普羅旺斯的天空下 Living in Provence

我第一次做這道菜是當我還居住在倫敦時, 我那時的男朋友(現在的老公) 從南法跑來看我, 我知道他愛吃鴨, 便開始搜尋各式鴨的食譜。然後我想到了, Neil Perry (澳洲的一位大師級主廚) 的食譜裡好像有著類似的ragù*, 我研究了一下他的食譜, 覺的那並不是我想要的ragù, 但也靈機一動, 想用紅酒來醃鴨, 倣法國紅酒燉牛肉的方式, 只事主角改為鴨腿, 最後再用手撕鴨腿肉混入熬燉數小時的醬汁, 配上義大利寬麵 (tagliatelle  或 pappardelle) 又或者配上自製義大利馬鈴薯餃!
(* Ragù:  其實是使用碎肉加上蔬菜又或者加上菇類熬燉而成的肉醬汁; 此醬和 bolognaise 所謂的“義大利肉醬“, 常被渾淆, 基本上凡是加上蔬菜, 如紅蘿蔔、芹菜、菇類等等都是Ragù。）

這道菜我做了蠻多次, 其中得到的感想是, 若使用來自法國西南部的鴨子 (西南部是法國鴨子及鴨類產品的名產區), 那裡的鴨子無疑是最美味的, 但也是最肥的...相對的, 在處裡上, 必須盡可能的去油。一個好方法是將此紅酒鴨肉醬放置冰箱一天, 一來燉菜類通常是在再次加熱後, 味道更濃郁, 二來, 當油脂冷卻後, 成乳白固體, 這時可以輕易的將它取出。

以下是所需的食材：

4大隻鴨腿
750 ml (1瓶) 口感渾圓的紅酒*
2 條小型紅蘿蔔, 去皮、略切
2 小條西芹菜, 略切
1 顆洋蔥, 略切
4-5 瓣大蒜, 去皮
2 片新鮮月桂葉 (或1片乾燥月桂葉 )
2 小枝迷迭香
2 片厚的煙薰培根, 切成條狀
1 罐義式蕃茄 (我偏愛小蕃茄品種)
250g tagliatelle  或 pappardelle
(tagliatelle為較常見的寬版義大利麵, 寬約1公分; pappardelle, 寬約2.5-3公分; gnocchi 馬鈴薯餃, 有機會再來分享做法)
適量的刨碎帕馬森起士
少許黑胡椒調味

(* 紅酒部份: 請盡可能選擇'你會願意在平日喝'的等級; 相信我, 味道上, 不會讓你失望的。'口感渾圓的紅酒 (full-bodied red wine)' - 含丹寧及酒精成份較高, 含在嘴理具渾圓、較有深度也可帶有絲緞般的velvety口感。我使用2009年份的波爾多紅酒, 也可用Cabernet Sauvignon; 2009年份的波爾多紅酒被不少專業品酒師給於極佳的評價。)

準備工作:

1.  先將多餘的鴨皮切除
2.  將鴨腿、紅蘿蔔、西芹菜、洋蔥、大蒜、月桂葉和迷迭香放入一大碗或深盤 (請勿使用金屬製的容器), 將 750 ml, 1整瓶紅酒倒入, 均勻覆蓋鴨腿, 鴨皮面朝上。使用保鮮膜覆蓋, 放入冰箱醃至24小時。

(註:  請盡可能除去多餘的鴨皮與脂肪, 因為鴨腿會在烹煮中融出更多油脂。去除的鴨皮可以拿來煉鴨油, 然後將此鴨油放入一殺菌過的玻璃罐, 可存放上數月; 也可拿此鴨油來烤、炒馬鈴薯或炒蔬菜、洋蔥等, 甚至油封鴨, 有機會再來分享做法。)

(醃24小時後的鴨腿, 紅酒已被吸收)

製作此紅酒鴨肉醬：

烤箱預熱至180C

1.  將鴨腿從紅酒醃料中取出, 瀝乾, 放於一盤中; 蔬菜、月桂葉和迷迭香從紅酒醃料中取出, 瀝乾, 放於一盤中

2.  將琺瑯鑄鐵鍋用中火加熱, 將鴨腿分批煎至兩面金黃, 取出放於一盤中, 瀝掉所有的油; 重複此動作直到所有鴨腿皆煎至兩面金黃

3.  琺瑯鑄鐵鍋中只留下極少量的鴨油, 加入煙薰培根條, 香煎數分鐘; 瀝掉多數的油, 只留下約一小匙用來清炒蔬菜

4.  清炒蔬菜約5-8分鐘後, 加入鴨腿, 轉大火並將所有紅酒醃汁倒入, 煮沸4-5分鐘讓酒精揮發

5.  加入義式蕃茄罐頭和月桂葉、迷迭香, 攪拌均勻

6.  加蓋, 熄火, 放入烤箱悶烤 2.5-3小時, 直到鴨肉一碰就能輕易的分散 (若無烤箱, 請用小火慢燉直到鴨肉一碰就能輕易的分散)

