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Duck Confit Breakfast Sandwich

Duck Confit Breakfast Sandwich
Yields
4 servings

If you’re craving gourmet comfort food, this breakfast sandwich is it – spice-rubbed duck legs made into a rich confit, homemade ginger marmalade, eggs, spinach and green onions between English muffins.

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ingredients

Duck Legs

1
Tbsp whole peppercorns
1
Tbsp juniper berries
4
bay leaves
4
duck legs, thighs attached, washed and dried
4
sprigs thyme
4
sprigs rosemary
Kosher salt
Duck fat or grape seed oil, for cooking

Ginger Marmalade

3
oranges, halved
½
cup sugar
1
small knob ginger
3
whole peppercorns
Juice of ½ lemon

Duck Confit

Duck fat or grape seed oil, for cooking

Assembly

1
Tbsp vinegar
8
English muffins
8
eggs (free-range are preferable)
Spinach
Green onions, sliced
Salt and cracked black pepper
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directions

Notes

Special Equipment:  Spice grinder or mortar and pestle, cooling rack, plastic wrap, ovenproof pan, metal foil, mesh strainer, slotted spoonDuck needs to be marinated and pressed 12 hours before serving. Duck takes about 3 hours to cook.Leftover Ginger Marmalade will keep for few weeks in an airtight container in the fridge. Jam will keep for a few months if stored and sealed in sanitized jars.

Step 1

Using a mortar, pestle or spice grinder, grind together peppercorns, juniper berries, and bay leaves to make a spice rub for the duck.

Step 2

Rub duck legs with salt (salt will be washed off).

Step 3

Coat duck legs liberally with the spice mixture and press a sprig each of rosemary and thyme into the skinless side of each duck leg.

Step 4

Place a cooling rack into a baking sheet and transfer duck legs onto the cooling rack, flesh-side down.

Step 5

Cover duck legs in plastic wrap and place a plate on top to press the legs.

Step 6

Balance something heavy on top of the legs — a large can or a jug of juice will do.

Step 7

Transfer baking sheet to the fridge and refrigerate the duck overnight.

Step 8

To juice the oranges, press orange halves into a mesh strainer, flesh-side down, until no more juice can be squeezed from the flesh.

Step 9

Remove the orange rinds from the strainer and discard the seeds.

Step 10

Scrape and discard the white pith out of the orange rinds and slice rinds into matchstick-sized strips.

Step 11

In a medium saucepan, bring peels, reserved orange juice, sugar, ginger, peppercorns, and ¼ cup of water to a boil.

Step 12

Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer, uncovered, for 35 minutes, until orange peels are tender and sauce reaches a thick syrup consistency. Add more water as needed to prevent the Ginger Marmalade from burning.

Step 13

Remove ginger and peppercorns from the Ginger Marmalade and stir in the juice of ½ a lemon.

Step 14

Remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Step 15

Once cooled, Ginger Marmalade may be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for later use.

Step 16

Preheat oven to 275ºF.

Step 17

Remove duck legs from the fridge and discard the sprigs of thyme and rosemary.

Step 18

Rinse duck legs well and pat dry.

Step 19

Transfer duck legs to an oven-proof baking dish and cover with enough oil or duck fat to submerge the duck.

Step 20

Cover the pan with metal foil and cook for 30 minutes.

Step 21

Reduce oven temperature to 225ºF and continue cooking for 2 ½ hours, or until duck meat flakes easily when squeezed with tongs.

Step 22

If the duck doesn’t flake, replace duck leg in the fat and continue cooking for an additional 30 minutes.

Step 23

Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Step 24

Once legs have cooled, preheat oven to 350ºF.

Step 25

Remove duck legs from the oil or fat and peel skin off the meat.

Step 26

Pull duck meat off the bone and set aside.

Step 27

Place the skin on a baking sheet and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until crispy.

Step 28

Remove duck skin from the oven and season with salt; set aside until assembly.

Step 29

To poach the eggs, bring 17 cups of water to a simmer in a deep flat pan or braising dish.

Step 30

Stir in vinegar.

Step 31

While water reaches temperature, start slicing and toasting the English muffins.

Step 32

Spread reserved Ginger Marmalade onto both halves of each English muffin and set aside until assembly.

Step 33

Once the water is simmering, break eggs into the water and continue simmering for 3 to 3 ½ minutes, or until egg whites are opaque.

Step 34

Using a slotted spoon, remove eggs from the water.

Step 35

To prepare the English muffins for the eggs, place a few leaves of spinach onto the bottom half of the toasted English muffin; top with the reserved pulled duck meat.

Step 36

Place two eggs per sandwich on top of the pulled duck meat.

Step 37

Season the eggs with salt and cracked black pepper.

Step 38

Drizzle more Ginger Marmalade over the eggs and divide crispy duck skin between the sandwiches.

Step 39

To finish, sprinkle sliced green onions over the duck skin and close the sandwiches to serve.

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