Bulgarian braised duck with sauerkraut

Bulgarian braised duck with sauerkraut, called патица с кисело зеле (patitsa s kiselo zele), takes only about 2 hours to prepare but it tastes like it took you all day. It’s a perfect dish for the holiday table or anytime you want something a little special. The sauerkraut part, kiselo zele, takes about a month if you’re going to do it from scratch but you can substitute prepared Polish sauerkraut from the supermarket or even use fresh cabbage in a pinch (I’ll tell you how).

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I included this recipe upon the request of a reader. Having never prepared it before, I went searching through cookbooks and website to find a good version on which to base this recipe. An online video by Uti Bachvarov (Ути Бъчваров), broadcast on Bulgarian National Television, caught my attention. Even if you don’t understand Bulgarian I recommend watching this video for the entertainment value and demonstration of some of the technique we will use in this recipe. Bachvarov hosts a program called “Quick, Easy, Delicious”. He is so expressive that I suspect even without knowing the words you will comprehend how tantalizing he makes the dish sound.

The duck Bulgarian braised duck with sauerkraut

In the Quick, Easy, Delicious version, the recipe calls for 4 duck leg quarters and a duck carcass. It will be much simpler for you to obtain a whole duck. If you can find butchered duck pieces, go for it. Otherwise break down a duck yourself. Instead of 4 leg quarters you’ll end up with 2 leg quarters and two breasts–and a carcass for making the delicious braising liquid. I added an extra two duck legs because my duck was on the small side (in case you were counting and noticed my duck had four legs!).

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Remove as much of the fat and excess skin from the carcass and meat pieces as you can. Render these pieces of tallow in a skillet over low heat and reserve the resulting fat for later. You may end up with quite a bit of duck fat so pour some of it off and keep it in the refrigerator. Try frying some potatoes in it later for a delicious treat.

Making stock and preparing the duck

Fill a large pot with cold water and place the duck carcass in it with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 10 peppercorns, a stick of cinnamon and a star anise. Simmer this while you work on putting the rest of the dish together.

Meanwhile, brown the duck pieces, placing them skin side down in the skillet with rendered duck fat. After a few minutes, flip them to brown the other sides. When browned, arrange the duck pieces in the bottom of a large, oven-proof pan. Bulgarians would probably use a clay pot. Don’t clean out the skillet! We’re going to put the sauerkraut in it next.

The sauerkraut

Bulgarian whole-head sauerkraut takes a few weeks to prepare (see the post for it). If you have a fermented head of cabbage on hand, take it out of its brine, and drain. If not, see the note below. My cabbage heads were small so I used two in this recipe but one large head is sufficient.

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After the cabbage is drained, remove the core and chop it roughly. Put the chopped cabbage in a large pot of boiling water and let it cook for a couple minutes then drain it. This will remove any excess saltiness from the brine.

Seasoning the sauerkraut

By now your duck stock should be ready. Remove the stock from heat and strain out the solids. Let the carcass cool a bit on a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, pull off any meat still clinging to the bones. We are going to add this to the sauerkraut.

Drain the boiled cabbage and put into the skillet with the duck fat. Stir the sauerkraut to coat it with the oil in the pan. Put the meat you pulled off the duck carcass into the pan with the cabbage. Season with a pinch of sugar, a tablespoon of tomato paste and two tablespoons of red pepper (paprika).

Add a cup or so of the duck stock to the cabbage, stir and cook for a few minutes over medium heat.

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Beginning the braise

When the cabbage has cooked in the stock and seasonings for a couple minutes, pour the mixture over the duck pieces in the baking dish. Cover the dish and put it in a 350°F oven for 1½ hours.

After about 90 minutes the duck will be cooked through and all the flavors will have melded.

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Note Bulgarian braised duck with sauerkraut

If you don’t have a head of fermented cabbage around, you can use store-bought sauerkraut (I recommend Polish style if you can find it) or start with fresh cabbage. Core a fresh head of cabbage and roughly chop it. Use it instead of the sauerkraut in the same manner as described but add 2 tablespoons of vinegar and simmer it in the duck stock for 20 minutes before putting it in the oven.

The recipe