Duck Rick, Our Way
Duck rice is a staple of Portuguese cuisine, and every family in Portugal has its own version. This is ours: the one we always cook on weekend evenings when the family gets together. For us, it is more than just a meal; it is a ritual that celebrates the joy of being together once again.
We always start preparing it the night before, even though it isn't strictly necessary – this is our ritual. The kitchen quickly fills with the aroma of duck and vegetables. The following morning, we debone the duck; in the afternoon, we cook the rice; and just before dinner, we assemble the dish, always using the same large oven-to-table serving dish that has been in our family for generations.
The duck rice is ready to serve when you can hear the chorizo sizzling in the oven and the rice on top has turned crisp and lightly golden. Each of us has our own way of eating it. My sister always eats the duck first and then the rice and gives me her chorizo. I am the complete opposite: I like a little bit of everything in each mouthful, and my favourite part is the crispy chorizo on top.
This recipe takes time to prepare, so make a generous portion as there are always requests for second helpings at our table!
Serves 8 (or 2 generous meals for 4)
Ingredients
1 leek (white and green parts with outer leaves removed)
1 medium to large onion (precise weight does not matter)
Optional: 1 carrot
1 large duck (about 1.5 kg)
2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 generous tablespoon of marine or sea salt (do not use table salt)
2 cups Carolino rice (or short-grain rice in the UK)
1 chorizo (c. 250 gr)
2 Medium or large eggs
Equipment
Large stockpot with tight fitting lid (3 litres or larger – the duck must be submerged in water)
Medium bowl
Large bowl
Sieve or colander
Large oven-to-table dish
Method
First, cook the duck and make the stock. If you want to skip these 5 steps, you can buy both the duck and the stock from many supermarkets, but it will not taste the same!
1. Peel the vegetables and cut them into 3 to 4 large pieces.
2. Place the duck, the vegetables, a drizzle of olive oil and salt (about 1 tablespoon) in the stockpot. Cover generously with cold water – the duck must be submerged. Bring to boil, put the lid on, and simmer gently for approximately 2 hours, or until the meat comes away easily from the bones.
3. Turn the heat off and leave the duck to cool in the stock for about 2 hours, or until it is cool enough to handle. We leave it overnight.
4. Remove the duck from the stock and, using your hands, debone the duck and shred the meat into small bite-sized pieces (You should have roughly 500 gr of meat). Place the meat in the medium bowl.
5. Using the colander, transfer the stock from the pot to the large bowl. Reserve the stock, keeping the vegetables for another meal. Do not wash the stockpot, as you will use it again to cook the rice.
At this stage, if you are preparing only one meal for four people, freeze half of the duck and half of the stock. The quantities below are for the full recipe serving eight.
Second, cook the rice and prepare the dish.
6. Heat a drizzle of olive oil and 5 cups of stock in the same stockpot (to medium 5 out of 9 in an induction or electric hob). If you do not have enough stock, add water. Once the stock comes to the boil, add the rice, lower the heat to 3 or 4 (the liquid should just be a light simmer) and cook for 15 minutes with the lid on. Do not add any salt at this stage, as the stock should already be well seasoned. After 15 minutes, the rice should still have some liquid remaining. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
7. Turn off the heat and leave the rice to cool slightly with the lid on. If finishing the dish immediately, you only need to wait 15 minutes. Otherwise, you can wait up to 1 hour.
8. Place half of the rice in the oven dish, followed by all the duck, then cover with the remaining rice. Avoid compacting the rice too firmly, as a little air helps create a lighter texture. You can prepare the dish up to this point a few hours in advance.
Finally, finish the dish in the oven.
9. About ½ hour before serving, heat the oven plus grill to 160°C fan or 180°C conventional.
10. Slice the chorizo into thin rounds and arrange them over the top of the rice as decoration. Beat the eggs and pour them evenly over the rice. If the rice has not been packed too tightly, the egg should seep through the layers.
11. When the oven is hot, bake the rice for 10 minutes under the grill if the rice is still hot as the main purpose of this step is the crisps up the rice and chorizo (or 30 minutes if you prepared the dish in advance). The top should become lightly golden and crisp. You should hear the chorizo sizzling in the over.
12. Serve straight from the oven dish to the table and enjoy!
Tips
The quantities provided for this duck rice dish makes enough for 8 servings, or two generous meals for a family of four. The cooked duck and the stock freeze beautifully, making it easy to prepare ahead the first 5 steps and save half for another day.
This recipe also works wonderfully with Christmas turkey leftovers. Simply replace the duck with shredded cooked turkey and prepare the rice using chicken stock instead of duck stock. To enrich the flavour even further, sauté a finely chopped onion and 50g of chorizo before cooking the rice.
Using the carrot to make the stock will give the stock and rice a slightly sweater taste profile
A simple salad dressed with a vinaigrette sauce cuts the richness of the dish.