Bones_ Recipes, History, and Lore - Jennifer McLagan [75]
10. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the duck, onions, and turnips to a deep serving dish and keep warm, loosely covered with foil. Bring the sauce to a boil and boil to reduce and thicken slightly. Spoon the sauce over the legs and vegetables and serve.
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Confit
Southwest France is famous for its foie gras, both duck and goose, leaving plenty of meat once the liver is removed. The duck and goose are traditionally preserved by cutting them into portions, salting and seasoning them, and cooking them slowly in their own fat. Confit of duck generally refers to the legs preserved by this method. You can buy them, vacuum-packed, at many groceries and butchers; the fat is sold separately. The duck legs make a delicious quick meal. Bake them skin side down in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until heated through.
Then turn them skin side up and broil them, watching carefully, for 5 minutes, or until the skin is crisp. Serve with a salad of bitter greens, endive or frisée, tossed with Orange Mustard Dressing (page 83), and potatoes cooked in duck fat.
Wings à la Coca-Cola
In a cookbook written by Frédéric E. Grasser-Hermé, the wife of the French pastry chef Pierre Hermé, I found a recipe for a whole chicken cooked in Coca-Cola. Madame Grasser-Hermé claims the source for her recipe was Le Figaro food critic François Simon. Her recipe started me thinking. Why not try it with chicken wings?
1½ pounds (675 g) chicken wings
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, finely chopped Vegetable oil, for oiling rack
2 cups (500 ml) cola
1. Remove the tips from the wings and reserve for stock. Cut each wing into 2 pieces and season with salt and pepper. In a bowl, mix the lemon zest, juice, ginger, and garlic. Add ½ teaspoon salt, then the wings, and season well with pepper. Stir to coat the wings. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 400T (200°C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and top with an oiled metal rack. Pour the cola into the bowl with the wings and stir, then remove the wings from the marinade and place bumpy skin side up on the rack, making sure they do not touch each other.
3. Pour the marinade into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil hard for 15 minutes, or until reduced to ½ cup (125 ml). Brush the wings with the reduced marinade (it will still be quite thin).
4. Bake the wings for 10 minutes. Brush them again with marinade, and cook for another 10 minutes.
5. Increase the oven temperature to 450°F (23o°C). Brush the wings again and bake for 5 minutes. Brush the wings one final time and cook for another 5 minutes, or until deep brown.
Soy-Glazed Chicken Wings
Baking chicken wings in the oven is a simple method and you can use any glaze or sauce you like. Here is a sweet soy glaze. Or try the hoisin sauce for chicken feet (page 161) on your wings, but double the recipe so you will have enough.
¼ cup (60 ml) soy sauce
¼ cup (60 ml) honey
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
teaspoon five-spice powder
1½ pounds (675 g) chicken wings
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Vegetable oil, for oiling rack
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
2. Place the soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, and five-spice powder in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, and simmer until syrupy, about 5 minutes.
3. Remove the tips from the wings, and reserve for stock. Cut each wing into 2 pieces and season with salt and pepper.
4. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and top with an oiled metal rack. Place the wings, bumpy skin side up, on the rack, making sure they do not touch each other. Brush with the soy glaze.
5. Bake the wings for 10 minutes. Brush them with the glaze and cook another 10 minutes.
6. Increase the oven temperature