Frou-Frou Family Meals: Teriyaki Duck Legs

Most of you guys know that I'm for simplicity. If I had a middle name, simple would be it. I've grown to like simplicity, which I sincerely attribute to my relationship with Jesus Christ. He continues to make me more simple-minded in how I view life and its endeavors, which would include recipes. However, there are those special moments where my Abba allows me to savor life gloriously and its fullness in Him (yes, that is everyday, but these moments have a bit more *uumph*). Those moments have led me to a little series I like to call on my blog, Frou-Frou Family Meals! Isn't that such a cute name? Before I ever liked simplicity, I liked the complete opposite. I would be in the kitchen for hours making our home smell like the islands on Tuesdays and Italy on Wednesdays. That became, let's just say, a tiring. But the food!!!! Ohhhh, the food!!! It was to live for!!! So, get ready to make an amazing meal for your family that is sure to be a treat!

This meal has three components: A meat (protein), a veggie (fiber), and potatoes (starch). I love for my meals to have all the food groups, because our bodies definitely need it in this day and age.

On The Menu:

-Teriyaki Duck Legs

-Creamy Garlic Petite Medley Mashed Potatoes (this is why my mashed potatoes were a purple tint)

-Classic Broccoli

Cooking Time: Frou-Frou Time (varies on each person's cooking ability and efficiency. It took me around 3 hours.)

FOR THE DUCK: My mom and I got some amazing pieces of duck from the market. We also purchased a Teriyaki Sauce from Whole Foods to add some "quickness" to this recipe. Now, the only other time I've had duck is from a fancy hotel/restaurant and they were duck wings. So good!! Actually, this is the reason I'm making this for my fam. My mom's experience was not the best. I won't go into the details, but just take me for my word. Before I get into the recipe, let me share some benefits of eating duck according to drhealthbenefits.com:

-Improves the immune system

-Increase body weight naturally

-Strengthen teeth and bones

and so much more! Here's the link to the article: https://drhealthbenefits.com/food-bevarages/meats/health-benefits-of-duck-meat

RECIPE:

First, wash your duck legs in warm water and pick any hairs out. If my duck has a little bit of hair, I don't mind. Excessive hair, however, pluck away. Dry duck and cut some slashes in the meat where the skin is. I cut my slashes deep to go all the way through. Place duck in a Ziploc bag and pour Teriyaki sauce, garlic powder, minced ginger, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Shake it up and get the sauce inside the slashes of meat. Make sure your duck is nicely marinated in the bag. Then, I put my duck in the fridge while I worked on the components of the meal.

FOR THE POTATOES:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

I washed my potatoes under the faucet with a rag. You could also soak your potatoes for around 15 minutes and use a rag to clean the skin. After washing, I dried them off and put aside.

Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil, bending the edges upward and grease it with a little avocado oil or grapeseed. Then, cut your potatoes in half placing them on the sheet pan.

Slowly melt some grass-fed butter on low -heat in a small pot with minced garlic (I used a lot), basil, Italian seasoning, and thyme.

After it is melted and has gently simmered for about a minute, pour butter mixture on cut potatoes. Toss the potatoes in the butter mixture and season with salt and pepper. I also like to sprinkle finely-grated parmesan on top. YUM! Toss again. Then, enclose the aluminum foil over potatoes but not too much where they are all jumbled. Make sure they are all in a flat layer, but just close to one another.

Put another sheet of aluminum foil on top and tuck under bottom layer of aluminum foil. Put a little slash on the top aluminum foil layer and put it oven.

You'll know it's near to being done when you can smell your potatoes. I check mines a little after that point and slightly take off top layer of foil and stabbing potatoes with fork, making sure they are tender. You want your potatoes nice and soft, not mush, but a perfect texture. Once they're done, take them out of oven and place in a glass or ceramic mixing bowl. Use all that left over butter mixture in the foil and put that in the bowl with the potatoes. I then add some milk, heavy cream, cheese (you can use more parm or sharp cheddar), and sour cream. Use enough of each, but not too much where you make yourself sick. Make the recipe to your taste. Our family loves our farm fresh fats, so we add the perfect amount. Use a hand mixer blending until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper. If still too thick, add more milk in increments. Put foil on top of bowl and make rest of food. Mines got cold while making the rest of meal, so I reheated in pot and added a bit more milk to make less stiff.

BACK TO THE DUCK: Preheat oven at 300 degrees. Add your duck, skin side facing up, and sauce in bag to a dish that fits your duck pieces. Make sure they're not overlapping, but there's not too much space between them. You also want to make sure your liquid is at the skin level. I added some water (not a lot) to bring the liquid to that level. Place in oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes. After 1 hour and 30 minutes, look upon your beautifully braised* duck legs and take out of oven. Take out duck legs from pan and put aside. Separate duck fat and sauce from each other. My sauce was on bottom and oil (duck fat) on top. I did add a bit more brown sugar to the sauce to make the sauce thicker and like a glaze. This step took me a bit, but it was worth it. Preheat your cast-iron pan and once hot, add some of the duck fat from the pan you took the duck out of. Put your duck legs in the pan and sauté on both sides until caramelized. Then, add all your sauce to the pan on medium heat and scoop the sauce on each duck legs, putting it in the slashes of duck and any crevice. Turn over and repeat. Transfer your duck back to oven, but this time on the high broil setting for about 3 minutes. All done! *The braising method I used was from the website, honest-food.net Here is the link to their recipe: https://honest-food.net/easy-roast-duck-legs/

FOR THE BROCCOLI: Frozen, Organic broccoli, you saved the night! I tossed my frozen broccoli in a pot, added enough water to cover. Place on medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Make sure lid is halfway on, so steam can escape. Check on broccoli here and then and once fork tender, drain water. Add butter, chopped garlic or garlic powder, salt and pepper. Voila! You're all done. Place lid on top until ready to serve.

Serve up those plates and dig in! My mom and I enjoyed our meal! The teriyaki flavor was so good for the duck. All the flavors went together perfectly and it was simply divine!

I pray you enjoy your Frou-Frou Family Meal and if you tried it, let me know how you liked it!

God bless,

Hannah