Recipes for cooking duck legs in a frying pan

2 legs

2 hours

222 kcal

5/5 (2)

If you are pretty tired of chicken, we suggest diversifying your home menu by cooking delicious duck legs in the oven according to a very affordable recipe. The incredibly juicy duck meat baked with it has a spicy and piquant taste. At the same time, it is very rich in substances that are useful and valuable for the body.

Cooking features

Any dish, even the simplest one, turns out tasty only when the cook knows and follows the technology of its preparation. In order not to spoil the duck legs, but to turn them into a festive dish, you need to consider several important points. This will allow the duck legs to cook so that they are juicy and crispy.

• It is advisable to purchase chilled rather than frozen poultry for baking, as it turns out more juicy. If you have to cook a frozen product, allow it to thaw naturally without sudden temperature changes. Trying to speed up the process using a microwave or warm water will result in the duck meat losing a lot of moisture, which will negatively affect the organoleptic qualities of the finished dish.
• Duck legs are not too large, so they are usually baked whole. Whether to skin the legs or remove fat is up to the cook to decide. Without skin, the duck will be less fatty and high in calories, with skin it will be more juicy and appetizing. If you want to cook duck legs with a golden brown crust, you must leave the skin on.
• To make the poultry legs more tender and juicy, they are pre-marinated. The most suitable formulations are those based on wine, soy sauce, mayonnaise, and sour cream. Mustard and honey are often added to them, especially if they want to make the duck legs crispy. You can also use a dry marinade consisting of salt and a mixture of spices. For better penetration of the marinade, it will not hurt to cut the code on the legs of the bird. The cuts are made shallow, diagonal or in the shape of a mesh.
• Duck legs will come out juicier and crispier if you brown them in a frying pan before baking.
• To prevent the duck legs from burning and drying out during baking. they can be cooked in foil or a cooking sleeve. In order for the duck legs to brown, cut the bag or foil 15-20 minutes before cooking. Additionally, you can increase the temperature in the oven. Then the legs will turn out not only golden brown, but also crispy.

By following these rules, even a novice cook can cook duck legs juicy and crispy.

Chicken legs with potatoes and rice

To prepare chicken legs with potatoes and rice you will need:

• four duck legs;
• potatoes - five medium-sized pieces;
• onion - one head;
• carrots - one medium size;
• rice – 300 g;
• tomato paste or ketchup - three tablespoons;
• vegetable oil for frying - two tablespoons.

So, we prepare duck legs step by step according to the recipe:

Legs by sea, make sure that all the feathers are plucked, otherwise this will negatively affect the taste of the finished dish. To make poultry meat more tender and refined, we recommend marinating it for three to four hours. To prepare the marinade, you can use the following recipe:

• 200 ml orange juice;
• one tablespoon of sugar;
• one teaspoon of salt;
• ground black pepper to taste.

Mix all ingredients, stir thoroughly and marinate the poultry meat in the marinade. Place in the refrigerator, first covering with cling film or a plastic bag. Leave them for at least four hours. During this time, the poultry meat will become more tender and tasty.

If you want to make duck legs with a savory flavor, use soy sauce and a few cloves of garlic instead of orange juice.

It’s better to chop the garlic using a grater.

After the hams have been marinated, you can continue cooking. Take a deep frying pan with high sides and a thick bottom. Also, this dish can be cooked not only in a frying pan, but also, for example, in a cauldron or a duck pot.

Pour vegetable oil onto the bottom of the frying pan, finely chop the onion, cut the carrots into thin strips. Fry the vegetables until golden brown, then add the legs, salt and pepper all the ingredients to your taste, and add any seasonings. Fry the ham on both sides until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes.

You can start cooking the potatoes. Peel the potatoes and cut them into fine strips, rinse the rice thoroughly until the water becomes clear, then place the potatoes and rice in a frying pan with the legs, mix everything, lightly salt and pepper the dish. Pour a small amount of boiling water or broth into the frying pan, approximately 200-300 ml.

