Confit duck leg with brioche feuilletée

We’re going to make some delicious confit duck leg with pistachio, a blackberry pate de fruit and the star of the show a brioche feuilletée. That’s a beautiful layered brioche bread.

The confit duck leg

1 + 1 liter	water
80 grams	nitrite salt
1	cinnamon stick
3	cardamom seeds
3	cloves
1	orange
6	duck legs
	Duck fat or goose fat
	Pistachio nuts

Pour a liter of water into a saucepan and also add the nitrite salt, the cinnamon stick, the cardamom seeds, the cloves and the peel from the orange. Now bring this to a boil. Once it’s boiling turn off the heat and add 1 liter of cold water. Then pour it into a big container and let it cool down for 30 minutes. After that add the duck legs and submerge them completely. Now let it brine for 24 hours in your fridge. The next day you can take them out of the brine and transfer them into a pan. Now submerge the legs completely with melted duck fat or goose fat and heat up the fat till it’s 90 degrees Celsius. Then remove the thermometer and place the pan into an oven at 90 degrees Celsius and let it cook for 8 hours. Meanwhile pour 1 liter of toasted poultry broth into a pan and reduce it for 90%. Once the duck legs are cooked take them out of the fat and clean the meat from the bones and the skin. The skin you can keep for next time. Now transfer the cleaned duck leg into a bowl and add the hot reduced poultry broth. Mix it for around 2 minutes to break up the texture a bit. After add 3 table spoons of goose or duck fat to make it a bit juicier. Mix it again and then add some pistachio nuts. These will add a beautiful texture. Now cover your worktop with layer of wrap and place the duck leg on top. Portion it into a big roll and then roll it up as tight as possible. Then make a knot on one side. Now use the other side to make it even tighter and make a knot on that side as well. Then submerge the roll in a container that’s filled with ice water and let it set for at least 2 hours. By letting it set in the water you will get a beautiful round roll with no laying dent.

The blackberry pate de fruit

500 grams	frozen blackberries
40 grams	sugar
4 grams	salt

Mix the frozen blackberries with the sugar and the salt. Cover it with some wrap and then cook it on a double boiler for 4 hours. Once that’s done let it drain on a sieve that’s lined with a kitchen paper. Let it drain for a couple of hours, so you don’t waste a single drop. Then transfer the blackberry trimmings on a tray and let them dry at 60 degrees Celsius. I’m not using them this time, but it’s great to use for powders and ice cream.

250 grams	blackberry broth
25 grams	sugar
7 grams	pectin
155 grams	sugar
50 grams	glucose syrup
5 grams	white wine vinegar

Pour the blackberry broth into a saucepan and bring this to a boil. Meanwhile mix 25 grams of sugar with the pectin powder. Once the broth is boiling slowly while stirring add the pectin sugar and boil it for 2 minutes. Then slowly add 155 grams of sugar and the glucose syrup. Now heat it up till the pate de fruit is 108 degrees Celsius. Then stir in the white wine vinegar and boil it once more. After, heat up an oiled metal tray and pour the blackberry pate de fruit on top. Spread it and then use a blowtorch to remove any bubbles. Then let it set out of the fridge.

The brioche feuilletée

500 grams	flour
150 grams	water (4 degrees Celsius)
100 grams	whole beaten egg
50 grams	sugar
25 grams	milk powder
20 grams	fresh yeast
8 grams	salt
150 grams	butter (85% fat)
250 grams	butter (85% fat)

Transfer the flour on your worktop and make a well in the middle. Fill it with the water, the whole beaten egg, the sugar, the milk powder and the fresh yeast. Now mix it and then knead it into a firm dough for around 5 minutes. Then add the salt and knead it for another 5 minutes till it’s a nice elastic ball of dough. You can also do this in the machine. But I just wanted to show that you can do it by hand. In the machine you need to knead it for 3 minutes. Then add the salt and knead it for another 3 minutes. Now cut a cross in the dough and fold it open. Then add the 150 grams of butter and knead it for 2 to 3 minutes till all the butter is incorporated. You need to be able to pull the dough apart and see some light through the dough. Then ball it up and transfer it into a bowl. After cover it with some wrap and let it proof for 45 minutes at 25 degrees Celsius. Now gently remove the wrap and keep it for later. Then deflate the dough and ball it up again. Once that’s done cover it again and let it rest overnight in your

fridge. The next day you can place the 250 grams of butter on some parchment paper and cover it. Then roll it into a square that’s 15 by 15 centimeters. The butter I use contains 85% fat. Now

let it set in your fridge for 1 hour. Then transfer the dough on your worktop and roll it into a rectangle that 15 by 35 centimeters. Place the butter square in the middle and fold the dough on top. Make sure it’s completely closed up. Then gently roll it into a long rectangle. Don’t press to hard, otherwise the butter will break and then the layers will fall apart. Now fold the sides to the middle and then fold it once more. In total that’s 4 folds. Then turn it 90 degrees and roll it into a rectangle once more. Again don’t press to hard. Now fold the dough in three. Then cover it with some foil and let it rest in your freezer for 10 minutes and then in your fridge for 20 minutes. After that roll the dough into a sheet

that’s 5 millimeters thick and portion it into a desired size. You can see all the beautiful layers. Now shape it into the desired shape. I like this zigzag pattern, but it's also nice to roll it up. Then transfer the dough into a baking tray and when necessary, fix the shape. Now fill a bowl with hot water and place it in your oven. Put the brioche in there as well and then let it proof for 60 to 90 minutes at 27 degrees Celsius till it has double in size. Then bake them at 170 degrees Celsius till the core has a temperature of 94 degrees Celsius. Once baked brush a thin layer of melted butter on top. This will create a beautiful shine. Then remove the brioche from the baking trays and let them cool down completely. It’s crispy on the outside and fluffy on the outside.

How to finish the dish

First trim the sides off the duck and remove the wrap. Now transfer the pate de fruit on a piece of foil and place the duck on top. Cover it completely and then gently portion it into thin slices. Transfer it on a plate and then let it come to temperature for 30 minutes.