# On the menu: Duck Ragu



## spinblue (Sep 1, 2013)

I asked the little lady to pick up a duck a couple days ago. Got it thawed and stripped the leg quarters and breasts from it; cutting off all the skin/fat that I could.

Yesterday I rendered the fat by boiling all the skin in water. My experience, this keeps the fat very white. I've cooked the skin/fat to render it, but really have to keep an eye on it to prevent it from getting any burnt flavor. This really comes into play when doing a very large batch of skin from several ducks and it keeps sticking to the bottom and the fond just cooks too long. With the water method, just have to listen to the boil.

In progress - I've diced up my carrots, celery, onions, few cloves of garlic, fresh thyme, carcass(I like to cut the bones to expose and render the insides easier/quicker) and salt and pepper and have it roasting for an hour. This will be used to make a small run of duck stock. 

Plan on making homemade pasta with it. Thinking I should tear the pasta sheets for a rustic feel instead of cutting them into noodles.

I'll grab a few pictures as I move further along. I've had one duck ragu in a restaurant that blew my socks off. At this point, I'm hoping I can capture those intense flavors.

What else is on the menu this weekend?


----------



## spinblue (Sep 1, 2013)

Fried up the liver with eggs over easy. Yum.

Took this out to stir. Used the tried and true Tad to cut things up but the bones, used butcher shears.


----------



## Slypig5000 (Sep 1, 2013)

I love making my own pasta, so much so that I wore out my last pasta roller, and have been rolling out by hand the last couple of years. If not noodles what are you going to do with the pasta? I see the tear it up part, but I've never done this before. This sounds great, duck is one thing that I have never cooked with before. Post some pics.


----------



## spinblue (Sep 1, 2013)

Rich, dark, duck stock.


----------



## spinblue (Sep 1, 2013)

On to the BBQ for this evening and the ragu manana.


----------



## spinblue (Sep 1, 2013)

Slypig5000 said:


> I love making my own pasta



Hello from a fellow Texan, born and raised in San Antonio until Pop moved us to Chicago. He was working for Montgomery Wards and their HQ was here. Took me a while to get used to it (years), but I've really come to love it up here. Still love the hill country and always will, not to mention Kreuz in Lockhart.


----------



## spinblue (Sep 2, 2013)

Mirepoix with Devin ITK





In the dutch





Simmering


----------



## Baby Huey (Sep 2, 2013)

Looking good.


----------



## spinblue (Sep 4, 2013)

A labor of love, having shredded the duck.





Bread spread with duck fat.





Rested pasta ready to roll.





Let's add a few morels to it, from dehydrated. 





Initial plating.





Final plate, with duck cracklings and cheese.





This turned out really well and we loved it.


----------



## swarth (Sep 4, 2013)

Duck fat is the business.


----------



## Korin_Mari (Sep 4, 2013)

Oh my goodness... Looks amazing. :hungry3:


----------



## Baby Huey (Sep 4, 2013)

Awesome job. I am jealous.


----------

