Pato a la Sevillana

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy oval lidded casserole, 6 to 7 litres
• •Sturdy kitchen tongs
• •Fine skewer
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Immersion blender or food mill
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Heatproof bowl for the rendered fat

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the duck

   Heat the oven to 165°C (325°F). Cut away the loose fat inside the cavity and trim any heavy flap around the opening. Pat the duck thoroughly dry. With a fine skewer, prick the skin over the breasts, thighs, and back at roughly 1cm intervals without piercing the meat. Season inside and out with 12g of the salt and all the pepper, tuck the wing tips underneath, and leave it for 20 minutes. Pat the skin dry once more before it reaches the pot.

2. 2

   Brown and render

   Set a heavy oval casserole over medium heat and add the olive oil. Lay in the duck breast-side down. Brown it slowly for 6 to 8 minutes, then turn it onto each side and finally its back, allowing 3 to 5 minutes on every surface. Take 20 to 25 minutes over this. The skin should be a deep chestnut brown and the pot should hold plenty of clear rendered fat. If the skin sticks, wait; properly browned skin releases on its own.

   Lift the duck to a tray, pour the fat into a heatproof bowl, and return exactly 45ml to the casserole. Strain and refrigerate the remainder for frying potatoes.
3. 3

   Build the vegetable base

   Lower the heat to medium-low. Add the onions, carrots, and remaining 2g salt to the 45ml duck fat. Cook for 18 to 22 minutes, stirring often and scraping up the brown residue, until the onion is dark gold, sweet, and nearly jammy and the carrot is tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, just until fragrant.

4. 4

   Reduce the sherry

   Pour in the dry sherry and scrape the base of the casserole with a wooden spoon. Bring it to a lively simmer and reduce for 4 to 5 minutes, until about half remains and the raw alcoholic sharpness has gone. Return the duck breast-side down. Add the stock, bay leaf, thyme, and tied parsley stems around it, then bring the liquid to the barest simmer.

5. 5

   Braise until tender

   Cover the casserole and place it in the oven. Braise for 45 minutes, then turn the duck breast-side up and spoon the cooking liquid over it. Cover again and cook for another 45 to 60 minutes. Start checking at 90 minutes in all. The leg joint should move easily, and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone must read at least 74°C (165°F). If the joint still feels tight, continue in 10-minute intervals.

   Keep the casserole covered while the duck braises. The first browning gives the skin its colour; the covered oven gives the legs enough time to soften without reducing the sauce too early.
6. 6

   Blanch the olives

   While the duck cooks, put the drained olives in a small saucepan and cover them with cold water. Bring to a boil, simmer for 2 minutes, and drain. Taste one. If it is aggressively salty or sour from the cure, repeat with fresh water. Blanching should quiet the brine, not wash away the olive.

7. 7

   Finish the sauce

   Transfer the cooked duck to a carving board and cover it loosely while it rests for 20 minutes. Discard the bay, thyme, and parsley. Spoon excess fat from the braising liquid, leaving its surface glossy rather than stripped bare. Blend the onion, carrot, and liquid until smooth, then press the sauce through a fine sieve back into the casserole. Add the olives and simmer uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes. The finished sauce should coat the back of a spoon; if thin, reduce it a little longer, and if too thick, loosen it with 30ml water.

8. 8

   Carve and serve

   Remove the legs at the joints and divide each into thigh and drumstick. Take off the breasts and slice them thickly across the grain. Arrange the duck on a warmed oval platter, spoon over enough sherry sauce to glaze the pieces, and set the green olives around them. Bring the remaining sauce to the table with plain potatoes or torn country bread for catching it.

Chef Tips

• •A frozen duck is perfectly good here. Thaw a 2.2kg bird in the refrigerator for about 48 hours, then unwrap and dry it well. Water left on the skin prevents browning, and this sauce depends on that brown residue in the pot.
• •Choose Manzanilla de Sevilla olives for their firm flesh and clean, slightly bitter finish. Gordal olives are a proper substitute but give a larger, milder bite. With ordinary green olives, use unstuffed ones and blanch them before they meet the sauce.
• •Use fino for a leaner, sharper sauce or dry amontillado for a darker, nuttier one. Never use sweet cream sherry or salted cooking sherry. If sherry is unavailable, use 200ml dry white wine; the sauce will be lighter and lose some of its toasted depth.
• •Do not discard the rendered duck fat. Strain it while warm, refrigerate it in a clean jar for up to one week, and use it for potatoes. The dish needs only 45ml in its sauce; leaving all the fat in the casserole makes it heavy rather than rich.
• •Serve the same dry amontillado used in the pot, lightly chilled and in small glasses. For a softer pairing, choose a medium-bodied red without heavy oak.
• •Leftovers keep for up to three days in the refrigerator. Cool the duck and sauce within two hours, store them covered, and reheat gently until the meat reaches 74°C (165°F).

Advance Preparation

• •For better browning, season the duck with the 12g salt up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerate it uncovered. Bring it out 30 minutes before cooking and pat the skin dry again.
• •The braise can be prepared one day ahead. Rest and carve the duck, blend and strain the sauce, then cool both within two hours and refrigerate separately. The next day, lift the firm fat from the sauce, place the duck pieces in it, cover, and reheat at 160°C (320°F) for 20 to 25 minutes. Add the blanched olives for the final 10 minutes so they keep their bite.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 310g)