This recipe requires a little planning, but the result is well worth the effort. Duck ragu goes well with pasta, over polenta, or on grilled bread with a fried egg. Freeze any extras for an easy meal down the road.

Where can you source many of these ingredients? From our local Farmers Market, of course! Magnolia Grassfed has duck and chicken, Magnolia Mountain Farm brioche, Miller Farms eggs, Angel’s Perfect Pasta, Healthy Harvest olive oil, and produce from the farm booths.

For the Braise:

6 - 8 whole duck or chicken legs

1 large onion

1 carrot

2 stalks celery

1/3 cup fennel tops (optional)

2 heads garlic cut in half through “equator”

2 quarts chicken/duck stock

½ bottle dry white wine

2-3 bay leaves

2 tb olive oil

salt & pepper

fresh herbs (optional…. parsley stems, thyme)

For the Ragu:

2 yellow onions

2 carrots

4 stalks celery

1 bulb fennel (optional)

3 sprigs thyme

3 bay leaves

2 tb olive oil

parmesan cheese rinds (optional)

Options for serving:

1 tb butter

2 tb chopped parsley and marjoram

fresh grated parmesan cheese

The day before:

Preferably at least 12 hours before cooking, use a paring knife to score the legs around the ankle. Season the legs generously on both sides with salt and black pepper (the salt on the legs will season the entire ragu). Store in the refrigerator overnight.

Braising process:

Heat a 4-6 quart dutch oven or thick bottomed pot over medium heat. Roughly chop onion, carrot, celery and fennel tops (mirepoix) into approx 3/4 inch cubes, do not cut too small. Add olive oil to coat the bottom of the pot and saute mirepoix until golden brown, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Add bay leaves and garlic, saute until garlic is fragrant but not darker in color, do not burn your garlic! Add white wine and any herb stems, stir with a wooden spoon to deglaze all the golden caramelized sugar stuck to the pot.

Place duck/chicken legs, skin side down in the pot. Add chicken stock to just cover the legs and bring to a simmer on the stove top. Put a lid on your pot and place in a 325 degree oven. Check braising legs every half hour, turn the oven down to 300 if boiling aggressively.

Begin checking legs for doneness after an hour and a half in the oven or when the meat has pulled away from the ankle. To check for doneness, use tongs to remove a leg from the pot, grabbing it by the ankle. On a flat surface gently press the ankle joint towards the thigh, if the knee joint springs back without any give, put the leg back for another half hour. When the knee joint gently gives and “pops” the connective tissue has broken down and our legs are finished cooking. Another way to check for doneness is with a skewer. Slide the skewer through the thigh, next to the bone, if the skewer releases easily and slides back out with no resistance, the leg is finished.

Gently remove legs from the pot using tongs and grab legs by the ankle joint to not tear the skin or meat and place on the tray to cool. Strain the cooking liquid, or your “Braise Jus,” through a fine strainer and discard the cooked mirepoix. Use a ladle to skim any fat that settles on top of your jus and set aside (*It’s easiest to skim in a round container, making concentric circles from the inside out; **Braised legs covered in jus can be stored in the fridge for up to a week).

Making the Ragu:

Heat a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat on the stove. Dice 2 onions, 2 carrots, 4 stalks of celery and one bulb of fennel as uniformly as possible. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the pot and then add diced mirepoix and bay leaves. Saute over med/high heat until translucent 7-10 minutes.

While the mirepoix is cooking, gently pull the meat off the leg bones, being careful to avoid any bones or cartilage. Add picked meat, braise jus, sprigs of thyme and any parmesan cheese rinds to the pot and simmer gently for 20-30 minutes. Taste for seasoning, add any salt as needed, remove thyme branches and bay leaves before serving.

To serve, bring 3/4 to 1 cup of ragu per serving to a simmer in a saute pan with a small pat of butter, add chopped fresh herbs and twist of fresh cracked black pepper. Bon appetit! (*Pasta is best cooked in the ragu for a minute after boiling with an ounce or two of pasta water, the starch from the pasta will help the sauce stick to the noodles)

For more information about the Nederland Farmers Market, check out https://www.nederlandfarmersmarket.org/