Braised duck legs very tough
Made David Tanis wine-braised duck legs (NYT- http://www.nytimes.com...) but legs were very tough. (1) Did I over cook? Too high temperature? (2) Any way to rescue leftovers? Sauce was fantastic. Duck legs were from D'Artagnan.
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I can assure you that when I tested the recipe, it was followed to the letter, and the results were completely satisfactory. And re-heated the next day it was also very good. However, Muscovy legs do not necessarily get to the falling-off-the-bone stage, nor was that the intent. But certainly they should have become tender."
I think there is some confusion here. That's a browning / rendering step @ 400F -- the braise follows. (It's worth noting that a braise cannot, by definition, achieve temperatures above the boiling point no matter how high the oven is set.)
If the duck was tender after step #4, it was overcooked in step #5. If not, the problem may stem from the instruction to test the meat with a paring knife. There's a reason braises are described as "fork tender" not "knife tender".
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