Tinga de Pato

[ExtraMSG]

Tinga de Pato

Serves 4 as Main Dish.

Tinga Poblana is a traditional Mexican stew flavored with chipotles and made with a base of tomatoes. The dish is usually made with pork, but I find the rich meat of duck a perfect compliment to the smokey, sweet sauce. Since pork was introduced by the Spanish, interestingly, duck actually has deeper roots in Mexican cooking than pig.

You can serve this stew simply with tortillas or rice, but it also makes an excellent topping for tostadas, huaraches, and sopes. Or, do like I do and never give it a chance to be eaten with a starch because you've already used a spoon, a ladel, and finally the scraping of your index finger to eat up every last drop.

• 7 lb Whole Duck
  
• 1 lb Tomatoes (2-3 medium, Diced)
  
• 1/2 lb White Onion (1/2 large, Diced)
  
• 4 Garlic Cloves (Minced)
  
• 1/3 lb Mexican Pork Chorizo
  
• 2 Chipotles (Rehydrated or Adobado, Minced)
  
• Duck or Chicken Stock (optional)
  
• Salt
  

Remove the giblets and set the liver aside. Remove the leg-thigh quarters and the wing drumettes and set aside also. These pieces are all you need for this recipe. The breast, however, can be seared and served atop the tinga for an elegant touch. YOu can also use the skin of the duck to make chicharrones de pato (duck pork rinds) and serve these crispy bits with the tinga, also, for texture. (If you're going to make chicharrones, remove the skin from the duck leg-thigh pieces.) Otherwise, save the carcass for duck stock.

Brown the duck leg-thigh pieces and drumettes on both sides over medium-high heat in rendered duck fat, lard, or bacon grease. Remove and set aside.

Lower the heat to medium and add the onion and a pinch or two of salt. Sweat the onions and as liquid is released from them, use it to scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan left by the duck.

When the onions begin to become translucent, add the garlic. Stir and sautee only briefly and add the chorizo. Once the chorizo is browned, add the tomatoes and a pinch or two more salt to help them release their liquids. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the tomatoes have mostly broken down.

Add the chipotles and mix. Either type of chipotle works well. I prefer to use one of each because you get more depth from the rehydrated chipotles, but the adobo adds a nice sweet and tangy note to the sauce. You can also substitute one to two teaspoons of Bufalo chipotle sauce for each chipotle.

Mix and add back in the duck pieces, including the liver. (You can also mince the liver and add it during the previous steps.) The liver adds a nice depth to the sauce and more complexity, but it is optional.

Add enough duck stock (or other liquid) to cover halfway up the side of the meat. Increase the burner to medium-high. Bring to a light boil, cover, and reduce heat to low, maintainin a simmer.

Simmer the meat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, flipping at the halfway point. Remove the duck and set aside to cool. Shred when it has cooled down enough. (If you can keep from gnawing on the bones and eating half the meat, you have more will power than me.)

Reduce the sauce to a consistency and intensity that you enjoy, salting if needed. You can also puree the sauce and then reduce if necessary. I like to take a little more than half of the sauce and lightly puree it, leaving a little texture and then adding that back into the pan with the un-processed portion of sauce. It thickens it nicely and blends the flavors while maintaing a rustic texture.

Add the shredded meat back to the pan and warm through. Serve with your favorite starch, and with avocados or guacamole, crema or sour cream, or cheese.

Keywords: Mexican, Dinner, Main Dish, Intermediate, Duck, Hot and Spicy, eGCI

( RG1038 )