Braised Duck for Tacos
Pato para TacosTender boneless duck meat makes dynamite tacos, enchiladas, or burritos. When I buy whole ducks and use the breasts only, I save the legs and wings just for braising. The meat is so tender that it falls right off the bones. Many of the sauces or salsas in this book will go well with the duck, such as Avocado and Tomatillo Sauce, Fresh Tomatillo Sauce, or Pineapple Salsa. Tomatillo-Cilantro Rice or Green Rice are good with the duck.
Ingredients
Makes 4 servings as an entrée, or about 2½ cups meat
- 4 duck legs and thighs
- 4 duck wings
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper or to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano Mexican variety preferred, crumbled
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 medium onions sliced
- 1½ cups canned tomatoes with juices
- 1 cup chicken broth canned or homemade
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Trim all the excess fat from the duck legs and thighs.
- Trim the excess skin, leaving a small portion along the center of the meat.
- Trim wings of excess skin and fat.
- Season the duck with salt, pepper, oregano, and thyme.
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
- Cook the duck pieces, skin side down, 8 to 10 minutes, or until well browned.
- Turn and cook until lightly browned, 4 to 6 minutes.
- Transfer to an ovenproof casserole dish.
- Pour all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the skillet.
- Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until limp and light brown, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, broth, and vinegar.
- Bring to a boil; then pour the skillet contents over the duck in the casserole dish.
- Cover and braise in the oven 1½ hours, or until the duck is very tender and easily comes off the bone.
- Remove from the oven.
- When cool enough to handle, pull the meat off the bones, discarding the bones.
- Serve the duck meat and cooking juices as an entrée with rice, or use the duck as a filling for tacos, enchiladas, or burritos.