Caneton Nantais à la Choucroûte

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5½ to 6-quart oval cocotte with lid
• •12-inch wide sauté pan with lid
• •Fine-mesh strainer and fat separator
• •Kitchen twine
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Large warmed oval serving platter and sauceboat

Instructions

1. 1

   Fill and truss

   Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Place the freshly prepared Manied Butter (No. 151) inside the duckling with the chopped parsley and shallot. Truss the legs and wings close to the body so the bird forms a compact oval and cooks evenly. Season the cavity and skin with 1 teaspoon of the salt and all the pepper, reserving the remaining salt for the finished sauce.

   Keep the Manied Butter whole as the referenced preparation. Its own formula lives separately; here it simply goes into the cavity with the parsley and shallot, exactly as the dish requires.
2. 2

   Brown the duck

   Set the duck breast-side up in a dry 5½ to 6-quart cocotte and roast uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, until the skin is a deep, even bronze and the pot holds a layer of rendered fat. Give it another 5 minutes if it remains pale. Lift out the duck, pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat, and save the rest for another use. Spread the onion and carrot across the bottom to form the braising bed, then return the duck to the cocotte.

3. 3

   Braise at a tremble

   Reduce the oven to 325°F (165°C). Pour the white veal stock and 2 cups of Rhine wine around the duck, preserving the book's exact two-to-one ratio. Bring the liquid to the barest tremble on the stove, cover, and braise in the oven for 70 to 85 minutes, turning the bird carefully halfway through because a deep home cocotte will not cover it as completely as a shallow braising pan. It is ready when the thigh joint yields easily and the thickest part of the thigh reaches at least 170°F (77°C). Keep the liquid gentle. If it reaches a hard boil, lower the heat immediately; the duck will survive, but boiling can tighten the meat and give the Manied Butter liaison a floury edge. Later, strain the liquor finely and let the demi-glace provide the final body.

4. 4

   Reduce the choucroute dry

   As soon as the duck begins braising, taste the sauerkraut. Rinse it briefly under cold water only if it is aggressively sour or salty, then squeeze it well. Put it in a wide lidded sauté pan with the whole piece of salt pork and the water. Cover and hold at a gentle simmer for about 45 minutes, until the strands are three-quarters tender but retain a little spring. Drain thoroughly, return the cabbage and pork to the pan, and add the veal gravy and 6 tablespoons of Rhine wine. Cook uncovered over medium-low heat for 15 to 25 minutes, turning the cabbage occasionally, until the added liquid has reduced completely. The pan should give a soft hiss, and no puddle should appear when you tilt it. If the cabbage begins catching before it is tender, lower the heat and add 2 tablespoons of duck braising liquor. Once the choucroute is ready, lift out the pork and cut it into small rectangles.

5. 5

   Finish the sauce

   Lift the duck onto a board, tip any juices from its cavity back into the cocotte, and let the bird rest loosely covered. Strain the braising liquor into the widest saucepan you own, discard the vegetables, and skim away the surface fat. Reserve ½ cup of the liquor, then reduce the remainder at an active tremble until about 1 cup remains. Stir in the veal demi-glace and hold it just below a boil until the sauce coats a spoon in a thin, glossy film. If it tightens too far, add the reserved liquor one tablespoon at a time; if it remains thin, continue the gentle reduction. Ça se rattrape. Taste only now, then add some or all of the reserved salt if the sauce needs it.

6. 6

   Carve and arrange

   Remove the trussing string. Separate the legs at their joints, take the breasts from the carcass, and slice each breast on a slight angle. Arrange the choucroute as a generous border on a warmed oval platter, leaving space in the center, and set the salt-pork rectangles around it. Place the carved duck in the center and spoon over just enough sauce to give the meat a glossy veil, never enough to drown the cabbage. Send the remaining sauce separately in a warm sauceboat. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask for a young Nantes duckling if your poultry seller can obtain one. If not, a 4 to 4½-pound young Pekin duckling is the honest home equivalent; the breed changes, but the compact size and tender meat preserve the cooking logic. An older Muscovy bird needs a different braising time.
• •Choose refrigerated, naturally fermented sauerkraut with clean acidity and some firmness. Taste before rinsing. Automatic rinsing can wash away the character you paid for, while an especially salty batch may need a quick rinse and firm squeeze.
• •Use a genuinely dry Riesling or another dry Rhine-style white. A sweet bottle turns cloying as it reduces, while clean acidity cuts through the duck and salt pork. Pour the same dry wine at the table.
• •The veal foundations matter. Use pale, unsalted white veal stock and a pourable veal demi-glace, not dark, salty beef bouillon. The sauce should support the duck and choucroute, not cover them with the taste of concentrated beef.
• •Save the rendered duck fat in a covered jar in the refrigerator. It is splendid for sautéed potatoes, and cooking well is not cooking fancy.

Advance Preparation

• •The choucroute can be taken through its first water braise up to one day ahead. Cool it with the salt pork in a shallow container within two hours, cover and refrigerate, then complete the gravy-and-wine reduction while the duck braises.
• •The duck can be dried, seasoned, and left uncovered in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours. Bring it out while the oven heats, fill the cavity, and truss it immediately before roasting.
• •Measure the stock, wines, veal gravy, and demi-glace earlier in the day. Do not complete the final choucroute reduction far ahead, since its properly dry texture is easiest to judge and preserve close to serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 650g)