Deb’s Kitchen | Duck ragu with porcini mushrooms

By Deb Quinn

Sep 17, 2024

Duck ragu with earthy porcini mushrooms. Photo by Contributed

Debbie Quinn has a lifelong love of food and cooking, nurtured in her parents’ restaurants and in her own family’s kitchen. Every fortnight she shares her passion and expertise with our readers, bringing her best recipes, tips and tricks to the table.

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This recipe comes from one of our family’s favourite restaurants in Melbourne, the Italian classic Tipo 00. The recipe was published in Gourmet Traveller a few years ago, and I make it quite often because everyone loves it. It’s also one for Paul and Jan Phillips, who requested a duck recipe. Serve it with pappardelle, gnocchi or your favourite pasta. I hope you love it because we think it’s delicious.

Duck ragu

6 duck Marylands (250g-300g each) skin seasoned with sea salt 1 hour prior to cooking.

1 carrot, diced

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp crushed garlic (3-4 cloves)

2 sage sprigs

1 thyme sprig

1 fresh bay leaf or 2 dried

10g dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 250ml warm water for 1 hour

100g tomato paste

125ml dry white wine

2 ½ cups chicken stock

To serve

100g parmesan, finely grated

2 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

125g pecorino cheese (shaved or grated)

For the duck ragu

Preheat the oven to 150°C. Heat a large non-stick fry pan over medium heat. Add duck skin-side down and fry until browned and fat renders (5-6 minutes). Turn and fry until browned (2-3 minutes), then set aside. Add carrot, onion, garlic and herbs to the pan, and sauté until vegetables are tender (5-8 minutes).

Meanwhile, gently lift porcini mushrooms from the liquid with a slotted spoon, leaving any grit settled at the bottom and reserving the liquid. Coarsely chop mushrooms, add to vegetables and sauté until softened (3-4 minutes). Add tomato paste and cook until colour deepens (2-3 minutes).

Deglaze the pan with the white wine and stir until thickened (4-5 minutes). Add stock and ¾ of the strained mushroom liquid and bring to a boil. Season to taste, add duck, cover with lid or foil and braise in the oven until meat falls from the bone (1¾-2 hours).

Uncover, rest for 15 minutes, then remove the duck legs. When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones in chunks and stir it into sauce. Discard herbs.

Pasta

This duck ragu recipe is for around 350 to 400g of pasta. You may even have a bit of ragu left over.

Follow the instructions for your favourite pasta, and make sure you salt the water well. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add the duck ragu sauce and a tablespoon of the pasta water to the pasta. Then add parmesan cheese and parsley, toss to coat the pasta, and serve it scattered with pecorino cheese.

Deb’s tips

I make the duck ragu the day prior, put it in the fridge and scrape any excess fat that comes to the surface off before heating again to add to your favourite pasta.

It can be hard to find fresh duck Marylands. You can use fresh duck breasts and follow the same recipe. I found fresh duck breasts recently at Woolworths Market Place in Shepparton.

You can order duck Marylands from your butcher, and sometimes butchers have frozen duck Marylands in stock; just thaw them out in the fridge the day before.