of “most amazing burger” in his life. And I’d be willing to bet that he’s going to continue saying that every time he samples an awesome burger when travelling through Flavourtown.
Having no background in cognitive behavioural therapy, I can’t explain why we so often say “best meal ever”, but I can observe that it’s true. So, while I remain skeptical when I read recipes that claim “this is the best cheesecake ever”, or some other snappy title like “world’s best ribs”, I understand what the author is trying to convey. Maybe the point in all of this isn’t to prove whether or not you’re sampling the “best ever”. The title may be acting as a message. It wants to convey that in the moment you sit down to eat this, your experience will be most pleasurable, and possibly, just possibly, it may indeed be one of the best eating experiences you’ve ever had.
So, when I think of this supper, the words “best ever” pop into my mind automatically. Why? Because it’s ridiculously good. I mean transport me to a French bistro good. The original recipe is from none other than Nigella Lawson, who showcased this simple number in her epic book, Kitchen.
The fat rendering process is quick – in less than 10 minutes, you’ll be ready to toss in your potatoes.
I’ve always loved duck, and have enjoyed it many times in restaurants, but for most of my life, I didn’t tackle it at home because the recipes I read always seemed a little too convoluted and required too heavy an investment on the cook’s part to make it seem worth making. So when I came across this recipe for roasting duck legs and potatoes in the oven, it seemed too good to be true. I mean, you brown a few legs, let the fat render, add some raw chopped potatoes to the hot pan, then let the oven make magic for an hour while you drink wine seemed all too fantastic an idea for me to buy into. Maybe it was easy, but could it be good?
Duck legs rendered. Potatoes added. One hour until your best meal ever. Time for some wine and relaxation.
The finished dish. Look at all that crispiness. Duck fat is magical.
Oh.My.Goodness. It was good all right, better than good. In fact, it conjured up the words “best ever”. And no, that’s not the wine talking, in case you’re wondering.
Here’s what’s really going on: instead of using the entire duck, which is a challenge to cook perfectly evenly (because the breasts are ideal when medium rare, and the legs are best when cooked long and slow), you use just the legs. A quick sear, skin side down, gets all of that fat rendered in the pan, ready to take in the potatoes. These potatoes cook best when the duck fat is hot, so you just toss them in once the legs are golden brown from their initial searing. Then, the oven does its work for an hour while you get to relax. That’s it. Did I forget to mention that you only need one pan for this entire meal?
Let’s talk sauce. Do you have a minute for a bit of pan deglazing? If so, you’re in for a bonus treat.
Well, almost it. You could indeed just serve it like that. That’s how Nigella presented it in her book. And it really was fabulous in its plain, unadorned state. But a part of me wanted a little bit of sauce with my meat, so I decided to deglaze that gorgeous pan when it came out of the oven, and in minutes, I had a glorious sauce to accompany my duck using only a few ingredients – some jam and some wine. And then it was heaven on a plate.
Here it is. Perfection on a plate. Transport yourself to France, no airfare required.
This is glorious, simple, and one of the finest examples of letting the ingredients speak for themselves. I love this so much that I now never am without a few duck legs in my freezer. Duck legs are now more important than vanilla ice cream, ice cubes, and frozen peas. I’m not joking.
Serve this with a really good, robust red wine and nothing else. Sit back quietly and beam with pride as you watch others eat silently. This supper isn’t a conversation maker. Your eaters will be too focused on the food. Trust me.
Adapted from Nigella Lawson's Kitchen. A most decadent and delicious meal for two, with little effort required.
You can serve this without making the cherry sauce if you're not in the mood to deglaze the pan with some wine and jam, but I highly recommend this step, as the cherries make the whole dish sing with flavour.
Nigella recommends cooking this for 2 hours, noting that it will be ready in 1 and a half, though I've found it's usually always ready within an hour. You can decide what you prefer.
This isn't going to earn any health ratings, however, if you make it only a few times a year, I'm sure you won't be doing any harm. In this case, the flavour rewards are worth it.
I use a metal two handle All Clad pan for this. You will need a metal pan, as you need to do some work on the stove top before putting everything in the oven. Size wise, you need a pan that will fit two duck legs and two chopped potatoes snugly in the pan. A frying pan with an oven proof handle will work very well. If using one, try not to use a non-stick pan. This will make it more difficult to get the duck seared and the potatoes nice and crispy.
I have doubled this recipe, using a larger metal paella All Clad pan, and that worked exceptionally well too.
Ingredients
- 2 duck legs
- 2 baking potatoes or 1 pound other main crop potatoes, washed and diced (no need to peel them)
- Sea salt flakes and pepper
- 1/3 cup red wine (choose something you would drink alongside)
- 1/3 cup good cherry jam (I love the Bonne Maman brand from France)
- 1 tbsp freshly snipped rosemary (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Heat a small metal roasting pan over medium heat on the stove. (You can use an oven proof frying pan if you wish).
- Sear the duck legs, skin side down over medium heat until the skin turns golden brown and the fat renders into the pan. This will take about 7 to 10 minutes.
- Turn the legs over, turn off the heat, and add the potatoes to the pan.
- Season with salt and pepper, and place the roasting pan in the oven.
- Cook for 1 hour (an extra half hour won't hurt if you need the time), then remove the pan from the oven.
- Transfer the duck and potatoes to a serving platter (or to your two dinner plates).
- Put the pan back on the stove top, and turn the heat to medium high.
- Add the wine, and deglaze the pan by scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, and stirring the wine.
- Let the wine come to a boil, and let it reduce by about half.
- Add the cherry jam, and stir well. Let it come to a bubble, and thicken slightly, about a minute or two.
- Add the fresh rosemary, if using, and stir well.
- Pour the sauce over the duck, and serve right away.
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