Duck Pasta

Fettuccine pasta with creamy meat sauce, salad, and utensils on table.

4.89 from 27 votes

This creamy duck pasta combines tender pieces of cooked duck with tagliatelle in a rich garlic and white wine cream sauce. A squeeze of lemon balances the richness, and crispy duck skin adds a delicious finishing touch. It's an easy way to turn leftover duck into a special dinner for two.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Duck Pasta, pasta with leftover duck

Servings: Servings

Author: Pat Nyswonger

Ingredients

For the Duck:

2 cooked duck legs or any leftover duck meat
1 tablespoon olive oil

For the Pasta

6 ounces dry tagliatelle pasta fettuccine or linguine
Salt

For the Sauce:

2 tablespoons duck fat
2 medium shallots chopped
3 garlic cloves grated or minced
½ cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth or duck broth
½ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper
½ lemon
Lemon zest
curly leaf parsley

Instructions

If using sous vide duck, strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve and reserve the broth. If you are starting with leftover duck meat and you don't have extra duck broth, you can use store-bought duck or chicken broth.
Pat the moisture from the duck legs, brush lightly with oil.
Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and place the duck legs skin side down and cook until the skin is crispy about 5 minutes. Flip over and brown lightly.
Remove from the skillet, transfer to a cutting board and when cool enough to handle, remove the crispy skin, chop it and set aside. Strip the meat from the bones, and cut it and the meat into bite-size pieces. Reserve the meat and skin.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, add the duck fat to the skillet set over medium heat. When the fat is melted, sauté the shallots until softened then add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
Pour in the wine and cook for 1 minute to burn off the alcohol. Pour in the reserved duck broth (or chicken broth) and the cream. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently, until the sauce is reduced and slightly thickened, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in the butter.
Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper accordingly. Stir in the reserved duck meat and squeeze the juice from the ½ lemon over the meat.
Drain the pasta and add to the skillet tossing until coated with the sauce.
Divide into pasta bowls and garnish with lemon zest, the crispy skin and chopped parsley.

Notes

Duck confit: You can use frozen duck confit, roasted duck legs, or other leftover cooked duck. Frozen duck products are available at some grocery stores.

Sous vide duck: If using frozen sous vide duck legs, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator before preparing the pasta.

Save the duck fat and broth: Both add flavor to the sauce. If you don't have enough duck fat, you can supplement with store-bought duck fat or olive oil. If you have less than 1 cup of duck broth, make up the difference with chicken broth.

Pasta options: Tagliatelle, fettuccine, linguine, or spaghetti all work well with this sauce.

For a thicker sauce: Mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of cold water. Whisk a little of the slurry into the simmering sauce at a time, allowing it to thicken before adding more. You may not need the entire mixture.

Nutrition