Duck Civet Recipes

Steps:

• Remove legs from ducks and cut each leg in half. Using poultry shears, remove backbone and neck. Chop backbones and necks into 2 to 3 pieces each; set aside. Split each pair of breasts down the center and then cut each breast in half crosswise. Remove and discard as much fat as possible from all duck pieces.
• Season meat and bones with salt and white pepper; transfer to a deep pot such as a small stockpot or Dutch oven with a lid. Add onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and orange zest. Place peppercorns, thyme, bay leaves, and juniper berries in a piece of cheesecloth and tie with kitchen twine to enclose; add to pot. Add wine and orange juice; cover and transfer to refrigerator. Let marinate overnight, turning duck pieces in marinade once or twice.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack fitted in the center of the oven.
• Remove duck meat and bones from marinade and dry well using paper towels; set aside. Place marinade over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to a low simmer.
• Meanwhile, in a large ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven with a lid, heat butter and oil over medium heat. Add duck meat and bones to skillet in an even layer (working in batches if necessary); brown on all sides (you may need to add more butter and oil if working in batches). Return all duck pieces to skillet (if working in batches) and add flour. Cook, stirring, until flour is browned. Stir in tomato paste and add simmering marinade; bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper.
• Using a sheet of parchment paper, cut out a round that is 2 to 3 inches larger than the diameter of your skillet or Dutch oven. Snip the extra inches of the parchment circle at 2-inch intervals to make a fringe. Place parchment paper circle over ingredients, pressing gently and allowing the fringe to press against the sides of the skillet. Cover with lid and transfer to oven. Cook for 2 hours, skimming and discarding any fat that rises to the surface and gently stirring ingredients every 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place bacon in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until fat is rendered and bacon is lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes; transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
• Remove civet from oven; remove cheesecloth packet and discard. Season civet with salt and pepper. Garnish with cooked bacon and chives or parsley before serving.

Steps:

• Season the duck legs with salt. Coat a large wide pot lightly with olive oil. Lay the duck legs skin side down, in a single layer, in the pan.
• Cook the duck legs low and slow over low heat to render the fat. This process will take a while, don't rush it. It is really important to render as much fat out of the duck legs as possible. Once the pan is full of fat, turn up the heat and brown the duck legs on both sides.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Once the legs have rendered and are nice and brown, remove them from the pan and reserve. Add the onions and season with salt. Stir to coat with the duck fat. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Once the onions are really nice and wilted, remove the lid and cook for another 15 minutes or until the onions start to caramelize. Taste to make sure they are very well seasoned, add salt if needed. Return the duck legs to the pan, snuggle them in with all the onions and add the wine, thyme and bay leaves.
• Cover the pan and place in the preheated oven. Braise the duck in the oven for about 90 minutes. Stir the onion and duck every 30 minutes to be sure that the onions are not burning. When done, the duck should be incredibly flavorful, tender and falling off the bone.
• Remove the tough lower stems from the dandelion greens, wash and spin them dry. Cut them into 1 -inch lengths. Place the greens in a large bowl with red wine vinegar. Season with salt and some of the warm duck fat. Strain some the onions out of the duck fat and toss them in with the greens.
• Place a large mound of the dressed dandelion greens on each serving plate, lay a duck leg on the greens and top with a little more of the onions.
• It's just ducky!!!

Steps:

• Cut the breast meat of the duck into 1/4-inch strips lengthwise. Slice the bacon similarly. Finely chop remaining meat, slice the liver into thin strips and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Place the duck breast and bacon in a bowl along with a generous amount of salt and pepper, the allspice, brandy, bay leaf and thyme leaves. Marinate the mixture for 24 hours in a cool place.
• Season the mushrooms and shallots with salt and pepper to taste. Saute them over medium heat in the butter until browned and soft. Set aside.
• In a bowl combine the ground pork, onion, reserved duck meat, liver and orange zest. Add the mushrooms and shallots, eggs and salt and pepper to taste. Work until thoroughly blended. Strain the brandy marinade and add to the ground meat mixture.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Line a 2-quart earthenware terrine with bacon strips. Arrange half of the ground meat mixture in an even layer in the bottom of the terrine. Cover with alternating strips of the marinated duck and bacon. Cover with the remaining ground meat. Press down more bacon strips on the top. Trim. Put on the lid.
• Place the terrine in a flameproof baking pan. Add enough water to cover the sides of the terrine by 2/3 and bring to a boil on top of the stove. When water boils place the pan in the oven and bake for 90 minutes. Remove and let cool.