Sous Vide Duck Legs recipe. My take on sous vide duck confit with tender, shreddable duck legs, cooked sous vide for 8 hours, then crisped up on the grill.
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One of my highlights at Everything Food 2016 was meeting Jason Logsdon. Like me, he’s a self-published author and blogger. He makes me feel like a slacker - he has published 9 of his own cookbooks, about how to use modernist cooking techniques as a home cook. 3 I picked up a bunch of publishing tips from him - it was weird and wonderful to have someone to talk with about self-published cookbooks. It’s such a niche within a niche…but he’s done it, too.
Talking with Jason was also a reminder - I haven’t posted a sous vide recipe in a while. I use my sous vide all the time, but for me it’s my ace-in-the-hole on a busy weeknight. I vacuum seal and freeze steaks, chicken breasts, and Italian sausage; when I need a dinner that I won’t be around to actually cook, I drop the baggies in the water, turn on my sous vide, and head off for whatever kids event is occupying my evening. When we come home I can have dinner on the table in fifteen minutes; all the protein needs is a quick sear.
Then my friends at Maple Leaf Farms sent me a care package of duck, including a bunch of duck legs. 4 I love sous vide duck legs - I get the benefits of duck leg confit - tender, shreddable duck legs - without all the messy duck fat. (It is delicious, delicious duck fat…but it’s still a lot of work. Sealing it in sous vide bags helps contain the mess.) The long, slow sous vide cooking tenderizes the duck meat and renders out a lot of the fat; I can toss the duck legs on the grill for a quick sear, crisping up the skin, and they’re ready to serve.
Ingredients
- 4 duck legs
- 4 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt (1 teaspoon per duck leg)
- 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
How to Make Sous Vide Grilled Duck Legs
Preparing Duck Legs for Sous Vide
Sprinkle the duck legs with the kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. (If you have the time, put them in a single layer in a baking dish and refrigerate overnight, or for up to 2 days.) Put the duck legs in quart vacuum bags, 2 legs per bag, and vacuum seal the bags.
The Sous Vide Process
Submerge the duck leg bags in the sous vide water and sous vide at 167°F/75°C for 8 to 10 hours.
Finishing on the Grill
Set up the grill for direct high heat: When the duck legs are almost done cooking sous vide, set up the grill for direct high heat and clean the grill grate. For my gas grill, I preheat a couple of the burners on high for 15 minutes, then brush the grill grate clean with my grill brush.
Remove the bags from the water bath, remove the duck legs from the vacuum bags and thoroughly dry with paper towels. Set the duck legs on the grill, skin side up, over direct high heat, and grill with the lid open until the duck legs have good grill marks, about 1 minute. Flip the duck legs and grill the skin side until it is browned - watch out for flareups - about 1 more minute. Flip the legs, rotate them 90 degrees, and grill until there is a good crosshatch of grill marks on the bottom of the legs, about 1 more minute. Flip the legs and grill until the skin is browned and crispy, again watching for flareups, about 2 more minutes. Remove the legs to a platter and serve. Enjoy!
Equipment
- Vacuum sealer: I have a cheap FoodSaver vacuum sealer that I bought years ago that just keeps chugging along.
- Sous vide machine: You need a sous vide immersion circulator (I use my Anova Sous Vide) and a food storage container (or large pot) that can hold the steak with enough room to circulate the water.
- Sous vide bag and sealer: You need food-safe plastic bags for sous vide, and you need all the air out of the bag to cook efficiently. The best way to do this is with a vacuum sealer and vacuum bags. I use quart vacuum seal bags for this recipe, and put 2 duck legs in each quart bag. If you don't have a vacuum sealer, you can use freezer Ziploc bags for sous vide. Leave the zip-top of the bag open and slowly lower it into the water bath. The water will push all the air out of the bag as it is lowered. Zip the top of the bag right before it reaches the water level.
- Grill: I use my grill to get a good sear on my sous vide steaks.
How long does it take to sous vide duck legs?
It takes about 8 hours at 167°F/75°C to make tender duck legs with the sous vide cooking method. Yes, that's longer than the traditional method, but not that much longer, and you don't need all the duck fat.
