Duck Jus
Don’t even think for one second that I threw out all those beautiful duck carcasses. After two months of rendering duck fat and finally making some confit, I had a sizeable pile of bones filling up the freezer that were just begging to be made into jus.
I must confess I was a little lazy making this sauce. Typically, I would’ve started this entire project with some chicken and brown veal stocks. The combined liquids would’ve been infused with roasted duck bones, mirepoix, aromatics, tomato paste and wine. Its a formula which has been the basis to several meat sauces I’ve made in the past. Some quick notes on brown veal stock:
- In short, veal bones are roasted off and cooked with mirepoix, tomato paste, aromatics and water for a very, very long time until you have a nice, gelatinous stock.
- Veal bones yield a lot of gelatin, and the flavor is somewhat neutral although intense, which adds to its versatility/practicality as a base for soups, sauces and braising liquids.
- Veal stock can be reduced down into an even more intense glace, which can be added in small amounts to sauces to round out the flavor.
- Roasting veal bones in the pastry chef’s convection oven is a good way to pi** off the entire pastry department. (Better to ask/warn first.)
- I should really just a do a brown veal stock post…
Obviously…I did not make brown veal stock (or even chicken which is actually what most peoeple like to use, but I prefer the combo) for this project. In fact, there were a number of irregularities in the procedure I used for my jus. But I can’t complain, I’m happy with the result. Although I have a lilliputian amount of reduction, the flavor is delicious, velvety and more intensely duck-flavored than it would’ve been with my usual method.
Here’s the rundown:
The carcasses were broken down (better for space and more gelatin-extraction) and roasted off. In the photo you see half the bones. Six ducks and one stray chicken which I thought I’d just use up. Basically roasted the bones in two batches at 400˚F until dark golden brown. Deglazed the roasting pan with water each time to get the fond.
Made a plain stock with the first half of the bones, using only cold water (and the fond!). Normally mirepoix and aromatics should’ve been added. For whatever reason, I didn’t do this. Simmered and scummed for about 2-3 hours. Strained through a cheesecloth, discarded bones.
Meanwhile, a traditional mirepoix of carrot, celery and onion were roasted in the oven. At this point, tomato paste could’ve been added to the caramelized vegetables and pincéed. (Tomato paste enriches stock with a slightly different depth of flavor.) But there was no tomato product in the house. Sans tomato, I de-glazed the mirepoix with some red wine and reduced it out. Threw this in the pot with the fresh batch of roasted bones, whole black peppercorns, garlic cloves and cold water.
Brought to a gentle simmer, skimmed the scum and what little fat there was (helps that the ducks were completely skinned from the fat-rendering project), and cooked about 2-3 hours. When finished, the infused stock was strained through cheesecloth, cooled down and placed in the fridge.
The day after, I spooned off what scum had risen to the top during the cooling process. Brought the liquid to another simmer and reduced for about 1 hour to a velvety consistency. Yes, still skimming off scum. Strained one last time. From a few quarts I ended up with…
…one lousy cup and a quarter of jus. Just kidding, I knew the yield would be very small.
The consistency was a very light nappé, the color dark, clear and shiny. A small bay leaf and some thyme sprigs were added during the final cooling (removed before storage). Most people actually prefer to add herbs in the stock while its still cooking, towards the end. I prefer to wait until the last minute as I’ve always found that this last-minute addition results in a highly tantalizing, aromatic freshness. Adding herbs too early to a stock/sauce diminishes that flavor, and in some cases, ends up in bitterness, depending on the herb (like sage.)
So what happens next? At the moment, my duck jus is sitting in the freezer, waiting to be heated, finished off with some butter and served with some roast duck breast, or reduced further and added as a flavoring agent to other sauces or dishes. Its a long process, but worth it. Maybe next time I’ll use some brown veal and chicken stocks. Or not. As it turns out, breaking old habits isn’t always a bad thing.
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