Caneton d’Aylesbury Poëlé à la Menthe

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6-quart (4.7 to 5.7 L) heavy lidded Dutch oven, just large enough for the duckling
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Heatproof measuring jug or fat separator
• •Kitchen twine
• •Oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the duckling

   Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C), or 325°F (165°C) with convection. Take the duckling from the cold about thirty minutes before cooking. Remove any loose fat from the cavity, then dry the bird thoroughly inside and out. Wet skin turns flabby under a lid, while a dry surface can take the butter and eventually bronze. Season the cavity and exterior evenly with the salt and pepper.

2. 2

   Fill with mint butter

   Combine the softened cavity butter with the first teaspoon of chopped mint. Put all of it inside the duckling, spreading it against the cavity walls rather than leaving one cold lump in the center. Tie the legs together and tuck the wing tips beneath the bird. The butter carries the mint through the duck from within, exactly as the source intends; mint smeared over the skin would scorch and turn bitter.

3. 3

   Build the matignon

   Scatter the onion, carrot, and celery over the bottom of a heavy lidded pot just large enough to hold the duckling. This is the matignon, the aromatic vegetable bed. Set the bird breast-side up on the vegetables, pour three tablespoons of the melted butter over it, and reserve the remaining tablespoon for basting. Cover tightly. This is the home-scale setup for Poëlings (No. 250): butter and a lid, but no stock, wine, or water.

   A pot with acres of empty space lets the butter and vegetables burn. The snug fit is not fussiness; it protects the pan juices that must become the sauce.
4. 4

   Roast under cover

   Roast the covered duckling for 55 to 60 minutes. Every twenty minutes, lift the lid briefly and baste the breast and legs with the butter and rendered fat from the pot. The vegetables should soften and turn golden without blackening. If their edges darken too quickly or the butter smells scorched, lower the oven to 325°F (165°C), tuck the vegetables farther beneath the bird, and add the reserved butter. Do not reach for stock. Ça se rattrape, but only while the pot remains a roast and not a braise.

5. 5

   Uncover and bronze

   Remove the lid, raise the oven to 400°F (200°C), and baste once more. Roast uncovered for 30 to 45 minutes, turning the pot halfway through, until the skin is a deep, even bronze. Test at the thickest part without touching bone: the breast must reach at least 165°F (74°C), and the inner thigh should reach 170°F (77°C). If the duck is cooked but remains pale, place it beneath a hot broiler for one to three minutes, watching without interruption. That is the home salamander, and a minute is often enough. If the breast darkens too fast, shield only that area with a loose piece of foil.

6. 6

   Rest the bird

   Transfer the duckling to a warmed oval platter and cover it loosely with foil. Rest for twenty minutes while the sauce is made. Leave every vegetable, browned deposit, and drop of fat in the cooking pot. Resting settles the juices inside the bird; a tight covering would soften the newly bronzed skin, so keep the foil loose.

7. 7

   Swill the pan

   Set the cooking pot over medium heat. Pour in the clear veal gravy and lemon juice without first removing the fat, then scrape and swill the pot until every savory brown deposit loosens. Bring it to a gentle boil and cook for ten minutes, stirring occasionally. This ten-minute contact between the gravy, vegetables, butter, and duck fat is part of Poëlings (No. 250): the fat has captured the aromas, and the liquid needs time to take them back before the grease is removed.

8. 8

   Strain and finish

   Strain the pan liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof jug, pressing the vegetables gently but never mashing them. Let it stand for two minutes, then skim away every visible layer of fat or use a fat separator. If the sauce looks cloudy and greasy, do not whisk it. Leave it undisturbed for another five minutes and skim again; ça se rattrape. Reduce the degreased sauce briefly if it seems watery, or loosen it with a spoonful of hot water if it has become salty or too concentrated. It should be clear and lightly glossy, not thick. Stir in the final teaspoon of mint off the heat and correct the salt or lemon.

9. 9

   Sauce and serve

   Remove the foil and spoon the mint-flecked veal gravy over the breast and legs at the last possible moment, allowing a little to pool beneath the duckling. Present it whole, then carve into two breasts and two leg portions at the table. Pass any remaining gravy beside it. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Aylesbury duckling is worth asking a specialist butcher or poultry supplier to order. If it cannot be found, use a young Pekin duckling of the same weight. The breed changes, but the poêling remains honest. Avoid substituting a lean Muscovy without adjusting the cooking, because it lacks the fat this method expects.
• •Clear veal gravy here means a strong, unthickened veal preparation, not a flour-bound gravy. The original one-sixth pint is about 95 ml. At home, reduce a good unsalted, gelatin-rich veal stock by half before beginning; salty stock becomes punishing when concentrated.
• •Use spearmint, not peppermint, and keep the measure restrained. The cavity mint should perfume the meat, while the final pinch should wake the gravy. Too much turns this graceful sauce medicinal.
• •Do not degrease the pot before the veal gravy has simmered with the vegetables and fat for ten minutes. That contact is part of the technique. Degreasing first is quicker, but it throws away the aroma carried by the butter.
• •Strain and refrigerate the skimmed duck fat rather than discarding it. It is splendid for potatoes, though the traces of butter and vegetables mean it should be used within several days.
• •Pour a restrained red Bordeaux or a cabernet franc from the Loire. The wine needs enough structure for duck, but little sweetness or heavy oak, which would smother the mint and lemon.

Advance Preparation

• •If using ordinary unsalted veal stock, reduce ¾ cup (190 ml / 190 g) to ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon (95 ml / 95 g) up to three days ahead. Chill it covered, or freeze it for up to two months.
• •The duckling may be dried and left uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator for up to twelve hours. This helps the skin color after the lid comes off. Keep it cold, then set it out only thirty minutes before cooking.
• •The onion, carrot, and celery can be diced one day ahead and refrigerated together. Chop the finishing mint shortly before serving, since cut mint darkens and loses its clean fragrance.
• •Leftover duck keeps for up to three days under refrigeration. Store the sauce separately and reheat it gently, adding the fresh mint only after it leaves the heat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 300g)