Recipe Tips
- After 10 hours sous vide, the duck legs are going to be fall-apart tender. Be careful when you’re flipping them on the grill - work the tongs under the legs gently to break them away from the grill grate before flipping. (And, even if you’re careful, you may have breakaway shreds of meat. Don’t worry - the legs will still be delicious.)
- Cast-iron pan or heavy-duty skillet: Don't have a grill? A ripping hot cast iron skillet is also suitable for searing; sear the steak in a hot skillet for 1 to 2 minutes per side to give it a good crust. (A quality stainless steel pan, like an All-Clad fry pan, also works for searing. It doesn't hold as much heat as stainless steel, but it's close. And a stainless steel pan is a lot easier to maintain.)
Serving Suggestions
Duck legs are perfect on top of a salad, and I love to serve them with seasonal fresh fruit. Especially in the summer, with June strawberries (like the ones in the picture), raspberries in July, or August peaches. In the fall I look to apples, and in the winter I go with citrus fruit.
Inspired by Jason Logsdon, Modernist Cooking Made Easy: Sous Vide
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Sous Vide Duck Legs (Finished on the grill)
- Total Time: 10 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 4 duck legs 1x
Description
Sous Vide Grilled Duck Legs recipe - Tender, shreddable duck legs sous vide, crisped up on the grill.
Ingredients
- 4 duck legs
- 4 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt (1 teaspoon per duck leg)
- 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Salt and vacuum seal the duck legs: Sprinkle the duck legs with the kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. (If you have the time, put them in a single layer in a baking dish and refrigerate overnight, or for up to 2 days.) Put the duck legs in quart vacuum bags, 2 legs per bag, and vacuum seal the bags.
- Sous vide the duck legs: Submerge the duck leg bags in the sous vide water and sous vide at 167°F/75°C for 8 to 10 hours.
- Set up the grill for direct high heat: When the duck legs are almost done cooking sous vide, set the grill up for cooking on direct high heat, and clean the grill grate. I preheat a couple of the burners on my gas grill for 15 minutes, then brush the grill grate clean with my grill brush.
- Grill the duck legs:Remove the duck legs from the vacuum pouches and thoroughly dry with paper towels. Set the duck legs on the grill, skin side up, over direct high heat, and grill with the lid open until the duck legs have good grill marks, about 1 minute. Flip the duck legs and grill the skin side until it is browned - watch out for flareups - about 1 more minute. Flip the legs, rotate them 90 degrees, and grill until there is a good crosshatch of grill marks on the bottom of the legs, about 1 more minute. Flip the legs and grill until the skin is browned and crispy, again watching for flareups, about 2 more minutes. Remove the legs to a platter and serve.
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
After 10 hours sous vide, the duck legs are going to be fall-apart tender. Be careful when you’re flipping them on the grill - work the tongs under the legs gently to break them away from the grill grate before flipping. (And, even if you’re careful, you may have breakaway shreds of meat. Don’t worry - the legs will still be tender.)
Duck legs are perfect on top of a salad, and I love to serve them with seasonal fresh fruit. Strawberries in June (like the ones in the picture), raspberries in July, peaches in August.
- Prep Time: 10 hours
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Sous Vide
- Cuisine: American
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Sous Vide Duck Two Ways - Duck Breast and Duck Leg Confit
Sous Vide Grilled Lamb T-Bones With Provencal Tian
Sous Vide Corn on the Cob
My other Sous Vide Recipes
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Marc
This is so timely, I saw duck legs at grocery store and wondered how to cook. What is the purpose of letting them sit in fridge before vacuum sealing?
Mike V
It dry brines the duck legs. I'm used to dry brining without covering the legs, to let the dry environment in the refrigerator dry out the skin. Not sure it matters in this case, because of the wet cooking environment caused by sous vide - I'll have to test that someday.
Helen Adams
Wondering about Peking Duck? Always love it but a big PITA to dry skin.
Mike V
Here is how I do Peking style duck: https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/2009/11/rotisserie-duck-peking-style.html/
Nora
Looks awesome! I'm going to try this. You're my favorite cooking dad!
Mike V
Thank you, Nora!
Beth
Great job, Mike!
Mike V
Thanks, Beth!
Jason Logsdon
Thanks for the kind words Mike, it was great to meet you too! The duck legs look fantastic, I might have to grill some up this weekend!
Mike V
And thank you again for the inspiration!