Cook the dish over medium heat with the lid closed for 40-50 minutes until the meat is soft and tender. To fry the potatoes and rice until golden brown, open the lid and fry the dish over high heat for five to seven minutes.

Serve hot duck legs in a frying pan with potatoes and rice, sprinkled with fresh chopped herbs on top

. A good addition to this dish would be a creamy sauce based on homemade yogurt or low-fat sour cream.

The sauce is very easy to prepare. In a deep bowl you need to mix 200 ml of yogurt or sour cream. Then peel a few cloves of garlic and grate it. Wash and finely chop fresh dill with a knife, add to the sauce and mix thoroughly, salt and pepper the dish to taste.

How long to bake duck legs

The baking time for duck legs depends on the temperature in the oven and the specific recipe.

• At a temperature of 190-200 degrees, duck legs are baked for 60-70 minutes.
• At a temperature of 170-180 degrees, bake duck legs for 80-90 minutes.

Some recipes require changing the temperature during cooking. Sometimes it takes more cooking time than usual to get other ingredients in the dish ready. You can avoid mistakes by following the recommendations that accompany a specific recipe.

Traditional recipe for baked duck legs

Compound:

• duck legs – 1.5 kg;
• honey – 100 ml;
• table mustard – 40 ml;
• dried rosemary – 10 g;
• salt – 20 g;
• ground black pepper – 3-4 g.

Cooking method:

• Inspect the legs to make sure there are no feathers left. Pull them out if necessary.
• Wash the duck legs and pat them dry with a kitchen towel.
• Make shallow cuts into the skin, being careful not to cut into the meat.
• Combine salt, pepper and rosemary. Rub the chicken legs with the resulting mixture. Wrap them in cling film and refrigerate for 5-6 hours.
• Combine mustard with three tablespoons of honey. Coat the duck legs with the mixture. Place them in a baking dish.
• Cover the pan with foil and crimp the edges.
• Preheat the oven to 170-180 degrees and place the pan with the legs in it. Bake them at the indicated temperature for an hour.
• Remove the foil. Pour a couple of tablespoons of juice from the mold into a cup and mix with the remaining honey. Coat the bird's legs with this mixture.
• Return the pan with the legs to the oven, but without covering it with foil. Increase the oven temperature to 220 degrees.

After a quarter of an hour, the pan with the legs can be removed from the oven. The legs according to this recipe will turn out golden brown, with a crispy crust, but soft and juicy inside.

Duck legs with apples in the oven

Compound:

• duck legs – 1 kg;
• apples – 0.5 kg;
• dried rosemary – 3 g;
• dried thyme – 2 g;
• ground black pepper – 2 g;
• cloves – 2 pcs.;
• refined vegetable oil – 30 ml;
• salt - to taste.

Cooking method:

• Wash the legs and dry with napkins. Peel the skin from the legs or make cuts on it to create a mesh-shaped pattern with cells about 2 cm.
• Grind the cloves in a mortar or grind them using a special mill. Combine the resulting powder with pepper, rosemary, thyme and salt.
• Add oil to spices and stir.
• Coat the duck legs with the aromatic oil. Place them in a bowl and cover it with cling film. Leave the legs to marinate for 30-60 minutes.
• Line a baking dish with foil and place the duck legs in the center.
• Wash and dry the apples, cut out the cores.
• Cut the fruit into large slices and place them around and on top of the legs.
• Lift the edges of the foil and pack the duck and apples into it.
• Place the pan with the legs and fruit in an oven preheated to 200 degrees.
• After 50 minutes, unwrap the foil and continue cooking the dish at the same temperature for another 20 minutes.

Simple recipes for cooking in the oven

Method No. 1 – duck with potatoes, which requires foil and the following products:

On average, it takes about 1 hour 30 minutes to prepare such a dish. 100 grams of product will contain approximately 160 kcal.

