Caneton aux Petits Pois

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •6 to 7-quart heavy oval cocotte or Dutch oven with lid
• •Kitchen twine
• •Tongs
• •Slotted spoon
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Warm oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare duck and sauce

   Pat the duckling thoroughly dry inside and out. Trim away loose flaps of cavity fat, tie the legs loosely with kitchen twine, and season the bird with half the salt and pepper. Stir together the prepared demi-glace and stock for the thin half-glaze sauce. Have every component beside the stove before browning begins, because the same butter and fond must carry cleanly from garnish to bird.

2. 2

   Brown pork and onions

   Drain the salt pork prepared by Blanchings (No. 273) and dry it well. Melt the butter in a heavy oval cocotte over medium heat. Add the pork and pearl onions, then cook for 7 to 10 minutes, turning them often, until the pork is golden at the edges and the onions wear an even light-brown glaze. Lift both out with a slotted spoon and reserve them. If the butter smells scorched rather than nutty, stop and replace it before adding the duck. Ça se rattrape, but burnt milk solids cannot be persuaded into a good sauce.

3. 3

   Colour the duckling

   Set the duckling into the same cocotte and brown it patiently on the breast, back, and both sides, about 12 to 15 minutes in all. Let each surface take a deep butter-gold colour before rolling the bird onward. Wet skin steams and pale skin contributes nothing to the sauce, which is why the careful drying mattered. Lift the browned duckling onto a tray, then pour off the rendered fat while leaving the brown film, the fond, firmly in the pot.

4. 4

   Build the braise

   Return the cocotte to medium heat and pour in the brown stock, holding back about 2 tablespoons for the final adjustment. Scrape the pot floor until every brown morsel dissolves into the liquid. Return the duckling, pour in the thin demi-glace, and add the peas, bouquet garni, browned salt pork, and onions around it. Bring the liquid just to a simmer, then cover the cocotte.

5. 5

   Cook at a tremble

   Lower the heat and maintain the barest tremble for 45 to 55 minutes, basting the exposed duck every 15 minutes without crushing the peas. A hard boil tightens the bird, splits the peas, and drives the sauce greasy; gentle movement is enough. The duckling is ready when the thigh joint yields easily and the thickest part of the thigh reaches at least 165°F (74°C). If it needs more time, cover it again and continue in 5-minute intervals.

6. 6

   Reduce to a glaze

   Transfer the duckling to a warm serving platter and let it rest loosely covered. Discard the bouquet garni. Lift the peas, pork, and onions into a warm bowl with a slotted spoon, then skim excess fat from the sauce and boil the liquid briskly until it turns glossy and lightly coats a spoon, 3 to 8 minutes. Return the garnish and fold it through without mashing the peas. If the sauce is still loose, lift the garnish and reduce again; if it has tightened too far, whisk in the reserved stock a spoonful at a time. Ça se rattrape. Taste only now for the remaining salt and pepper, because the pork and demi-glace have already spoken.

7. 7

   Dish and serve

   Spoon the peas, pearl onions, and salt pork around the resting duckling, then pour over only enough sauce to glaze the bird and just cover the garnish. There should be no deep pool beneath it. Carve at the table, giving each plate duck, peas, onions, pork, and a spoonful of sauce. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose a young duckling no heavier than 4 lb (1.8 kg). A larger or older bird needs a longer braise, and the fresh peas will surrender before the duck becomes tender.
• •Freshly shelled peas define this version. Outside their season, frozen peas picked at their peak are the honest cousin, but add them only for the final 10 to 12 minutes because they have already been blanched before freezing.
• •Use a prepared demi-glace that tastes of reduced stock, not caramel, yeast, or excessive salt. Diluting it produces the thin half-glaze the original kitchen kept ready in a separate sauce pot.
• •A cru Beaujolais or a light Pinot Noir has enough freshness for the peas and enough fruit for the duck. Serve bread as well, because leaving this sauce behind would be poor judgment.
• •Refrigerate leftovers promptly and keep them for up to 2 days. Reheat covered over very gentle heat with a spoonful of stock; the peas soften each time, so warm the dish once and serve it.

Advance Preparation

• •The salt pork can be prepared by Blanchings (No. 273) up to 1 day ahead. Drain it thoroughly, refrigerate it covered, and dry it before browning.
• •Peel the onions, shell the peas, tie the bouquet garni, and mix the thin half-glaze up to 1 day ahead; refrigerate each component separately.
• •The finished braise can wait, covered, for about 30 minutes over the gentlest heat. Perform the final reduction immediately before serving so the sauce stays glossy and the peas are not left sitting in excess liquid.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 415g)