Ruhlman's Twenty (43 page)

If there’s a single preparation of duck that underscores that it ought to be more prominent in our kitchens, it’s braised duck legs. They are relatively inexpensive, easy to prepare, and deeply delicious. This braise uses only water and aromatic vegetables, which flavor the liquid, as does the duck. You could also use homemade chicken or vegetable stock. This dish is fabulous with
mashed potatoes;
(use the sauce in the place of the browned butter), couscous, or egg noodles. The legs are served whole, but the meat can be removed from the bone and served with a salad or open-faced on a baguette, or tossed with diced roasted potatoes as a fancy duck hash.

4 duck legs

Kosher salt

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 large onion, sliced

2 carrots, cut into 1-inch/2.5-centimeter pieces

4 garlic cloves, smashed with the side of a knife

1 tablespoon tomato paste/purée

1 to 1½ cups/240 to 355 milliliters white wine

7 to 10 stems fresh thyme, tied together

1 to 1½ cups/240 to 355 milliliters water

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

Freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons cornstarch/cornflour dissolved in 1 tablespoon of water

Season the duck legs aggressively with salt 30 to 90 minutes, or up to 2 days, before cooking.

Preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C/gas 2.

In a pot just large enough to contain the legs, lidded, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, seasoning with a three-finger pinch of salt, until the onion is softened and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the carrots, garlic, and tomato paste/pureé and cook for 1 or 2 minutes. Nestle the duck legs in the pan, and add the wine, thyme, and enough water so that the liquid just covers the duck. Raise the heat to high and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for about 30 seconds, then slip the pot into the oven. Cook, covered, for 3 hours.

The duck will be done but can sit until you’re ready to serve it. Just before serving, turn on the broiler/grill. Remove the duck legs from the pot and broil/grill until the skin is crispy. Strain the cooking liquid into a small saucepan (discard the aromatics). Bring to a simmer, spoon off the fat that rises to the top (if you wish), and reduce by about a quarter. Add the fish sauce and sherry vinegar and season with pepper. Taste and add more vinegar if you wish. Add the cornstarch/cornflour and water to thicken the sauce. Serve the duck with the sauce.

Pork belly, the cut from which we get bacon, is my favorite part of the pig. It’s got succulent meat and plenty of fat, and can be used in many different preparations, from the Chinese char sui (barbecue) to bacon and pancetta to braises like the one here. You need to make this dish at least a day ahead of serving it, or as much as a five days ahead, because the pork needs to chill in its cooking liquid, which can be water, pork or chicken stock, or, as here, orange juice.

I recommend that the pork be finished with caramel-miso glaze and garnished with scallions and red chiles, but the basic braised pork is a great base and can be flavored in any way desired. The pork could be used with beans in a stir-fry or be sautéed until crispy and served with a salad and
red wine vinaigrette
. You could sauté it and make a pork sandwich with nothing more than bread and a good mustard. Few meats match the glory of pork belly.

1½ teaspoons coriander seeds

1½ teaspoons black peppercorns

3 pounds/1.4 kilograms pork belly

Kosher salt

2 bay leaves

1 large onion, sliced

5 garlic cloves, smashed with the flat side of a knife

1 cup/240 milliliters freshly squeezed orange juice

Canola oil

Caramel-Miso Glaze

2 tablespoons seeded and minced red chiles

2 scallions, white and pale green parts only, finely sliced on a bias

Combine the coriander seeds and peppercorns in a sauté pan and toast over medium-high heat until fragrant, 2 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and crush with the bottom of a pan.

Preheat the oven to 250°F/120°C/gas ½.

Season the pork liberally on all sides with salt. Place it fat-side up in a baking dish. The more snugly it fits, the better. Scatter the crushed spices, bay leaves, onion, and garlic over the pork. Add the orange juice and cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. (You can also wrap the pork along with the other ingredients, using only ¼ cup/ 60 milliliters juice, in aluminum foil; be sure to seal it tightly.) Put the dish in the oven and cook the pork until fork tender, about 6 hours. Allow it to cool in the cooking juices, then cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, overnight or for up to 5 days.

Remove the pork from the dish, scraping off the seasonings (all of which you can discard, though the cooking liquid can be strained and used in the Caramel-Miso Glaze). Cut the pork into 12 equal cubes.

Coat the bottom of a nonstick pan with canola oil and put it over medium-high heat. Sear the pieces of pork on all sides, then add the glaze to reheat it and coat the pork. When the pork is heated through and nicely glazed, arrange on plates. Spoon the glaze over the pork, and garnish with the chiles and scallions.

Short ribs are the go-to ingredient when I entertain in the winter. They’re relatively inexpensive but are enormously satisfying. If you make a little extra effort to refine the sauce, the ribs are worthy of the finest table. This recipe serves four but can easily be scaled up as needed, using two short ribs per person. The ribs are best and easiest to prepare a day or two in advance. Serve them on buttered egg noodles.

Canola oil

All-purpose/plain flour

8 beef short ribs

2 large onions, cut into large dice

Kosher salt

4 carrots, cut into bite-size pieces