Recipe byThe ZestyPlate Kitchen
Duck legs slow-braised with cinnamon, red wine and tomato until tender, shredded back in and tossed through paccheri. A rich Venetian classic.
This is the duck ragu they make in Venice, where the meat braises slowly in red wine and tomato with a whisper of cinnamon until it falls from the bone. Shredded back through wide paccheri tubes, it turns into something rich and faintly gamey, with that warm spice keeping it from feeling heavy. It asks for a couple of unhurried hours, but the result earns every minute.
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Prep 20 min
Cook 150 min
Total 170 min
Medium
Scale:
- 1 tbls Olive Oil
- 4 Duck Legs
- 2 finely chopped Onions
- 2 cloves minced Garlic
- 2 tsp ground Cinnamon
- 2 tsp Plain Flour
- 250ml Red Wine
- 800g Chopped Tomatoes
- 1 Chicken Stock Cube
- 3 sprigs Rosemary
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 2 tbs Milk
- 600g Paccheri Pasta
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
Preparation
- Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the duck legs and brown them all over for about 10 minutes, then lift onto a plate and set aside. Tip the onions into the pan and soften for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic for a minute, then the cinnamon and flour for another minute. Return the duck, pour in the wine, tomatoes and stock, and add the herbs, sugar and seasoning. Bring up to a simmer, lower the heat, cover, and leave it for 2 hours, giving it a stir now and then.
- Lift the duck legs out carefully onto a plate. They will be very soft, so go gently and keep all the meat. Pull away and bin the fat, shred the meat with two forks, and discard the bones. Tip the meat back in with the milk and simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes while the pasta cooks.
- Cook the pasta to the pack timings, then drain, holding back a cup of the water, and add it to the ragu. Turn it through so every piece is coated, cook for a final minute, and loosen with a splash of pasta water if it tightens up. Finish with grated Parmesan if you like.
Tips from the ZestyPlate Kitchen
- Brown the duck legs properly first. That step renders the fat and gives the sauce its backbone.
- Keep the braise at a lazy simmer for the full two hours so the meat slips off the bone.
- Once the duck is out, spoon off the layer of fat before shredding for a cleaner-tasting sauce.
- Hang on to a mugful of pasta water to slacken the ragu so it clings to every tube.
Frequently Asked Questions
A pinch of warm spice is the Venetian touch. It threads a gentle, fragrant depth through the sauce that offsets the richness of the duck without ever tasting like dessert.
It actually improves overnight. The flavours settle and deepen, it reheats without any fuss, and it takes well to the freezer too.
Go for something with bulk, like paccheri tubes or wide pappardelle ribbons. They catch the shredded meat where thin strands would let it slide off.
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