Chef's Table

Duck Mole Carnitas

Use Eat Beer Hot Sauce first flavor Nor Cal Mole to season and cure duck legs in, that are then confited via sous vide or in the oven and later browned off, creating Duck Mole Carnitas! One can use this in a multitude of meal applications.

CourseDuck
CuisineMexican
Cooking Beer StyleOatmeal Stout
SeasonalFall Seasonal, Spring Seasonal, Summer Seasonal, Winter Seasonal, Year Around Seasonal
ProductEat Beer Hot Sauce, Nor Cal Mole | Eat Beer Hot Sauce
Food SectionDuck, Nacho Meat, Taco Meat
Cooking MethodRoasting, Sous Vide
BreweryAnderson Valley Brewing Co.
KeywordCooking with Beer

Servings	Prep Time
2-4people	5minute

Cook Time	Passive Time
8hour	48hour

Servings	Prep Time
2-4people	5minute

Cook Time	Passive Time
8hour	48hour

Ingredients

2each duck legs, whole
1each orange | blood orange | cara cara,zested
1tablespoon salt, kosher
2tablespoon Eat Beer Hot Sauce Nor-Cal Moleavailable HERE, more or less depending on heat level and use

Instructions

Preparing the Duck Legs:

Take your duck legs and wash them under cold water, removing any quills or debris. Pat dry with paper towels and place them into a bowl. Zest the citrus of choice, salt and add the Nor Cal Mole Hot Sauce.
Using latex or rubber gloves, rub all the ingredients all over the duck legs.
Place the Nor Cal Mole rubbed legs into a sous vide bag. Seal on high and refrigerate for 24 – 48 hours to cure the duck leg and infuse the mole and orange flavors into the meat.

Cooking Directions:

Sous Vide: Place the bag into a water bath set to 180°F | 82°C and cook for 8 hours. The duck fat will render and the duck legs will confit in their own juices, making a delicious and tender duck. After 8 hours, remove the bag from the water bath and chill in ice water for 20 minutes. Dry, label and date the bag, placing it either in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to serve.
Oven Confit: If you don’t have a water bath or sous vide set up, you can easily confit these duck legs the traditional French way. Heat your oven to 250°F | 121°C. Set the duck legs into a small oven proof pan or baking dish. Cover with either rendered duck fat (that has been melted) or oil, such as a vegetable oil. Make sure the duck legs are fully submerged in the fat | oil, as this is one of the tricks to this cooking techniques, keeping the duck super tender and the skin pale. Place the cooking vessel uncovered into the center of your oven and cook for 6 – 8 hours. As the duck is cooking in an oxygen free environment, at a high enough temperature, that the fat is sterile after its oven time and temperature. The baking dish would be removed from the oven. Duck confit would be stored on the counter top of many French kitchens. The cooking fat, as it cools, thickens and creates a seal from the air. When a duck leg was needed, the chef would pull one from the congealed fat and fry it. This was before refrigeration and a great way to preserve the meat, in its own fat. The baking container can be placed into the refrigerator or the duck legs may be removed and put into a container.

To Serve:

To serve this Duck Mole Carnitas, place a cast iron skillet or sauté pan preheated over medium heat; add the sous vide | confit duck legs, including the fat, placing the duck legs skin side down. Cook until the skin is golden brown, about 5 – 7 minutes and flip, cooking another 3 – 4 minutes. Remove the duck legs to a cutting board. Drain (saving the duck fat for another use) the skillet. Using a fork, flake out the duck meat from the bone. Break up any large pieces and place back into the skillet and cook for another 2 – 3 minutes. This third cooking will brown up the meat a little more, making the finished Duck Mole Carnitas perfect for service, recreating the texture of pork carnitas. To brighten all the flavors add a few drops of Nor Cal Mole Hot Sauce and stir into the finished meat. Use this meat into tacos, burritos, quesadillas, or topping a salad creating a Duck Mole Taco Salad, making Duck Mole Rillettes or used in any other recipe and uses as a protein into your meal.

Recipe Notes