Not Duck – Slow cooked turkey legs for Chinese pancake joy

Here is another guest post, this time from my Mum. She contributed the wonderful Panzanella recipe a while back, and also taught me how to cook, so I think she is pretty brilliant. She also doesn’t get too miffed when I claim credit for her recipes…

She has made Not Duck a few times, and it works fantastically every time. It makes a really excellent Shabbat meal, especially if you have a lot of people to feed. Turkey legs are much cheaper (and bigger) than duck, so it is also an economical way to have a full-on feast.

Here are her words:

One of the things I love to eat the most is Crispy Aromatic Duck – this is not it; but it comes close! I was introduced to this recipe by my niece Michelle, who I believe got it from her sister in law and on it goes.

I am convinced that one of the reasons that this is so successful is due to the theatre of the dish. All of your senses are involved.  It couldn’t be easier to make but you do need to use a slow cooker.

Ingredients

2 turkey drumsticks (or more if you have a big enough pot)

Vegetable oil

Duck sauce or Hoisin sauce, whatever kind you like

To serve:

Duck pancakes

Spring onions, cucumber

More Hoisin/Plum sauce

Method

Massage a thin coating of oil onto the turkey drumsticks and put them in the slow cooker cook on low for at least 7 hours. I tend to put it on before I go to bed and turn it off when I get up the following morning. It feels very scary not to put in any liquid, but I promise you it does work.

Leave the drumsticks to cool in the liquor they have generated for a short time. Then remove them and shred the meat finely, throwing away any bone, skin and yucky bits. I have tried to do this elegantly with forks, but really you will get the best results by using your hands to do it also make sure that the turkey is still hot when you do it. The meat should fall apart into long luscious strands.

Having shredded all of it, put in a suitable baking dish and moisten with a little of the turkey juice. Then come the magic, add about 3 tablespoons (or so, sorry I don’t use precision for this bit) of your duck/hoisin sauce. Mix well and bake in a hot oven (200⁰) for about 20 mins until turkey is warmed through and has gone a bit crispy on top. If you aren’t going to use it all, freeze it at this stage.

Serve with warm duck pancakes and the usual accompaniments of plum or hoisin sauce, shredded spring onion and cucumber. Assemble, roll up and enjoy!