Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
This warm confit duck salad with griddled pineapple is perfect for hot summer evenings.
Tender and tasty slow cooked duck legs are shredded and served on crunchy salad greens, mangetout and juicy griddled pineapple. It's all topped with a tangy lemon and lime dressing.
Simple to assemble and easy to cook in advance, this salad is a delicious treat.
Bon appétit!
Why you will love this
- easy to prepare the duck in advance and even freeze and reheat
- the duck is crispy on the outside and meltingly tender on the inside
- perfect for fuss free entertaining or just a special lunch at home
What are the ingredients?
For the salad:
- 4 small duck legs - with the skin on
- fresh or canned pineapple
- bag of mixed salad leaves - i prefer to use a mixture of red and green leaves but use your favourites
- cucumber
- mangetout, also known as snow peas or you could swap for sugar snap peas instead
- seasoning
For the dressing:
- juice and zest of a lemon and two limes
- olive oil - go as fancy as you want but regular olive oil still has a great taste
- apple cider or white wine vinegar
- seasoning
How to make a warm confit duck salad
For this recipe I use my quick confit method.
Prick the duck with a fork and dry the skin with kitchen paper. Season with salt and black pepper and place in an over roasting dish with sides deep enough for the duck.
Cover the tin with foil and roast in the oven for about 2 hours at 160C/310F.
At this point the duck should be extremely tender if you test with a fork. You may need to cook for longer if you duck legs are larger.
When it's completely tender it's time to crisp up the skin. Remove the foil and either turn the oven up to 200C/400F for 10 minutes or place under a medium /high grill for a few minutes until nice and crisp.
When it's cooked to your liking shred the duck using a couple of forks to tear the meat off the bone into bite sized pieces.
While the duck is cooking make the lemon and lime dressing.
Zest and juice one lemon and two limes. If the limes are hard put them in the microwave for 10 seconds. This really helps them release their juices.
Place the juice and zest in a jam jar with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and give it a good shake.
Peel and core the pineapple and cut into wedges. For this dish I used half a small pineapple.
Put a teaspoon of oil on a hot griddle and place the pineapple on for a minute or so each side until you can see some caramelisation marks. Afterwards cut into chunks.
Cook some mangetout in boiling water for two minutes and then plunge into cold water to stop the cooking process.
Now it's just assembly. Pile sliced cucumber and salad leaves into individual bowls, toss on the pineapple and mangetout and place the shredded duck in the middle.
Give the dressing another shake and drizzle over the lemon and lime dressing and dig in.
Recipe FAQs
A duck confit is a traditional method of slow cooking duck portions, that have been covered with salt previously to preserve, in duck fat. The duck is then packed in the fat and can be kept for several months.
You can use any salad ingredients you like such as, tomatoes, avocado, celery or cooked new potatoes.
Some extra crunch from chopped peanuts would work well too.
Try using leftover chicken too.
I love to cook duck this way and then shred the meat and pack into bags or boxes in the freezer.
It's perfect for defrosting and using in quick stir fries, duck pancakes or spring rolls or stuffed in jacket potatoes.
For this dish simply defrost, pack the meat in a foil parcel and heat in the oven for a few minutes.
I think it's wicked so tell me what you think.
Let me know what you think in the comments or you can post a picture and tag me on Twitter @chezlereve, Instagram @chezlerevefrancais, or Facebook @chezlerevefrancais.
More duck recipes to try
Confit Duck Salad with Grilled Pineapple
Ingredients
For the warm duck salad
- 4 duck legs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 200 g slice fresh pineapple or tinned
- 1 tsp oil
- 250 g bag of mixed salad leaves
- 12 slices of cucumber quartered
- 60 g mangetout
For the dressing
- 1 lemon juice and zest
- 2 limes juice and zest
- 100 ml olive oil
- 25 ml cider or white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Fork the duck , dry well with kitchen paper and place on an oven tray. Cover with foil.
- Roast at 160C/310F for 2 hours until tender. If you prefer a really crispy skin increase the heat to 200C/400F for 10 minutes.
- Use two forks the shred the meat from the bone.
- While the meat is cooking make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a jam jar and place in the fridge until needed.
- When the duck is nearly cooked heat a griddle pan and add a little oil to griddle the pineapple for a minute each side. Cut into chunks.
- Plunge the mangetout in boiling water for two minutes and then into cold water.
- To assemble the salad combine the cucumber and salad leaves in individual bowls, scatter over the pineapple and mangetout and place a pile of shredded duck in the middle.
- Give the dressing a good shake and pour over the warm duck salad.
Notes
Disclaimer: The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
Please refer to the post for detailed recipe instructions.
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We've had up to 42 degrees recently and it's very muggy so it's salad all the way here too.
ChgoJohn
This sounds so good, Amanda, and I love the part about not rushing to serve it hot. WIth our temps so high right now, the last thing I want to do is rush to get dinner on the table. Besides, a piping hot entree is hardly appetizing right now. A salad, on the other hand ... 🙂
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Thanks Chef Mimi. It has been so hot here so we had to have some new salads. The family has ordered it again for friday!
chef mimi
Oh my goodness this sounds so wonderful! A brilliant salad!
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Actually, originally I was going to do orange but I can't resist pineapple at the moment. Orange is next!
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I did a duck with plum sauce but I don't think I've posted it! Sounds good though Cheryl!
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I love Chinese duck and pineapple so I thought this would be fresh for summer !
Cheryl
orange duck salad??
Cheryl
You have given me food for thought. Chinese basted duck with plum salad??
Sheryl
mmm. . . This salad looks delightful. The pineapple would go wonderfully with the duck.