Duck Carnitas Nacho Bites with Blue Cheese and Blackberry Ale Sauce

I’m so excited to share this recipe! Matt and I have been to San Diego together twice now and both times we went to different Ballast Point breweries. Matt is a big fan of their beers and, as we discovered on our first visit, they also serve awesome food. The first time we ordered their duck confit nachos: fresh tortilla chips piled high with crispy duck, a creamy blue cheese sauce, pickled red onions and a tangy sour ale blackberry sauce.

The combination had us dreaming about this appetizer until we were back in San Diego two years later and could order it again. I decided this summer I needed to at least attempt to re-create this dish so we wouldn’t have to wait until our next San Diego trip to eat it again.

I loved how my Elote Wonton Bites turned out so instead of a full plate of nachos we have Duck Carnitas Nacho Bites with Blue Cheese and Blackberry Ale Sauce. These little wonton cups have a lot of components, but a bite of everything all together is pure magic. It helps that you can make the duck carnitas, wonton cups, blackberry ale sauce and pickled red onions ahead of time.

I was most concerned about making the duck because I have never cooked or even bought duck before except at a restaurant. The larger Whole Foods near me stocks duck legs so I placed those in my dutch oven along with orange juice, orange wedges and some seasonings. The duck legs came out so crispy and juicy! Considering how simple it was to just put everything in the pot and let it cook I will definitely be cooking duck again for Matt and I! Who knew it was so easy to get such restaurant-worthy results?

Since we want the tender duck to be crispy for these nacho bites, I turned them into duck carnitas by shredding the duck meat and searing it on the stove-top for twenty minutes. Delicious! I love that we can eat this dish now whenever we feel that craving hit to hold us over until we can get back to San Diego again!

Duck Carnitas Nacho Bites with Blue Cheese and Blackberry Ale Sauce

 

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Yield: 24 wonton bites

Ingredients

for the duck carnitas

• 1 pound fresh duck legs, about 2 legs
• 1 orange
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• Pinch of cinnamon

for the pickled red onions

• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• 1½ teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced

for the blue cheese sauce

• ¼ cup heavy cream
• ⅓ cup blue cheese crumbles

for the blackberry reduction

• 4 ounces fresh blackberries
• ⅓ cup sour ale
• 1 tablespoon sugar

for the wonton cups

• 24 wonton wrappers
• ⅔ cup blue cheese crumbles

Directions

for the duck carnitas

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place the duck legs, skin side up, in a Dutch oven or other heavy oven safe pot with a lid. Add juice of the whole orange and the seasonings to the pot. Stir to combine then cut up the spent orange into wedges and toss in as well. Put on the lid and cook 1½ hours. Remove from the oven. Once it’s cool enough to handle, shred the meat and skin, discarding the bones, any excess fat and orange wedges. I also discarded some of the skin. Heat the Dutch oven over medium-high heat and cook until the shredded duck is crispy, about 20 minutes, stirring often and being sure to scrape the bottom of the pot.

for the pickled red onions

1. Combine the water, apple cider vinegar, sugar and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves then remove from the heat.
2. Place the sliced red onions in a bowl then pour the vinegar mixture over top. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour

for the blue cheese sauce

1. Gently heat the cream in a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Once the cream starts to bubble, add the blue cheese crumbles. Stir and whisk while the blue cheese melts until the sauce is smooth. Remove from the heat.

for the blackberry reduction

1. Heat the blackberries, ⅓ cup of the beer and the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Let cook for 10 minutes while the blackberries reduce. Remove from the heat and let cool. Once cool, either use a fine mesh strainer to strain out the seeds or puree in a high speed blender.

for the wonton cups

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spray a mini muffin pan then place the wrappers into the cavities so they create little wonton bowls. Lightly spray the wonton wrappers in the pan then bake for 5-7 minutes. Set aside.
3. After the wontons have baked on their own, spoon the duck into the wontons in the mini muffin pan, evenly dividing between them. Top with the blue cheese crumbles. Bake for 6-8 more minutes. Top with the pickled red onions, a drizzle of blue cheese sauce and a generous drizzle of blackberry reduction then serve hot.

Notes

Duck can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple days. No need to reheat the duck before baking in the wonton cups.
Pickled red onions can be made and kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 weeks. Drain the onions before using.
Blackberry reduction can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a week. Reheat gently on the stove-top or in the microwave at half power.

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Lauren Uncategorized 2 Comments