Cajun Duck Legs

All too often, duck hunters are irresponsible with the ducks they harvest. They’ll cut out the breasts and throw the rest of the duck away. Cajun cooks know how to make the most of all parts of the duck, including the legs. Here’s my own version of a Cajun-inspired dish using a mess of duck legs and thighs. I prefer to cook them with the skin on, but skinless legs work fine, too

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Cajun Duck Legs

Ingredients

  • 2 cups andouille sausage or any smoked sausage, sliced into 1/2-inch thick pieces
  • 25 – 35 duck legs
  • 1 cup yellow onion roughly chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper roughly chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper roughly chopped
  • 2 celery stalks diced
  • 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomato with juice
  • 4 – 5 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 -3 bay leaves
  • dash or two Tabasco
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons prepared Cajun seasoning
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • cooked warm rice

Instructions

  • In a large heavy-duty deep baking dish or Dutch oven, brown sausage over medium heat.
  • Add duck legs and cook until all legs are evenly browned, about 20 minutes.
  • Add onion and next 9 ingredients.
  • Stir to combine ingredients and add enough chicken broth to cover contents of dish.
  • Cover and place in a 400 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours.
  • Remove from oven and check for doneness.
  • Legs are done when the meat can be pulled off of the bone with minimal effort. Remove any legs that are done.
  • Add additional chicken broth as needed to just cover legs. Return covered dish to the oven for 30 minutes. Check for doneness every 30 minutes until all legs are tender.
  • Serve over warm rice.

2 Comments

  1. Adele Aiken on October 5, 2023 at 10:27 pm

    Can you make this recipe using a whole duck

    • Scott Leysath on October 6, 2023 at 1:48 am

      You can, but the goal of this recipe is to turn otherwise discarded duck legs into something tender. If you do a whole duck, I’d quarter it and give the legs at least a 1 hour start since they’re much more sinewy.

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