 
7.  請小心的將鴨腿取出, 放於一盤中待稍微冷卻

8.  將鴨皮撕去, 然後用手撕鴨腿

9.  最後在將鴨腿絲加回紅酒醬

你可以將喜愛的義式寬麵(或馬鈴薯餃) 煮至al dente 彈牙, 與此醬汁加熱1-2分鐘, 待麵條均勻裹覆著醬汁, 然後撒上刨碎帕馬森起士享用。或如上提到 - 將此紅酒鴨肉醬放置冰箱一天, 一來燉菜類通常是在再次加熱後, 味道更濃郁, 二來, 當油脂冷卻後, 成橘紅色固體(因茄紅素的關係), 這時可以輕易的將它取出。

English Version:

The first time I made this dish was in London when my boyfriend (now husband) came to visit me.  I know he loves ducks so I started searching for some recipes....Then I saw Neil Perry's duck ragù...As much as I love ragù and Neil Perry is one of my favorite chefs, but it was not quite to what I had in mind.  So I decided to marinate the duck in wine as you would do with the beef - boeuf a la Bourguignonne...except my version is with the duck!  I then hand shred the duck (as I would do for my veal ragù) and serve it with some pasta or homemade gnocchi.

I have made this dish several times, and found the ducks, especially from the south-west of France are undoubtably the best...but also the fattest!   This also means, you will need to remove as much fat as possible.  The best way to do this is to serve this ragù the next day (it will also taste better) because it will be easier to remove the fat solids when it has cooled down.

My Duck Ragù

4 duck Marylands (thigh and legs attached)
750 ml full-bodied red wine (I used 09's Bordeaux)
2 small carrots, roughly chopped
2 small celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
4 to 5 garlic cloves, peeled
2 fresh bay leaves (or 1 dried bay leaf)
2 small rosemary sprigs
2 rashers smoked bacon (lardon), cut into strips
1 tin of Italian cherry tomatoes (400g)
250g of tagliatelle or pappardelle
grated Parmesan
black pepper to season

Preparation:

1.  Trim off any excess duck fat.
2.  In a large bowl or dish (non-metallic), add the duck, carrot, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary and cover it with 750 ml of red wine.  Leave it to marinate in fridge for 24 hours.

* Please note:  Trim off as much fat as you can, as you will see more duck fat rendered down during the braising.
You can use this fat to produce your own duck fat.  It can be kept in a sterilized jar for months.  This fat can then be used to fry or roast potatoes, make your own duck confit and even saute onions and vegetables with.
*  For full-boided red wine:   Please use a bottle that you would normally drink with.  It does make a difference.  I used 09's Bordeaux; you could also use Cabernet Sauvignon.

To make the ragù:

Preheat the oven to 180C

1.  Drain the duck from the marinate and place on a plate, and do the same for the vegetables and herbs; reserve the wine from the marinate.
2.  Heat a heavy-based (cast-iron) saucepan over a medium heat and brown the duck in batches.  (*You don't need to add any more oil as more duck fat will render when browning.)  Drain off the fat, and repeat with the rest of duck Marylands.
3.  In the same saucepan, (with only a tiny amount of duck fat) fry the bacon for a few minutes.  Drain off any excess fat, and reserve just enough to saute the vegetables.
4.  Add the duck back in and increase the heat to high.  Pull over all the wine and let it boil for a few minutes to evaporate the alcohol.  
5.  Add the tomatoes and herbs and stir to mix well.
6.  Cover the saucepan with its lid and into the oven for 2.5 to 3 hours.  Or until the meat falls of the bone easily.
7.  Remove the duck Marylands from the saucepan carefully, and leave them to cool off a bit.
8.  Discard the duck skin and hand shred these Marylands.
9.  Put the shredded duck back into the saucepan and mix well with the sauce.

You could serve this ragù with some tagliatelle or pappardelle now or I prefer to leave it overnight in the fridge.  As it will be easier to remove some more fat (solids) when it is cooled, and further more, it becomes more flavorsome the next day.