duck confit and ramp hand pies
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As picnic season begins to ramp (hehe) up, are you wondering how you can up your picnic game this year? Bring a few of these hand pies to share with friends and family and I can guarantee you will be invited back for the next picnic. Encased in a ridiculously flaky crust, these pockets hold tender shredded duck confit, caramelized onions, duck fat potatoes, and finished with some quickly seared ramps. The filling is the perfect balance between the saltiness of the duck legs, the sweetness of the caramelized onions, and the kick from the ramps all held together by the potatoes.
What exactly are ramps?
I’d never tried or even heard of ramps until I moved to the east coast and hit what I call the “green market circuit” here in New York. When I walked into Whole Foods this week I was delighted to find a giant display of ramps, ripe for the picking. They’re so seasonal they only appear for a few weeks in the year. They’re packed with flavor and I’d describe it as a cross between a scallion, onion, and leek with a garlicky punch. In these hand pies, they help cut through the richness of the duck confit filling. If you’re looking to make these the other 50 weeks of the year, you can easily replace the ramps with chives or scallions.
Duck confit the easy way
If you’ve never made duck confit, it may sound like an intimidating process but it needn’t be. Traditionally, duck legs are cooked long and slow submerged in duck fat. Conveniently, duck legs (and especially the moulard duck legs sold at whole foods) are already packed with fat. The shortcut method just uses the fat that’s already in the duck legs, and slowly cooks the legs down in the oven at a low heat.
A few tips:
If ramps are not available, replace with chives
There may be additional filling leftover (which is great to munch on!), but don’t try to overfill the hand pies or else it will be challenging to close the seams
The duck confit takes a few hours, but is almost entirely hands off so the active prep time is far shorter
duck confit and ramp hand pies
serves 4
ingredients
for the pie crust:
1 1/4 cup AP flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter, cut into large cubes
4 - 6 tablespoons ice water
for the filling:
1 duck leg
salt & pepper
1 onion, diced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 medium yellow potato, diced
1 bunch of ramps
optional:
1 egg
flaky salt
steps
Pie crust:
1. Mixing dry ingredients with butter: Combine the AP flour and salt. Toss in the butter cubes (make sure the butter is as cold as possible) until the individual cubes are covered in flour.
2. Flatten the butter: Working quickly (so the butter doesn’t warm up too much), start flattening the butter pieces between your fingers but leave them in large chunks.
3. Hydrate: Drizzle in the ice water, and toss with the flour/butter mixture (like you would toss a salad - do not knead). The optimal hydration for your dough is to have it hold together in a ball with no floury streaks. If your dough is still too crumbly, add water slowly as a little water can go a long way. Start with 4 tablespoons and continue adding the rest of the water slowly to prevent over hydrating your dough. The dough should be just hydrated enough to be able to hold together without dry flour, but it shouldn’t be tacky to the touch. Form into a disk, wrap tightly and rest in the fridge for at least 30-60 min.
4. Extra folds: This step is optional, but this is the key to getting a really flaky crust. Roll out the dough into a long rectangle and fold into thirds like an envelope. Rotate 90 degree, and repeat the process of rolling and folding 2 more times. The dough should start to smooth out by the third fold. Let it rest in the fridge for another 30 min.
Filling:
5. Make the duck confit: Generously season the duck leg with salt and pepper. Prick the skin all over using the tip of a sharp knife to help the fat render while cooking. Preheat the oven to 350 F, and in a small baking pan, bake skin side down for 20 minutes. Flip the leg over and cover the pan with aluminum foil. Turn the oven temperature down to 325 F, and bake for 2 hours until the meat is incredibly tender and falls right off the bone. Shred once cool enough to handle and set aside. Save 2 tablespoons of the duck fat for the potatoes.
6. Make the caramelized onions: In a medium hot pan, heat up the olive oil and add the caramelized onions. Toss to evenly coat the onions in olive oil and cook while stirring every few minutes to prevent any the onions from burning. After 10 minutes, sprinkle with some some sugar and salt and continue cooking and stirring sporadically for the next 30 - 45 minutes. If the onions start burning before finishing caramelizing, add a few tablespoons of water.
7. Cook the potatoes: In a medium hot pan, add the diced potatoes along with 1 tablespoons of the leftover duck fat. Sear the potatoes until crisp and tender on the inside, approximately 5 - 10 minutes. Salt to taste.
8. Sear the ramps: Carefully wash the ramps to remove any dirt. Roughly chop and quickly sear in a medium hot pan with 1 tablespoon of leftover duck fat. Salt to taste.
9. Combine filling: Mix together the shredded duck confit, caramelized onions, potatoes, and ramps together.
Preheat oven to 375 F
10. Fill the hand pies: Roll out the pie crust into a 12 x 8 in rectangle and cut into 8 smaller 3 x 4 in rectangles. On one layer, add the filling to the center and brush the edge with water. Layer a second rectangle on top, and use a fork to crimp the edges of the crust. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling.
11. Egg wash: Beat one egg until no more streaks. Brush the tops of the hand pies with a layer of egg wash and cut some vent holes on top. Top with flaky salt (optional).
12. Bake: On a sheet of parchment paper, bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.
