Portuguese Duck and Sausage Rice

This classic Portuguese dish combines succulent duck with flavourful Chouriço sausage, creating a hearty and comforting meal. The rich flavors of the duck, sausage, and vegetables blend beautifully with the rice, making it a perfect dish for family gatherings or special occasions.

I originally got the idea for this recipe from Edible San Franciso, but I changed it quite a bit.

Ingredients

For the Dish:

• 1 whole duck (with giblets if possible)
• 2 cups Carolina rice (substitute with basmati if needed)
• 100g Chouriço (Chorizo), thinly sliced
• 80g smoked pork (or bacon), cut into small cubes
• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced into small cubes
• 1 onion, peeled and diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 celery stalks, cleaned and cut into thin slices
• 1 small green bell pepper, cleaned and diced
• 50g marinated/soaked sundried tomatoes, chopped
• 100g mushrooms, quartered
• 150g baby tomatoes (preferably on the vine)
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Olive oil
• Chopped parsley

For the Stock:

• Trimmings of the duck
• ½ onion, chopped
• ½ leek, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
• 4 bay leaves
• 5 black peppercorns
• 3 cloves
• 3 blocks chicken stock (or the equivalent in stock powder)
• 1 Tbsp coarse salt

Method

The Stock:

1. Trim the duck of all excessive fat, loose skin, tail, and wing tips, and chop these into pieces with the giblets.
2. Heat olive oil in a medium pot and fry the trimmings over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
3. Add the rest of the stock ingredients, except for the stock cubes and salt, and fry for another 10 minutes.
4. Add 1.5L water, the stock cubes, and the salt, and bring to a boil.
5. Simmer for 2 hours on medium to low heat.
6. Strain and discard the solids.

The Dish:

1. Preheat the oven to 200° Celsius.
2. Rub the trimmed duck with olive oil, salt, black pepper, and paprika.
3. Place the duck in a large, deep oven-proof tray and bake it in the oven for 30 minutes with the breast side up, then turn it over and bake for another 15 minutes on the other side.
4. While waiting for the duck, heat a large pot with olive oil and add the Chouriço and smoked pork. Fry for 5 minutes on medium heat.
5. Add the carrots, onion, garlic, celery, and bell pepper. Fry for another 5 minutes.
6. Turn the heat down to low. Add the rice and enough stock as needed to cook the rice. Just before the rice is cooked, fold in the mushrooms and sundried tomatoes. Adjust the seasoning, then remove from heat.
7. Remove the duck from the oven, fill it with some of the rice mixture, and place the remaining rice around the duck in the tray. Add more stock if necessary. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes covered with foil.
8. Remove the foil, scatter the baby tomatoes around the duck and bake for another 10 minutes.
9. Remove the duck from the oven and garnish with chopped parsley.