Duck and Apple Tart Tartin

Tarte before Baking

Just out of the Oven

Flipped onto a serving plate

We saw a recipe for Duck Confit and Apple Tarte Tatin in The Wall Street Journal it looked interesting and we decided to make it. It would very easy because you can purchase the prepared duck legs and the puff pastry. All you need to do is assemble it in a cast iron pan. Like all Tarte Tatins it is made in a cast iron skillet and with the crust on the top. It is then flipped over to serve, the crust is on the bottom and the caramelized Apples and duck are sitting on top. We served a simple Nectarine and Walnut Salad with the tarte.

Duck Confit and Apple Tarte Tatin

Wall Street Journal

Active Time: 45 minutes Total Time: 1-1/4 hours

Serves: 4 as a main course, 6 as an appetizer

2 legs duck confit

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more for pan

5 cooking apples, such as Gala or Pink Lady, peeled, cored, quartered and cut into Vh-inch slices

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (about 1/2 pound), thawed overnight in fridge

All-purpose flour, for work surface

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrape fat and skin from duck legs and reserve. Use a paring knife to remove all meat from bone and roughly chop. Set aside.

Melt 2 teaspoons reserved duck fat and skin with 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium. Working in batches, add apples to pan, sautéing until lightly brown and slightly soft, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

Generously butter a 9-inch round cake pan, ovenproof skillet or tarte Tatin dish. Sprinkle pan with honey and cider vinegar. Transfer apple slices to pan and arrange in tight concentric circles, then top with chopped duck. Sprinkle with a pinch of pepper. Set aside.

Remove thawed pastry dough from refrigerator and let sit on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes. Carefully unfold dough, then use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll out dough out so it is about 1/8-inch thick and about 2 inches larger than pan. Gently brush off any excess flour from dough, then lay dough over duck in pan. Press pastry down around duck at edge of pan to form a seal. Trim any overhang. Use a fork to prick dough all over.

Place tart in upper third of oven and bake 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake until golden and crisp, 15-20 minutes more. Remove cooked tart and immediately set a plate upside-down on top. Carefully invert tart onto plate. Knock on bottom of pan with a wooden spoon or the handle of a large knife to release duck from pan. Let cool slightly, then serve warm.

i tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (about Vi pound), thawed overnight in fridge

All-purpose flour, for work surface

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrape fat and skin from duck legs and reserve. Use a paring knife to remove all meat from bone and roughly chop. Set aside.

Melt 2 teaspoons reserved duck fat and skin with 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium. Working in batches, add apples to pan, sauteing until lightly brown and slightly soft, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

Generously butter a 9-inch round cake pan, ovenproof skillet or tarte Tatin dish. Sprinkle pan with honey and cider vinegar. Transfer apple slices to pan and arrange in tight concentric circles, then top with chopped duck. Sprinkle with a pinch of pepper. Set aside.

Remove thawed pastry dough from refrigerator and let sit on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes. Carefully unfold dough, then use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll out dough out so it is about Vs-inch thick and about 2 inches larger than pan. Gently brush off any excess flour from dough, then lay dough over duck in pan. Press pastry down around duck at edge of pan to form a seal. Trim any overhang. Use a fork to prick dough all over.

Place tart in upper third of oven and bake 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake until golden and crisp, 15-20 minutes more. Remove cooked tart and immediately set a plate upside-down on top. Carefully invert tart onto plate. Knock on bottom of pan with a wooden spoon or the handle of a large knife to release duck from pan. Let cool slightly, then serve warm.