Invisible Keto

Making real food for real people.

In Progress →

Mexican Duck with Green Mole

Duck is one of the few animals domesticated in the Western Hemisphere, and the indigenous Muscovy duck has an ancient history in the cuisines of Mexico and South and Central America. Mole is an equally ancient style of sauce, believed to have originated with the Mayans and refined over centuries following Spanish contact.

This green mole uses pepitas, tomatillos, chiles, herbs, and radish greens to create a deeply savory, herbal sauce that pairs naturally with rich duck.

Ingredients

Duck

  • 2 to 3 pounds duck legs
  • Kosher salt

Green Mole

  • 1 cup pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
  • 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
  • 2 cups basic duck stock or beef stock
  • 1 cup chopped tomatillos
  • 4 serrano chiles, seeded and chopped
  • 1 yellow or white onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon dried epazote (optional)
  • 1/4 cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
  • Leaves from 1 bunch radishes (about 1/2 cup loosely packed)

To Serve

  • Cooked white rice
  • Lime wedges

Method

Roast the Duck

  1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
  2. Trim excess fat from the duck legs. Separate drumsticks and thighs with a cleaver or heavy kitchen shears.
  3. Season the duck pieces generously with salt and arrange them skin side up in a single layer in a baking dish.
  4. Bake uncovered for 1 1/2 hours.

Prepare the Pepita Base

  1. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the pepitas and set aside.
  2. Grind the remaining pepitas with the peppercorns and cumin seeds using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.
  3. Transfer to a bowl, add about 1/2 cup of the stock, and stir to form a thick paste. Set aside.

Puree the Vegetables

  1. In a blender, combine 1 cup stock, tomatillos, chiles, onion, garlic, epazote, cilantro, and radish leaves.
  2. Blend until smooth and set aside.

Build the Mole

  1. After the duck has roasted for about 1 hour, spoon off 2 tablespoons of rendered duck fat into a sauté pan.
  2. Return the duck to the oven to continue cooking.
  3. Add the vegetable puree to the sauté pan and bring to a gentle simmer.
  4. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, then season with salt.
  5. Remove from heat and whisk in the pepita paste.
  6. Add enough of the remaining 1/2 cup stock to reach a thick gravy-like consistency.
  7. Coarsely chop the reserved pepitas and stir them into the sauce.

Finish the Dish

  1. When the duck has cooked for 1 1/2 hours, remove it from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.
  2. Pour off and reserve all the rendered duck fat from the baking dish.
  3. Coat the duck legs in the green mole and return them to the dish skin side up.
  4. Add enough sauce to come just up to the level of the skin, keeping most of the skin exposed.
  5. Return to the oven and continue cooking until the meat is very tender and nearly falling off the bone, monitoring carefully so the sauce does not boil.

To Serve

  1. Serve the duck over white rice.
  2. Garnish with chopped cilantro and lime wedges.

Cook's Notes

  • Keeping the duck skin mostly out of the sauce allows it to retain texture while the meat absorbs flavor.
  • The mole should be thick and spoonable, not soupy.
  • Duck fat rendered during roasting can be saved for other cooking applications.