Saturday evening is my favourite day to cook.  The Child is having a bath with Daddy, I can take my time, open a bottle of wine and get creative. My duck legs today were one of the best yet, the sauce I’ve managed to produce though- outstanding. It was the kind of sauce I was licking off the spoon thinking- fuck yeah. 🙂  And also, as Christmas this year will be at ours, with Mum, Mariusz, Julia and Ron arriving, the plan was to roast a whole duck.  But those legs today made me think that maybe doing it the way I did today, 4 legs ( the Banks men don’t do duck!!!!) instead of the whole bird might be a better idea.  All the recipes I looked at hint at the risk of legs being tough while breasts succulent, if one screws up the timing.  This meal today made me wonder and most likely it will just be 4 perfect, stress free legs.

So, the best idea is to season the meat generously a couple of hours in advance, get that salt working, pepper too and some herb pepper and cumin too. Brown the meat nicely, transfer to a saucepan, while in the duck fat quickly sweat some shallots, leeks, carrots and garlic.  A handful of dried porcini mushrooms. And add to the legs. A glass of red wine in, mine today was one of my absolute favourites, Catena’s Malbec.  Then chicken stock, a couple of bay leaves, lid on and roughly 1,5 hour, till the meat is lovely and tender.

I took the meat out and blitzed all the sauce ingredients into a thick, velvety, luxury gravy, that hardly needed any seasoning. Maybe just a little butter and a sprinkle of pepper. I was really proud of myself. Duck is rapidly becoming my favourite meat.  On the picture it might not look the part, but I finished the sauce with a teaspoon. That good!