Duck ragout provides a distinct taste to appetizers such as croquettes or bitter balls. But also duck ragout goes very well into making a main dish with pasta. To make it, make duck broth and use the meat from the bones to make the filling. It is a fail-safe recipe, as long as you make a concentrated broth and use good, healthily raised ducks.
For making the croquettes, you can refer to the recipe on beef croquettes. Also check the duck broth recipe to make the broth.
For Venetian duck ragout, use shredded orange peel and some ornage juice in making the ragout and add juniper in making the broth.
The art of making duck ragout
To make a good ragout, ensure to cut the onions very fine and let the ragout stand for a day in the refrigerator for the best taste.
Also, add flour to the lightly fried, but slightly cooled onions. And do not add piping hot broth to the flour/onion mixture. Use luke warm broth and then heat the total mixture after addition of the broth under frequent stirring. Freshly cut, curled parsley will be a very good taste enhancer!
Special equipment
- a large skillet
Duck ragout
Ingredients
To make the ragout
- 6 cups (1.5 L) duck broth
- 1.5 lb (670 g) duck meat
- 2 large onions
- 1 knob butter olive or vegetable oil can be used to substitute
- 1 bunch fresh parsley
- 1/2 tsp pepper depends on the taste of the broth
- 1-2 tsp salt depends on the taste of the broth
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp thyme (dried) optional
Instructions
Making the ragout
- Slice the peeled onions in (very) fine pieces. Preferably by hand and a knife. A kitchen machine makes more pulp and releases more juices than is good for the recipe
- Collect the parsley leaves and discard the stems. Chop the parsley leaves fine.
- Make the broth luke warm
- Cut the duck meat and ensure there is no bones left
- In a large skillet, heat a good knob of butter or oil and fry the onions, first on high and later on low. They should attain a deep yellow color, but not get charred or burned. This may take 25 minutes after the fire is on low. Then stop the heat.
- When the onions have cooled down a bit, add the flour and mix well with a spatula. The flour should have mixed with the onions, their juices and the remaining oil.
- Then start to add the broth, while heating the skillet and constant stirring. When the mixture had become very warm already and when it becomes too think, add more broth.
- Now also add the parsley and the,meat and the chopped parsley
- Do this until the mixture had become thick and aromatic and then let the mixture softly boil while stirring constantly
- Taste and bring to taste with salt, pepper, thyme or -in exceptional cases- a broth tablet
- Store the ragout in the fridge. One or two days will do wonders to the taste.
Notes
Food allergy & intolerance information: gluten from the flour
Remarks
- This ragout is also delicious on a salad with a small container, made with puff pastry.
- This ragout is also just delicious on rice, pasta or bread
- To make Venetian duck ragout with pappardella, use shredded orange peel and some orange juice in making the ragout and use juniper as a herb in making the duck broth. If you cannot find pappardella, make it yourself. It is very rewarding to make your own pasta.
