Recipe: Chicken Fried Duck Legs with Waffles and Coleslaw

This recipe comes from Off the Menu: Staff Meals from America’s Top Restaurants, written by Marissa Guggiana. This Saturday on the show, Evan and Marissa talk about how staff meal, or “Family Meal,” is prepared and eaten at restaurants across the country. Blackbird’sChicken Fried Duck Legs with Waffles and Coleslaw is by far the most extravagant staff meal in the book.

Keep reading for the complete recipe…

Chicken-Fried Duck Legs

This meal is a reminder that techniques can go farther than their original intent. The pearl

sugar in the waffles creates explosions of sweetness that spark in the richness of the duck

legs and jus syrup. The coleslaw is a tangy mingler amongst the sweet and savory.

1 tablespoon fennel seed

4 bay leaves

10 sprigs thyme

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 whole duck legs, feet

chopped off to expose the

bone

1 head fennel, medium diced

1 onion, medium diced

3 stalks celery, medium diced

1 head garlic, peeled and

smashed

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 cups red wine

Chicken stock to cover duck

legs, about 4 cups

About 1 cup maple syrup

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups cornstarch

2 tablespoons salt

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 cups buttermilk

Canola oil for frying

Preheat your oven to 300˚F. Make a bouquet garni: place the fennel seed, bay

leaves, and thyme on a piece of cheesecloth, gather, and tie.

Heat the oil in a sauté. pan large enough to hold legs in one layer over

medium-high heat and brown the duck legs, skin side down, until almost

burnt, about 10 to 15 minutes. Turn over and sear the meat side about 2

minutes. Remove from the pan and add the vegetables, bouquet garni, salt,

and pepper. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often, making sure to get no

color on the vegetables and scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen the

brown bits from the duck. When the vegetables are tender, add the wine,

bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer about 5 minutes, to reduce the

wine by half. Transfer the vegetables and wine to a baking dish and add the

duck legs on top. Pour in stock so the legs are three-quarters covered. Cover

the dish with foil and place in the oven. Braise until tender, about 1®ˆ to 2

hours. Uncover, let cool, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, remove the top layer of fat, warm the braising liquid, and

remove the duck legs. Strain the liquid and place in a pot. Reduce the liquid

over medium heat to about 1 cup. Season with salt. Add an equal amount of

maple syrup to the sauce. Keep warm while you fry the duck.

Mix flour, cornstarch, salt, and cayenne in a large container. Place

buttermilk in another large container. Drain the braised duck legs of excess

liquid, dredge in flour mixture, and tap off excess flour. Place the legs in the

buttermilk and let them soak for 1 minute. Take the legs out of the buttermilk

and drain off excess. Place the legs in flour again and coat. Remove from flour

and shake off excess. Fry in a deep fryer or a pot of oil heated to 325°∆F until

golden brown and crisp. Serve with Belgian Waffles and top wth Coleslaw

and hot sauce.

Coleslaw

Perfect Belgian waffles with the extravagance of pearl sugar. Make these on their own for

brunch with sausages and syrup or preserves and a sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar.

This coleslaw is the mortar for the waffles and chicken-fried duck legs. Or

prepare it as a picnic apparatchik, loyal to any dish served on a lawn.

1 head green cabbage, thinly

shredded

1 red onion, sliced thin

1 green apple, julienned

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon celery seed

Salt

Mayonnaise

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients except the mayonnaise. Let sit

out for 3 hours to soften the vegetables. Drain off excess liquid and add

mayonnaise to desired creaminess.

Serves 4 as a side

Belgian Waffles

Perfect Belgian waffles with the extravagance of pearl sugar. Make these on their own for

brunch with sausages and syrup or preserves and a sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar.

4 eggs

1 ¾ cups warm 100°F water

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 ½ ounce fresh cake yeast

1 ¾ cups whole milk, 100°F

1 ¾ sticks unsalted butter,

melted and cooled

Nonstick cooking spray

8 to 10 tablespoons pearl sugar

Confectioners’ sugar, for topping

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and warm water. In a separate

bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the yeast to the milk,

stir to dissolve, and set aside. Whisk flour mixture into the egg mixture

and stir until smooth. Whisk in the butter and stir to combine. Whisk in

the milk mixture and stir. Pour the batter into a large plastic container

and let it stand at room temperature until it starts to bubble and foam,

about 10 to 45 minutes, depending on the room temperature.

Heat a waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions and

spray with cooking spray. Ladle the batter into the waffle iron—it is

better to overfill—and sprinkle about 1®ˆ teaspoons of pearl sugar per

waffle over all of the batter (this makes waffles extra crunchy). Close

the iron and cook until golden brown and crunchy. Dust with the

confectioners’ sugar.

Makes 15 to 20 waffles