The Duck Burrito

Name: The Duck Burrito
Yield: serves 6 to 8
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon salt; 4 garlic cloves, smashed; 2 shallots, sliced; 6 fresh thyme sprigs; 2 small fresh rosemary sprigs; One 5-pound whole duck, split into 6 pieces (2 legs, 2 thighs, and 2 breasts); Freshly ground black pepper; 4 cups duck fat (or 2 cups lard plus 2 cups duck fat); Six to eight 10-inch flour tortillas, warmed (see page 59); 3 scallions (white and pale green parts only), cut into matchstick-size strips; Roasted Tomatillo Cilantro Salsa (page 167)

December 20, 2011

This is the best burrito you will ever taste in your entire life, and that’s no exaggeration. To “confit” is to preserve the duck meat by first curing it in salt, then cooking and storing it in its own fat. This is one of those things that I eat only on occasion, for obvious reasons, but look forward to tremendously. Take into consideration that the duck must be prepared a day ahead—but believe me, it’s worth the extra effort. (You could also buy duck confit already made to cut the prep time way down.) I must confess to you that, on occasion, I’ve used lard from a local butcher when I don’t have enough duck fat (which I buy at Whole Foods), with the response from my uninformed family usually being, “Marcela, the duck tastes different today. It tastes . . . better.”

Recipe notes

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