Duck Confit Poutine | Recipeish | Gustus Vitae
- Yield: Serves 4.
- Time Estimate: 1 hour.
- Storage Notes: Best if enjoyed immediately.
- Difficulty: Easy.
Canadians know a thing or two about delicious, hearty winter meals that'll stick to your bones and keep you warm on long winter nights.
Poutine might be the best example of this, and us being the maximalists that we are, we make it even more rich by topping with melt-in-your-mouth pieces of duck confit, nestled among squeaky cheese curds smothered with decadent rosemary-infused gravy.
Try it and we think you'll agree: winter's never tasted so good.
Ingredients
- 2 Confited duck legs
- 4 Large russet potatoes
- 3 1/2 Cups cooking oil
- 1 1/2 Tbs unsalted butter
- 2 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 3 Tbs flour
- 1/2 Tbs California Sea Salt
- 1 to 1 1/2 Tbs Rosemary Sea Salt, to taste
- 2 Tbs Montreal Steak Seasoning
- 1 1/3rd Cups low/no sodium beef broth or stock
- 1 1/2 Cups cheese curds - the fresher the better
- 1 Small handful of parsley for garnish
- Peel potatoes and rinse, taking care to slice off any dark or discolored spots or sections.
- Slice into even 1/4" sections length-wise, discarding rounded ends.
- Stack slices, and cut into uniform rectangle sizes.
- Slice again length-wise in 1/4" strips to make your french fries.
- Transfer fries to a colander, and rinse under cold running water for 2-3 minutes to remove starch, mixing occasionally to make sure all strips get rinsed.
- Transfer to paper towels, and dry thoroughly.
- Bring a medium sauce pan up to medium, and melt butter. Whisk in flour and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it begins to brown.
- Whisk in stock/broth and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce to a low simmer, still stirring, and cook for a further 5 minutes. Season with Rosemary Sea Salt & Crushed Red Pepper Flakes to taste, then reduce heat to the lowest setting, cover, and reserve.
- Bring a large pot with the cooking oil up to medium high.
- Working in batches, fry around 1 1/2 Cups of fries at a time for 3-4 minutes, or until they float to the surface and just begin to brown. Carefully stir occasionally so the fries don't stick to each other.
- Remove with a spider or slotted spoon to paper towels to drain excess oil, and continue with remaining batches.
- Preheat oven to broil.
- Increase heat to high, then again working in batches, cook fries for a second time for around 3 minutes, or until well browned but not burned.
- Remove to paper towels, and lightly toss with a small sprinkle of California Sea Salt. The cheese, gravy, and Montreal Steak Seasoning finisher will add saltiness, so go light on the fries.
- Remove bones from duck legs and break apart meat into small to 1/2"x 1/2" pieces, and reserve. Reserve skin separately, and scrape off fat below skin.
- Mince parsley, and reserve.
- In a square baking dish, roughly arrange fries so they are unevenly overlapping, then fill crevices and gaps with duck and cheese curds, before sprinkling Montreal Steak Seasoning over the whole dish.
- Place dish on a wax paper lined baking dish, and arrange reserved duck skin along side, skin-side up.
- Pop in the oven, and cook for 2-3, removing when the curds are all melting and skins are crispy.
- Remove, drizzle over rosemary-infused gravy, then plate, sprinkling again with Montreal Steak Seasoning and a bit of minced parsley.
- Add a crispy slice of duck skin chicharon to each plate, serve, and devour.