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Provencal Duck Stew Winter Fruits

Provencal Duck Stew with Dried Fruits

This duck stew is a great dish for dinner parties (or long lunches) because it is best prepared ahead of time and reheated. It will allow you to enjoy the meal as much as your friends.
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 14 hours
Course Main Dish
Cuisine French, Provencal
Servings 6 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 4-5 lb Duck 1.8-2.2 kg
  • 1 Carrot thinly sliced
  • 1 onion thinly sliced
  • 1 stalk Celery thinly sliced
  • 4 Garlic Cloves mashed
  • 10 Black peppercorns
  • 10 Juniper Berries
  • 1 piece Star Anise
  • 1 Cinnamon stick
  • 1 Orange Peel and juice
  • 1 bottle Pinot Noir
  • 12 Prunes
  • 12 walnuts
  • 2 tbsp Butter
  • 1 tbsp Flour
  • 1 quart (1100ml) Chicken stock
  • 1 Apple peeled and diced

Instructions
 

  • Cut your duck into eight pieces, like you would breakdown a whole chicken, and put in a large bowl with room for more ingredients.
  • Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic, black peppercorns, juniper berries, star anise, cinnamon orange and pinot noir. Let marinate for 10 to 12 hours sitting out in your kitchen.
  • Strain the marinade, separating the vegetables and liquid.
  • Simmer the prunes and walnuts in the liquid for 20 minutes.
  • Melt the butter in a large saute pan and brown the duck on both sides. When browned, remove the duck and saute the vegetables leftover from the marinade.
  • Sprinkle flour over the vegetables, mixing well.
  • Strain marinade into vegetables and add the browned duck pieces back to your pan.
  • Keep the prunes and walnuts to add back to the sauce later.
  • Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for one hour.
  • As you cook your duck you may need to add chicken stock to keep it moist and stew-like. I ended up using about one quart.
  • At the end of the cooking time, remove the duck pieces and strain out and discard the vegetables.
  • Return the duck meat, prunes and walnuts, and apple then simmer for ten minutes.
  • Adjust seasonings and serve.

Notes

I used an Alina duck from LaBelle Farms in New York. They are a special French breed renowned for their ultra rich, almost squab like flavor, that are raised in arena style hoops and fed only corn grown on the same farm.
Keyword Duck, Stew
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