Duck Carnitas with Mango-Avocado Salsa | Cosme

Cosme in New York City is ranked 23rd among the World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2019. Chef Daniela Soto-Innes (age 28), who runs this modern Mexican restaurant, has been named the World’s Best Female Chef as well. I did not know about all these awards when I dined there. All I knew was I tasted the best Mexican food of my lifetime at Cosme. What I like best, which happens to be the most expensive dish on the menu, is duck carnitas ($98).

Duck carnitas is a signature dish at Cosme. Everyone around the table loves and raves about how tender and tasty the duck meat is. However, the portion is small, served in a medium-size bowl, family style. You wouldn’t want to take more than your share, although you’re eyeing the food longingly. Therefore, what better incentive than to make a generous amount of duck carnitas in my kitchen to eat?

I go to Rick Bayless for his duck carnitas recipe. He serves the shredded duck meat with mango avocado salsa on warm tortillas. So I make both dishes while getting some corn tortillas to put them altogether.

Actually, I took a shortcut. I used store-bought duck confit instead of making the duck confit in pork lard, according to the recipe. (You can easily make duck confit when you have the time to let them cook slowly for hours in the oven.) The fact of the matter is: it’s easier to source duck confit in my area than getting fresh duck legs. And for the small amount of duck you need, say for an appetizer of duck carnitas, why go through the trouble!

For the mango and avocado salsa, you need red onion, lime, chiles and herbs, besides the obvious mango and avocado. The mango and avocado I have on hand are not quite ripe. However, they are much easier to cut into cubes. Surprisingly, my husband likes the crunch and slightly acidic taste of the fresh fruit and vegetable. Furthermore. the salsa is dry rather than waterlogged.

Without the salsa, a sauce — like a mole, would be good to go with the duck carnitas. That’s the way Cosme serves duck on their brunch menu.

Print Recipe

Duck Carnitas with Mango-Avocado Salsa

Ingredients

• DUCK CARNITAS:
• 6 large duck legs (you need 2 1/2 to 3 pounds total)
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 6 cups fresh, rich-tasting pork lard
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
• Mango-Avocado Salsa
• MANGO AVOCADO SALSA:
• 1 small red onion, chopped into ¼-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 large (about 12 ounces) (preferably the variety called Honey Manila or Champagne), peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces
• 1 large avocado, flesh scooped from the skin and roughly chopped
• 1 to 2 fresh red Fresno or red jalapeño chiles, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
• A tablespoon or two chopped fresh herbs (I really love the combination of mint and cilantro here)
• Salt

Instructions

1

DUCK CARNITAS:

2

Lay the duck legs in a 13 x 9-inch non-aluminum baking dish. Sprinkle with half the salt and oregano, then drizzle with half the lime juice. Flip them over and sprinkle with the remaining salt and oregano; drizzle with the remaining lime. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours, turning a couple of times.

3

Heat the oven to 300 degrees. In a large (4-quart) saucepan, melt the lard. Remove the duck from the baking dish and pat dry on paper towels. Rinse and dry the baking dish. Fit in the duck legs. Pour the lard over the duck, making sure the legs are completely submerged. Scatter the garlic cloves over the duck legs and nestle them into the lard. Slide into the oven (you may want to do this on a rimmed baking sheet to avoid spills), and bake for about 2 hours until the duck is very tender. Cool to lukewarm.

4

Remove the duck from the lard. Pull off the skin and set aside. Pull the meat from the bone into large pieces. Discard the bones. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the lard into a very large (12-inch) skillet (preferably nonstick) and set over medium-high. When hot, lay in the skin and cook, turning frequently, until very crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove to a drain on paper towels. Add the meat and cook, turning regularly, until browned and crisping in spots, about 7 or 8 minutes Scoop into a serving platter. Coarsely crumble the duck skin over the top and serve with the Mango-Avocado Salsa  and warm tortillas.

5

MANGO AVOCADO SALSA:

6

In a medium bowl, combine the red onion and lime juice. Let stand for a few minutes while you gather and prepare the other ingredients. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl, stir to combine, then taste and season with salt, about ½ teaspoon. The salsa’s ready.

Notes

https://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/duck-carnitas-2/ and https://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/mango-avocado-salsa/