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This recipe is inspired by duck legs confit, where duck legs are submerged in duck fat and poached until tender and shreddable. Duck legs confit are fanstastic…but there’s a lot of waiting, with a total cooking time of up to 2 days.
I don’t have two days - I have to get dinner on the table tonight. I’m making pan-roasted duck legs, turned into a one-pan meal with a layer of potatoes and onions. I’m not going to let all that delicious duck fat go to waste!
The key to this recipe is covered cooking for the first half hour in the oven, braising the duck legs and potatoes. 2 Then the lid comes off and the duck legs brown in the heat of the oven.
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Cast Iron Roast Duck Legs with Potatoes and Shallots
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Cast Iron Roast Duck Legs, on a bed of potatoes and shallots.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 4 duck legs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 4 medium potatoes, cut into 1-inch dice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large Shallot, minced
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 1 sprig parsley
- 1 cup chicken stock
Instructions
- Sear the duck legs: Set the oven to 425°F. Season the duck legs with salt and pepper. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-low heat for five minutes, then set the duck legs in the skillet, skin side down, and let them sear until well browned, about 10 minutes. Flip the duck legs and brown the flesh side, about 5 more minutes. Remove the duck legs to a bowl and pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the duck fat.
- Sauté the potatoes and aromatics: Increase the heat under the skillet to medium. Add the potatoes, toss them in the skillet to coat with duck fat, then let them sit until they brown on the bottom, about three minutes. Stir in the shallot, thyme, and parsley, and let them cook for a minute.
- Everything in the pan: Nestle the duck legs in the pan, skin side up, then add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Tightly cover the pan with aluminum foil (or a tight-fitting lid) and transfer it to the oven.
- Roast the duck: Let the pan roast in the oven, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and cook, uncovered, until the potatoes are cooked through and the duck reaches at least 180°F in the thickest part, about 30 more minutes.
- Serve: Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes, then scoop the duck legs and potatoes out with a slotted spoon and move them to a platter. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Be careful when covering the pan with foil - cast iron is hot! Someday I’m going to get the cast iron lid for my cast iron pan…but I never think of it until I need it. If you have a lid that fits your cast iron pan, use it instead of the foil.
Tools
12 inch cast iron skillet (I go with my Lodge)
Heavy duty aluminum foil (or a tight-fitting lid)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Category: Sunday Dinner
- Method: Roast
- Cuisine: American
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What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
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Brie says
One of my fave recipes most often on repeat! I include different starchy veggies with or instead of potatoes and it works every time! Thank you!
Mike Vrobel says
You're welcome!
Gillian Chan says
This has become a staple in our family with my son declaring that these are the best potatoes ever!
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you!
Beth Bochnak says
This was delicious! And easy. I used all the fat and next time I probably will cut it back a bit. I had to make a few adjustments but they all worked. This is a pretty forgiving recipe. I had no fresh thyme but dried worked.I only had small yellow potatoes so I quartered them, no shallots so I used half a chopped onion. Next time I hope to have all the ingredients on hand!
Mike Vrobel says
Thanks! And good for you for using what you had - those all sound like great substitutes.
Nonnie says
This recipe was delicious. Roasting time was spot-on! I cut the recipe in half (for two) and used Maple Leaf Farms Peking duck legs. Next time I might add extra chopped thyme, rosemary and caramelized fennel to up the flavor profile. Be sure to salt and pepper generously. Duck has many varieties and flavor profiles. Next time I'll try Moscovy duck legs from Grimaud to compare. Definitely a keeper!
P.S. Save the excess duck fat for roasting more potatoes for another dinner...
Deborah Jeanne says
I hate to cook. I think I like to, but I don’t. I waste more food each week that spoils before it’s eaten. By the time I decide I’m hungry, it takes too long to cook and I end up doing delivery. Yes, it can take up to an hour, but there’s no effort on my part. I tried one of those mail order healthy meals that require 3 minutes in the microwave - voila - dinner. Except they didn’t send the order, so I cancelled. This was so easy. Not many ingredients, limited slicing and dicing. More important, two things I love - duck and potatoes. Along with a pre-mixed salad which included a container of salad dressing (my kinda salad) it made a well-balanced, complete meal that would have made my doctor happy. It’s just me, so I only did 1/2 recipe, and the best part is there are leftovers for tomorrow. This was so good I know I’ll be making this again - on the rare occasions when I actually do cook. If you have any more easy, uncomplicated meals, please share. Although I bet if I look, you probably have a website and they’re already posted…… thanks for sharing this. I really enjoyed it.
Mike Vrobel says
You're welcome!
Lori says
This is an exceptional recipe. I have made it once a week since finding it online and it has become one of our favorites. I don't pour out ANY of the duck fat and the smell of it cooking is almost as heavenly as eating it! Many thanks to 'Dad' for sharing this with us...
Mike Vrobel says
You're welcome! Glad you enjoy it
Heather Evans says
Fabulous! “This is a keeper,” per my husband. “We should serve this to guests. It’s different.” I served it with kale sautéed with garlic in some of the leftover duck fat. A perfect dinner.
Christie says
Thank you for this recipe!! I'm a total duck novice. I cooked duck breast once. I've cooked with ground duck and duck bacon once. And I had these leg quarters in the freezer for months. I didn't know what to do with them. So the hubs pulls them out and says, “Let’s have these for dinner tonight!” I say, “Sure thing!” but inside I’m panicking. I’ve never cooked duck legs before. I hate chicken and turkey legs. Why would I want to eat duck legs?
So, off to Pinterest I go and stumble upon your recipe. This recipe. This recipe that saved our Saturday night dinner. I looked for the better part of an hour for a recipe. Confit, braised, roasted, you name it. However, it was the cast iron skillet, the fact that this didn’t take 5 hours, that it had potatoes in it, and that yummy photo that sold me.
This is probably the longest comment you’ve received? May not. But I just truly wanted to thank you for sharing this deliciously simple recipe for roasted duck legs. Next time I make it, and there will be a next time, I’ll share and link to this recipe. Thank you!
Dan Gebhart says
I love this recipe. It also works with boned out breasts. I use all the duck fat. With the shallots I also add fresh garlic, and wild black trumpet mushrooms that I have foraged. Amazing dish, thank you!
Mike says
Duck legs in a cast iron skillet?!?! Frikkin' awesome! Great pics!
Mike V says
Thanks, Mike!
Verity says
Those duck legs look delicious...I'll have to try that with chicken, lol.
I took my skillet to the local junk/antique store and dug through their collection of enamelware lids til I found one that fit. I got an awesome lid that fits great for $3, and it doesn't weigh as much as the skillet!