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Roasted Duck Legs with Porter Cherry Sauce

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Ingredients
  

  • ¼ cup rendered duck fat can sub olive oil, divided
  • 4 duck legs skin on
  • salt and pepper
  • ¼ cup chopped shallots
  • 3 cloves garlic grated with a microplane
  • ½ cup porter beer
  • 10 wt oz 1 ½ cupsdark sweet cherries, fresh or frozen (such as bing)
  • ¼ tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbs honey

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375.
  • Heat 2 tablespoons duck fat (or olive oil) in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat.
  • Sprinkle the duck skin with salt and pepper.
  • Place the duck legs into the hot pan, skin side down, cook until skin has browned, about 6 minutes. Flip the duck legs overs.
  • Place the cast iron skillet in the oven for 1 ½ to 2 hours or until the duck reaches 165F degrees. (If you don’t have a large enough cast iron skillet, just brown the duck legs and then transfer them, skin side up, to a baking dish). You can reduce the oven to 200 and keep the duck in the oven until ready to serve for up to 1 hour. To crisp the skin back up (of it becomes soft in the oven), preheat the broiler and place the duck under the broiler for a few minutes, keeping a very close eye to make sure the duck doesn’t burn.
  • While the duck is cooking make the cherry sauce. In a pot over medium high heat add the remaining 2 tablespoons duck fat. Add the shallots and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic. Add the porter, cherries, smoked paprika, black pepper and honey. Allow to boil, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 8 minutes.
  • Spoon the sauce over the duck just prior to serving, or serve alongside.