Confit Duck Gizzards

You have probably used giblets from a duck or chicken to make a broth, but do you ever cook with the gizzard, liver or heart as main ingredients? We find these parts incredibly tasty, and we think more people would if they tried it. Our favorite restaurant in Oslo, Pjoltergeist, often serves amazing dishes with duck hearts prepared in various ways. Go try it!

I ordered some duck gizzards from Anni's Pølsemakeri and decided to cook them in duck fat. I have never made gizzards myself, but I really wanted Anders to try this dish that I know from my grandmother. Cooking something new and awesome gets me excited about cooking in general.

Ingredients

4 duck gizzards
1 jar of duck fat (you can get it at Gutta på Haugen)
2 garlic cloves
2 small aubergines
2 large shallots
little gem lettuce
spinach
extra virgin olive oil
white balsamic vinegar
Dijon mustard
fresh thyme
salt and pepper

Here's how you quack it down

Rinse and dry the gizzards, then rub them with oilve oil, salt, thyme and garlic and let them soak on that for some hours or overnight. Gizzards can be a bit chewy if you don't prepare them the right way, but with this method they will become tender as any other confit.

Slice the aubergine in thin discs and let them rest in salty water. That way you stop the oxidation, and also prevent them from absorbing too much oil when you fry them later.

Heat your oven to 100 degrees C. Pour the duck fat in an oven safe form. Leave it 2 minutes in the oven until the fat melts and then take it out again. Rinse the gizzards of excess marinade and place them in the duck fat. If the fat doesn't completely cover the meat, add some more olive oil.

Cook in the oven for 1,5-2 hours depending on how "bloody" you like them. I made them medium and not medium-rare this round, so next time I will only leave them 1,5 hour. Let them rest 15-20 minutes before you slice them. You eat the meat only, so cut away the chewy, non-meaty parts.

Heat a pan with extra virgin olive oil, and sear the aubergines on both sides until they are golden. Cut the onions in half and let the fry on the flat side until they get slightly burned. You want that burnt flavor!

Anders made a great vinaigrette to complement the gizzards. It consisted of 3 parts extra virgin olive oil to 1 part white balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp of Dijon mustard and some salt and pepper.

Serve with little gem salad, spinach, the aubergines and onions and drizzle vinaigrette all over.

Pair it with a Barolo and enjoy.