Smoked Duck Confit and Scallion Pancakes
It’s time for another recipe remix. For this recipe I’m bringing together French and Chinese cuisine, to make one delicious dish you’ll definitely want to make. I came up with this dish because I really enjoy dim sum, Peking duck and going for good Chinese food generally. Making my own Peking duck, however, isn’t something I wanted to tackle, but instead created a recipe that gives it a bit of a nod. So, I made a crispy duck confit with scallion pancakes, served with sliced cucumber and a hoisin-chili crisp sauce. What also makes this recipe kind of different, is that to make my duck confit, I had it cook low and slow in the Alchemy smoker. I got the same crispy skin you would get from making duck confit in the oven, but with the added bonus of a light smoky flavour.
The scallion pancakes were pretty straightforward to make and so so good. The secret is making them similarly to how you would make cinnamon rolls, but this time it’s a flour, oil and salt filling with chopped green onions and a savoury dough. This method of making the scallion pancakes ensures that there is a good amount of green onions in every bite, and since you fry the dough, they get crispy and flaky on the outside and soft on the inside. Honestly, these can be made on their own, but, the smoked duck confit was a great addition, you just have to be patient as it’s a longer cooking process, and it’s really hard to not just eat all the scallion pancakes while you wait. The hoisin-chili crisp sauce is also super easy to make, it’s just three ingredients: hoisin sauce, spicy chili crisp and chopped green onions. The final bite is so perfect, just fill your scallion pancake with some duck confit, hoisin-chili crisp sauce on top and sliced cucumber. It’s a crispy, salty, spicy, epic bite. If you want to find out how to make my Smoked Duck Confit and Scallion Pancakes, keep reading or jump to the full recipe.
Set smoker to 275F. Season the duck legs with salt and pepper. Place in a large cast iron pan and add in the duck fat.
Cut your long chilies in half and add to the pan. Cut the top off the head of garlic and keep it whole, placing face down in the duck fat in the pan. Cut the lemon in half, squeeze the juice from half onto the duck and place the other half face down in the pan.
Place in the smoker for about 3 hours, checking on it periodically.
Meanwhile, thinly slice your English cucumber, set aside.
Make your sauce by mixing the hoisin and chili crisp in a small bowl. Set aside.
To make the scallion pancakes, mix 2 cups flour and salt and mix. Slowly add the boiling water and mix and then slowly add the ice water.
Mix to combine and then use your hands to mix and knead the dough until all the flour is combine. Form into a round shape and then cover and let sit for about 20 minutes.
Finely chop your green onions, reserve about 2 tbsp of the green onions and set the rest aside.
Add the 2 tbsp of the chopped onions to your hoisin-chili sauce and mix. Set aside.
To make the filling for the scallion pancakes, mix the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Slowly add in the oil while mixing with a fork until smooth and shiny. Set aside.
Once the dough has rested, flour your work surface. Knead the dough into a flat, round shape and then roll out into a thin, long, oval. Pour the filling into the centre of the dough and top with the chopped green onions.
Starting with the long side of the dough, roll into one log.
Once the dough is in a tight, long log, use a pastry cutter to cut into 1.5-2 inch thick sections.
Take each piece of dough one at a time and roll into a ball in the flour, roll it out with the rolling pin into a pancake.
Add oil to the plancha and add the pancakes, let brown and flip, making sure to cook all the way through.
Remove the duck from the smoker and sear on the plancha.
To plate, add the scallion pancake to a plate or platter and top with the sauce. Take the garlic head from the pan and place next to the pancakes and add your duck legs, chopped cucumber and any leftover green onions.
Pull the duck meat off the bone and place in the pancake with the cucumbers and dig in.
And now for the full recipe...
Smoked Duck Confit and Scallion Pancakes
Serve 2-3 people
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours and 30 minutes
Ingredients:
3 duck legs
300g duck fat (1 container)
5 Long chilies
1 lemon
1 head garlic
1 English cucumber
Sauce:
4 tbsp hoisin
2 tbsp spicy chili crisp
2 tbsp chopped green onions
Dough:
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
½ cup boiling water
¼ ice water
Filling:
¼ cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
¼ cup canola oil
1 ½ tsp salt
8-10 green onions
How to Make Smoked Duck Confit and Scallion Pancakes
Set smoker to 275F.
Season the duck legs with salt and pepper. Place in a large cast iron pan and add in the duck fat. Cut your long chilies in half and add to the pan. Cut the top off the head of garlic and keep it whole, placing face down in the duck fat in the pan. Cut the lemon in half, squeeze the juice from half onto the duck and place the other half face down in the pan. Place in the smoker for about 3 hours, checking on it periodically.
Meanwhile, thinly slice your English cucumber, set aside. Make your sauce by mixing the hoisin and chili crisp in a small bowl. Set aside.
To make the scallion pancakes, mix 2 cups flour and salt and mix. Slowly add the boiling water and mix and then slowly add the ice water. Mix to combine and then use your hands to mix and knead the dough until all the flour is combine. Form into a round shape and then cover and let sit for about 20 minutes.
Finely chop your green onions. Add about 2 tbsp of the chopped onions to your sauce and mix. Set the rest aside and make the pancake filling. In a bowl mix the flour and salt. Slowly add in the oil while mixing with a fork until smooth and shiny. Set aside.
Once the dough has rested, flour your work surface. Knead the dough into a flat, round shape and then roll out into a thin, long, oval. Pour the filling into the centre of the dough and top with the chopped green onions. Starting with the long side of the dough, roll into one log (think like making cinnamon buns). Once the dough is in a tight, long log, use a pastry cutter to cut into 1.5-2 inch thick sections.
Take each piece of dough one at a time and roll into a ball in the flour, roll it out with the rolling pin into a pancake. Add oil to the plancha and add the pancakes, let brown and flip, making sure to cook all the way through.
Remove the duck from the smoker and sear on the plancha. To plate, add the scallion pancake to a plate or platter and top with the sauce. Take the garlic head from the pan and place next to the pancakes and add your duck legs, chopped cucumber and any leftover green onions. Pull the duck meat off the bone and place in the pancake with the cucumbers and dig in.
