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Kevin’s Duck Ravioli, aka Fun With a Duck
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| Kevin Kraditor, Aug 2003
Begin preparations two or three days in advance.
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• | 1 duck (I use the Long Island rather than Muscovy because they have more fat - yes, more fat)
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• | 3-4 cups rendered duck fat (the actual amount you will need depends on the size of the duck legs and the size and shape of the pot in which you fry them
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• | 1/2 lb fresh shitake mushrooms (cleaned, stems removed, finely diced)
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• | 1.5 oz dried chanterelles
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• | 2-3 oz pecorino cheese (grated)
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• | 1.5 cups flour plus 2 Tbsp
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• | 1 shallot (finely diced)
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• | 1-2 tsp black peppercorns
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• | Thyme (about 15-20 sprigs)
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• | Salt and freshly ground black pepper
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| Preparations (begin 2 or 3 days in advance):
1. Make about 8 cups of vegetable/mushroom stock using the stems of the shitake mushrooms and some vegetable cuttings. (I save vegetable cuttings in a plastic bag in my freezer for this purpose. I also throw in rinds from Parmesan cheese, some black peppercorns, and several sprigs of thyme.)
2. Remove the legs (thighs attached) from the duck. Place the legs in a casserole dish with a half-dozen or so black peppercorns, 6-8 sprigs thyme, and about 10 cloves of garlic. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
3. With a sharp knife, score the skin all over the duck being careful not to cut into the meat. (I reserve the liver for another purpose, but throw the other organs and neck in the roasting pan with the duck.) Place the duck on a rack in a roasting pan and roast in a 300-degree oven for about an hour, or until the skin is turning gold and the fat is rendered. Let cool and then separate the breast meat from the carcass and separate liquid duck fat and reserve. Reserve breast meat (wrap it with garlic and thyme for extra flavor). I like to eat the organs at this point, but you can reserve them for another use. Remove as much of the fat from the carcass as possible, then break the carcass into three or four pieces and roast the bones (neck included) some more until they begin to caramelize (30 minutes at 425 degrees). Add the bones to the vegetable stock and simmer for several hours, adding more water if necessary. Strain all solids from stock using cheesecloth and let cool, then refrigerate.
4. Next day, take the duck legs out of fridge and allow them to come to room temperature. Heat the 3-4 cups duck fat along with the reserved duck fat in a heavy, deep pot. When fat is hot, carefully place legs into pot and simmer for about two hours, or until skin turns golden. Remove legs from pot and place in somewhat tall container just large enough to accommodate the legs (I find a glass loaf-pan perfect for this purpose). Strain the fat and cover legs with the fat so that the legs do not come into contact with the air. Cover and refrigerate. The duck legs can sit in fat like this for up to a month, by the way.
5. On the day you want to serve the ravioli, roll out some pasta dough (if you have a hand-crank pasta machine, use the finest setting on the roller). Cut the dough into pieces roughly 2“ x 4” and cover with a damp cloth.
6. The Stuffing: Heat one tablespoon of butter in a skillet. Add the shallot; cook for 1 minute over medium heat. Add the diced shitakes and cook until they give up their liquid and liquid is evaporated. While the shitakes are cooking, take the duck breasts out of the fridge, remove the fat (use your hands, not a knife, to separate meat from fat), discard fat and chop meat into ¼-inch cubes. Add the duck breast to the mushrooms and continue cooking for 5 minutes more. Then add ¼-cup of the Madeira and continue cooking until all liquid is evaporated. Let cool and add grated pecorino and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon about one tablespoon of the stuffing onto a 2“ x 4” piece of pasta dough in the center of the right half of the dough. Wet the pasta dough around the stuffing and fold the left half of the dough over the right half, leaving about a ½-inch of dough around the stuffing to seal the ravioli. Press the pasta tight along the ½-inch border to seal and try not to allow air bubbles inside the ravioli, then crimp and cut the ravioli into a square about one and a half inches on each side and place on wax paper. Repeat with remaining pasta and stuffing (I ended up with 32 ravioli squares). Cover ravioli squares with damp towel and reserve.
7. Skim the fat and any scum from the top of the broth. Reheat the broth over a medium heat and reduce to about 2 cups. While broth is reducing, make a roux by melting 2 tablespoons butter and whisking in 2 tablespoons flour; cook over low heat until golden brown and whisk the roux into the reducing stock. Take the duck legs out of the fridge and remove from fat as best you can. Reserve the fat for next time! Place the legs on a pan and roast for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Remove legs from oven and let cool. Place the chanterelles in a bowl with hot water and soak for 1/2 hour or until soft. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chanterelles to a cutting board and chop very coarsely. Take the leg-meat off the bones and discard fat and bones. Coarsely chop duck-leg meat and add to reduced broth along with chanterelles. Pour some of mushroom water into the broth being careful not to let the dirt at the bottom of the bowl get into the broth. Add remaining Madeira to broth and continue reducing until it becomes thick.
8. Boil salted water in very large pot, add ravioli and cook for about 2 minutes (you may want to do this in two or three batches). Drain and put 4 ravioli on each plate.
Top with reduction and drink a Brunello di Montalcino if possible.
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