Sweet and Spicy and OH SO TENDER Duck!

I grew up eating Peking Duck at Chinese restaurants with my family but only recently have I tried making duck at home. My mom got me some duck legs at the Asian market and I kept them in the freezer. Tonight, I decided to braise them in a red wine and cranberry mixture. I also added some Cayenne for a lil bit of heat and the meat was falling off tender after 2 hours. SO SO good and definitely worth the time and effort!

Ingredients:


1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 large whole duck legs
Salt and pepper
1/2 c dry red wine
1/2 c onions, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 c dried cranberries
1 c chicken broth
Couscous, for serving


Prep:


1. In a Dutch oven, heat oil on medium-high heat. Season duck with salt and pepper. Add to the pan, skin sides down, and brown for 10 minutes. Turn over and brown another 10 minutes. Transferring to a plate.


2. Add wine and deglaze, scraping up brown bits with a wooden spoon. Boil wine until reduced to half. Add onion and brown 5 minutes. Add garlic, cayenne, thyme and 1/4 cup cranberries. Stir for 1 minute.


3. Return duck legs, skin sides up, and add broth. Bring mixture to a simmer and turn heat down to low. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Turn legs over and simmer for 1 more hour or under meat is very tender. Remove legs to serving platter.


4. Turn heat up to high and add remaining 1/4 cup cranberries. Boil until slightly thickened and fruit is softened, about 5 minutes.