Cooking process:

1. Pour the required amount of water into a glass and put it in the refrigerator;
2. Rinse the legs in water, place them in a deep bowl and pour soy sauce in which they will marinate for a short time;
3. While the meat is marinating, you can peel the potatoes and cut each tuber in half;
4. Line a baking dish with a double layer of foil, place the existing potatoes on it, and marinated duck on top of it;
5. Pour the remaining soy sauce in the bowl over the meat;
6. Preheat the oven to 180°, place the pan with the food in it, bake the dish for about 20-30 minutes until the first golden brown crust appears on the meat;
7. Open the oven, pour cold water on top of each of the legs (about 1 or 2 tablespoons for each piece);
8. Water the meat 2 more times every 20 minutes, this is an important detail, since it is thanks to water that the duck legs will acquire a delicious crispy crust that will not burn;
9. After the last addition of water, the dish should simmer for at least another 20 minutes, after which it can be removed from the oven and served.

Method No. 2 – duck with potatoes, apples and seasonings:

Preparing the dish will take 1 hour 30 minutes. Calorie content per 100 g is 172 kcal.

How to cook step by step:

1. Rinse the duck legs in water, dry them with napkins and trim off the fat;
2. Rub the meat with salt and spices, place in a separate bowl and set aside;
3. Peel the potatoes (if they are young, it is not necessary to peel them), cut into quarters;
4. Wash the blocks, remove the core and cut into slices;
5. Cut the onion into rings or half rings;
6. Finely chop the thyme;
7. Preheat the oven to 200°, meanwhile line a baking dish with foil;
8. Place the duck fat in the first layer in the mold, then the onions, and on top of everything the legs themselves;
9. Place the food in the oven for 10 minutes, during which time all the fat will melt;
10. Remove the pan from the oven, take out the meat, put potatoes and apples instead, put the meat on top, cover it all with a sheet of foil and bake again for 40-50 minutes;
11. 10 minutes before complete readiness, remove the top layer of foil, sprinkle the dish with thyme and return to the oven until fully cooked.

Duck legs with oranges in the oven

Compound:

• duck legs – 1 kg;
• oranges – 0.5 kg;
• onions – 0.25 kg;
• carrots – 0.25 kg;
• juniper berries – 6 pcs.;
• white dry or semi-dry wine – 100 ml;
• thyme, marjoram, pepper, salt - to taste;
• refined vegetable oil - how much will be needed.

Cooking method:

• Rub the duck legs with salt and spices.
• Mix the wine with the juice squeezed from half an orange, pour this mixture over the bird’s legs and put them in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
• Heat the oil in a frying pan and place the duck legs (without marinade) in it. Brown them on both sides over medium heat and transfer to a baking dish.
• Scrub the carrots, wash, pat dry with a napkin, cut into circles about half a centimeter thick.
• Disassemble the remaining oranges into slices, peel them from the films.
• After removing the peel, cut the onion into halves of rings, not necessarily very thin.
• Mix the vegetables and orange slices and place them in the pan, placing them around the legs.
• Pour remaining marinade over duck meat.
• Cover the pan with foil, crimping the edges.
• Place the dish with the duck, vegetables and oranges in an oven preheated to 180 degrees.
• After an hour, remove the foil and continue cooking the food for another half hour.

Duck prepared according to this recipe is served with a side dish of baked vegetables and orange sauce.

Gourmet duck with oranges

Thanks to the use of oranges when preparing meat, the duck turns out tender, juicy and very aromatic.

Compound:

• Duck legs – 500 g (3-4 pcs.)
• Large orange – 3 pcs.
• Olive oil - to taste
• Celery stalks – 3-4 pcs.
• Fine salt – 10 g
• Ground black pepper – 1 tsp.
• Lemon – 1 pc.
• Liquid honey – 2 tbsp. l.
• Provençal herbs (mixture) – 1 tsp.
• Dessert wine – 2 tbsp. l.
• Dry sage – 1 tbsp. l.