Duck glace with figs, is a fantastic condiment to any duck meat dish. The sweet figs contrast with the savory concentrated duck broth. If you serve traditional potato mash at the side, it will be terrific. You can easily make this ahead of time and freeze portions.
If you do not have figs available, you can use dried prunes or any other sweet, dried fruit. But figs provide that subtle sweet aroma that goes so well with the duck flavors.
the art of making duck glace with figs
The key to making any great glace from any meat is…..bones. Brown the duck bones at medium heat in some oil or butter and add some coarsely sliced onion pieces. Do not put a lid on. Bron the contents but prevent the onions from becoming charred. When the bones and onions have a brown color, add very little salt, some pepper, and add water and a bay leave to make a broth from the bones. Add some dried figs. Thereafter separate the broth by pouring the contents through a sieve. Then basically we add some sherry vinegar and slowly evaporate the broth. The concentrated broth has a viscous character and tastes intense and umami.
If you made separately duck broth before and have that available, you can simply use that broth to concentrate in the presence of figs.
Special equipment
A skillet with fitting lid
Duck glace with figs
Ingredients
Ingredients
- duck bones from two ducks
- 1/2 onion
- 6 dried figs
- 1 bay leave
- 1 tbsp olive oil or duck fat
- 1 pinch of salt
- 3 twists of the peppermill
- 1 glass red wine
- fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
Instructions
Creating the glace
- Heat the fat or olive oil on medium in a large skillet or wide pan, preferably with a heavy bottom
- Place the bones in the pan and at medium fire, brown them slowly
- Cut the onion coarsely and add the onion pieces
- Mix now and then onion and bones in the pan
- When brown, add water to cover the bones fully
- Add a little salt and pepper, bay leave, thyme and the figs
- Simmer for 1.5-2 hours or thereabouts. The remaining meat should easily come apart from the bones
- Separate all bones, figs and herbs. Reserve the broth and the figs. Separately, meat can be harvested from the bones and used for stew or ragout, which is not part of this recipe.
- Then add the broth to a wide skillet, add some sherry vinegar and start to concentrate the mixture on medium fire. The figs can be present and removed just before finish
- Stir now and then and concentrate further, until the sauce becomes more viscous, and a spoon gets wetted. Taste and if so needed, add some salt or pepper.
- Serve with the meat on a plate or provide separately in a small container
Notes
Remarks
Take your time to make the broth and take your time to concentrate the broth. Taste and adjust.
You can freeze the glace without any problem
Be careful especially with the addition of salt. As you concentrate the broth, all salt will remain
The acetic acid part of the sherry vinegar will mostly boil off. The boiling point of acetic acid is a few degrees lower than that of water. But do not add sherry vinegar just before finishing the glace as then the acid will be still present
