Duck meat is good for health, in addition, it has an amazing taste. It goes well with most cereal and vegetable side dishes, but the real classic of the genre is a braised duck with potatoes. Preparation of this dish takes a lot of time and requires a certain skill, but the result is worth it! Let's try to understand all the intricacies of cooking.
Great value
A good chef always uses only the highest quality and wholesome products to prepare his masterpieces. Therefore, duck meat is so popular. After all, it contains many useful substances, so necessary for health. It contains trace elements (phosphorus, sodium, potassium, copper, calcium, iron), vitamins (mainly B-groups), as well as folic acid and riboflavin.
Choosing Products
A stewed duck and potato recipe suggests several ingredients. Spices are also included. In addition to ducks and potatoes, we will need carrots, onions, and garlic. Often, eggplant and bell pepper are added to this dish.
For cooking, both domestic and wild birds are suitable. The main condition is freshness. The carcass should have a normal natural smell, rich characteristic color. Feel the duck should not be sticky.
Product Preparation
Even if you purchased a processed carcass, a thorough inspection and refinement will still be required. This primarily concerns feathers. In a duck, they are very hard and dense, so you should treat them with maximum attention. After all, a single feather can spoil the amazing taste of the dish. Especially if the braised duck with potatoes is served at the festive table. Therefore, we will arm ourselves with tweezers and conduct a thorough inspection, removing everything unnecessary.
No less attention is required by the "internal inspection". All offal must be removed, paying attention to such "pitfalls" as the esophagus and trachea. They sometimes remain in the neck, giving an unpleasant smell when cooking. By the way, the giblets themselves can be cooked with meat, but most often they are put aside for the further preparation of fragrant pastes and dietary soups.
It is enough to rinse the plucked and cleared carcasses in running water.
Approximate product proportions
The carcass of a domestic duck weighs on average 3.5-4 kg. To prepare the dish you will need the following:
- Potatoes - 3 kg.
- Onions - 2-3 pcs.
- Garlic is the head.
- Vegetable oil - 0.5 cups.
- On request: eggplant, leek, bell pepper, carrot, zucchini, zucchini - 1 pc.
A word about dishes
Braised duck with potatoes is a special dish. And it is important to cook it. A conventional pan is far from the best option. A special gooseneck is best suited. This dish is excellent in a cast-iron pot or cauldron.
Cooking braised duck on the stove
One of the most common methods involves frying the ingredients and then stewing them. First, cut the duck into portioned pieces. Heat a large pan, add oil. Spread the meat, start the frying process. While the duck is being fried, we will deal with potatoes. It is best to cut it into large pieces.
When the meat turns brown, you can put it in the goose bowl. Next in line is potatoes. It needs to be lightly fried until half cooked, and then sent to duck meat in the goose bowl. It is better to cut the onion smaller and also fry in a pan. If carrots are used, it is best to chop them with slices or bars. Zucchini and eggplant can not be fried. Before cooking, it is advisable to peel these vegetables. Sliced in circles, they can immediately be sent to the goose body. Next, add a little boiled water to the dish, cover and put on a small fire. Braised duck sliced with potatoes will be ready quite soon. So that the dish does not burn, you need to monitor it and stir occasionally. Garlic is added with whole teeth just before the end of the stew.
Whole duck in the oven
A stewed duck cooked in the oven is simply a royal treat! This dish is worthy of serving at the most important celebration. To cook it, you need a whole duck carcass. It must be thoroughly washed, rubbed with salt and seasonings inside and out.
Most often, before stewing, the carcass is boiled in water. This is done in order to make duck meat more tender.
Next, we put the duck in the bowl - the same goose moth will do. At the bottom we pour a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil and about half a glass of broth. We send it to the oven, not forgetting to periodically take out and water the duck with flowing fat. About 20 minutes before the end of cooking, add the fried potatoes and onions to the duck in a pan.
Readiness is checked by a puncture - if the skewer easily enters the pulp, while the reddish juice does not flow out, then the meat is ready.
Cooking a wild duck
Braised wild duck with potatoes is also very tasty. Its meat has an expressive and rich aroma and taste, which makes it even more attractive to the cook than homemade. The only difference in cooking technology is that a wild duck needs a little more time to fully cook than a regular one.
Serving, table setting
A stewed duck with potatoes can be served at the table in the same bowl in which it was cooked. In this case, it is better to install the dish on an additional table, on a stand for hot.
Most often, already filled plates are served on the table. However, in this case, guests cannot express their preferences regarding the parts of the carcass that they would like to receive. A side dish is laid out on the plate, and meat is placed next to it. It is customary to leave part of the plate free so that the guest can put bread or salad there.
There is another way of serving - the meat is cut with a thin knife into thin plates and set on a wide dish in the middle of the table. And only a side dish gets into the portioned dishes. Then the guests have the opportunity to take the duck at their discretion. In this case, it is worth serving special forks to the common dish, which are convenient for pricking pieces.
Appetizers such as sauerkraut, pickled mushrooms, pickles and tomatoes are great for stewed duck. In summer, you should definitely supplement the menu with salads or slices of seasonal vegetables. The usual canned green peas go well with this dish.
You can diversify the table with all kinds of sauces. A stewed duck with potatoes is in harmony with sauces such as sweet and sour, sour cream, soy, tartar and many others. Fresh greens will perfectly complement the dish, which, as a rule, is served to the table chopped into small pieces.