When acclaimed author James Peterson wrote The Duck Cookbook he seemed to have a favorite duck ingredient: duck confit. Chicken is indigenous to many Mexican dishes, but here duck confit is used to upscale enchilada to a level sure to please you. And, the dish has that grand green sauce made with tomatillos. This is elegant comfort food. There will be no leftovers, but there will be lasting smiles and memories.
With the ingredients on hand, this dish is made very, very rapidly. So, you can make it for a weeknight supper or a weekend brunch. It’s a happy delight for you.
Duck Confit Enchiladas with Green Sauce
Yield: 6 main course servings
Ingredients:
- 2 medium onions, chopped fine
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped fine
- 4 tablespoons rendered duck fat
- 3 pounds fresh tomatillos, or four 10-ounce cans tomatillos
- ½ cup brown duck broth, chicken broth or water
- 1 bunch cilantro, leaves only
- 6 jalapeno chiles, stemmed, seeded, and chopped fine
- 12 small corn tortillas
- 12 confit duck legs or slow-roasted duck legs
- 1 pint sour cream
Preparation:
Over medium heat, cook the onions and garlic in 2 tablespoons of the duck fat in a heavy‑bottomed pot large enough to hold the tomatillos. If you’re using fresh tomatillos, peel off the papery skin and cut the tomatillos in quarters. If you’re using canned tomatillos, drain them in a colander and chop them coarse. When the onions and garlic turn translucent and fragrant, about 10 minutes, add the tomatillos to the pot. Pour the broth over the tomatillos, cover the pot, and simmer for 10 minutes to soften the tomatillos. Then remove the lid and cook the tomatillos over medium heat until you have a chunky sauce, about 15 minutes more. Finely chop the cilantro and stir it into the sauce, along with the chopped jalapenos.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. To soften the tortillas, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons duck fat in a sauté pan and gently heat the tortillas, one at a time, in the fat. Pull the skin off the duck legs and discard it, then pull the meat away from the bones, shredding as you go. Roll the shredded duck meat in the tortillas and arrange the tortillas in a baking dish just large enough to hold them in a single layer. Spoon over half the sauce, cover with aluminum foil, and bake the enchiladas for 15 minutes. Take off the foil and bake for 15 minutes more, until the sauce starts to bubble.
Reheat the remaining sauce. Put two enchiladas on each heated plate, spoon the remaining sauce over them, and pass the sour cream at the table.
Source: The Duck Cookbook by James Peterson [Stewart Tabori & Chang, 2003]