Stuffed confit duck bun, kohlrabi slaw and spicy ketchup
An indulgent dish of doughnuts made with stuffed confit duck! Serve with a cold beer or two.
For this recipe, you will need a Aebleskiver pan (Danish pancake ball pan) or you can use a Yorkshire pudding pan.
Ingredients
For the stuffed confit duck
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú sea salt
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú honey
- 2 tbsp dried seaweed powder
- 2 duck legs
- 1 star anise
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- vegetable oil or duck fat, to cover (about 1–1.5 litres/1¾ pint)
- ½ orange, zest only
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
For the doughnut batter
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú salted butter, melted
- 110g/4oz free-range egg yolks (approx. 4 eggs)
- 160²µ/5¾´Ç³ú double cream
- 170g/6oz plain flour
- 220g/8oz medium free-range egg whites (approx. 5-6 eggs)
- pinch of barbecue seasoning, to taste
For the spicy ketchup
- 330g/11½oz tomato ketchup
- 460g/1lb cider vinegar
- 40g/1½oz light soft brown sugar
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp ground cumin powder
- sea salt and ground black pepper
For the kohlrabi slaw
- 1 kohlrabi, thinly sliced into matchsticks
- ½ red chilli, finely chopped
- ½ orange, juice only
- 1 lime, juice only
- ½ garlic clove, grated
- small piece fresh root ginger, grated
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Method
To make the confit duck, put the salt, honey and seaweed powder into a bowl and stir to mix together. Add the duck legs and mix well. Cover and leave to cure for 1.5 hours in the fridge. Once this time is up, wash the duck legs well and dry with kitchen paper.
Preheat the oven to 120C/110C Fan/Gas ½. Put the duck legs and star anise, fennel seeds and black peppercorns into an ovenproof dish (preferably with a tight fitting lid) and cover with the vegetable oil or duck fat, filling the pan no more than two-thirds full. Place over a medium heat, uncovered, and carefully bring to a simmer. CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.
Once simmering, cover the ovenproof dish with a lid or foil and use oven gloves to carefully place into the oven – be very careful when moving the pan from the hob to the oven. Cook until the meat is falling off the bone (about 1.5–2 hours). Carefully remove from the oven and set aside to allow to cool at room temperature.
Once cold, pick all the meat off the bone and shred with your fingers. Add the orange zest and tarragon and taste for seasoning – add salt and pepper, to taste.
Using your hands, form the confit duck into small balls, just a little smaller than a ping pong ball and put on a plate in the fridge until needed. Make sure to bring the balls back to room temperature before making the doughnuts – about 45 minutes before.
To make the doughnut batter, preheat the oven to 160C/140C/Gas 3.
Put the egg yolks, cream, flour and melted butter into a bowl and whisk until smooth. Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed from the bowl. Carefully fold in the egg yolk mixture little by little. Season with barbecue seasoning and place into a squeeze bottle until needed.
When you are ready to cook the doughnuts, place an Aebleskiver pan over a medium heat (you could also use a Yorkshire pudding tin).
Oil the dimples in the pan well, then add a tablespoon of the batter into each one.
As the batter begins to set, start turning them on their sides to start forming a sphere. Add a small teaspoon more of the mixture to each one, then nestle a ball of duck into the centre and top off with a little more batter to seal the duck inside. Continue to cook until there is cooked batter all the way around the duck.
Transfer the buns to a baking tray, then place in the oven to cook for 2–4 minutes, turning halfway through.
Dust with a little extra barbecue seasoning and place onto a cooling rack for 2 minutes before serving.
To make the spicy ketchup, put all the ingredients into a pan and mix well. Place on a low heat and just warm through. Taste, adding more salt and pepper if needed, and transfer to a squeeze bottle.
To make the kohlrabi slaw, put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well, crushing in your hands to break down the kohlrabi. Leave to marinate for a minimum of 5 minutes before serving.
To serve, place the slaw in a nice serving bowl. Pile the doughnuts high on another plate with the bottle of spicy sauce on the side. Or place a small handful of the slaw into the middle of each individual plate and pop a doughnut on top. Add the sauce and serve. Any excess sauce can be saved to serve with another dish.