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Bigoli tangled with shredded duck ragu in a white bowl, grated Grana on top, on a dark wooden table

Bigoli col Ragu d'Anatra: Slow-Simmered Venetian Duck

Duck legs are seared, then slow-simmered with soffritto and white wine, shredded, and tossed with bigoli. It serves 6 in about 2 hours 50 minutes.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 20 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 50 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Primo
Cuisine: Italian (Venetian)
Calories: 194
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the ragu
  • 4 duck legs, bone-in and skin-on (about 1 kg / 2.2 lb); patted very dry
  • 1 1/4 tsp fine sea salt 1 tsp for the duck, 1/4 tsp for the soffritto
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper freshly ground
  • 1 yellow onion (200 g); finely diced
  • 1 carrot (100 g); finely diced
  • 2 celery ribs (100 g); finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 200 ml dry white wine
  • 500 ml chicken or duck stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 sprig rosemary (about 8 cm / 3 inches)
  • 4 sage leaves
For the pasta
  • 450 g dried bigoli or 600 g fresh, cooked 3 to 4 minutes
  • 2 tbsp coarse salt for the pasta water
  • 50 g Grana Padano finely grated, plus extra for serving

Method
 

  1. Pat the duck legs dry and season all sides with 1 tsp of the salt and the pepper. Finely dice the onion, carrot, and celery, and slice the garlic.
  2. Set a 26 cm / 10-inch Dutch oven over medium heat. Sear 2 legs at a time, skin side down, for 8 to 10 minutes per batch, until the fat renders and the skin is deep gold. Move each batch to a plate.
  3. Pour off all but 3 tbsp of the fat into a heatproof jar and save it. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and the remaining 1/4 tsp salt, and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring, until soft and pale gold. Stir in the garlic for 1 minute, then the tomato paste for 2 minutes, until it darkens to brick red.
  4. Pour in the wine, scrape up the browned bits, and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes until reduced by half. Return the legs skin side up, add the stock, bay leaves, rosemary, and sage, and bring to a bare simmer. Cover with the lid slightly ajar and cook on the lowest heat for 90 minutes, until the meat pulls from the bone with little resistance.
  5. Move the legs to a board and let them cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, tilt the Dutch oven and skim the fat from the surface with a ladle, discard the bay leaves and rosemary stem, and set 5 L / 5 quarts of water on to boil in an 8-quart / 7.5 L pot. Skip the skim and the finished ragu turns greasy and slides off the pasta. Pull the meat from the bones, discard the skin and bones, and chop the meat into 1 cm / 1/2 inch pieces. Return it to the sauce, taste for salt, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the ragu coats the back of a spoon.
  6. While the ragu simmers, salt the boiling water with 2 tbsp coarse salt and cook the bigoli for 10 to 12 minutes, until 1 minute short of al dente. Scoop out 250 ml / 1 cup of pasta water, then drain. Add the pasta to the ragu with 100 ml / 1/3 cup of the pasta water and toss over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sauce clings. Stir in the Grana Padano, loosen with more pasta water by the tablespoon if the sauce is tight, and serve immediately.

Notes

  • Sear the legs in two batches so they brown instead of steaming.
  • Keep the braise at a bare simmer, with one bubble every second or two.
  • Taste for salt only after the ragu reduces, since the sauce concentrates.
  • Reserve 250 ml of pasta water before draining the bigoli.