Arroz de Pato Recipe and photo by Jonathan Cairns Serves 4 1
Whole duck, preferably plucked with head, neck, feet and giblets removed
2 med
Carrots
3 med
Onions
1 lg
Chouriço, halved
200g
Smoked bacon, cut into lardons
3-4
Bay leaves
1
Handful of peppercorns
600g
Rice: Carolina or Argulha (but any long-grained variety will do)
1 litre
Duck stock (from the poaching liquid)
330 ml
Stout, Guinness or dark ale
2 shots
Strong coffee
4 tbsp
Olive oil, divided into 2 Grated mature cheese: São Jorge 6 meses or mature Cheddar for serving
A couple of years ago, I stepped in as last-minute chef at a traditional Portuguese cuisine restaurant, after the previous chef—a longstanding one, too, by all accounts—had a hissy fit and rampaged around the kitchen cursing and swearing with a knife in his hand. It happens sometimes in this biz. I had eaten a fair bit of traditional Portuguese cuisine and enjoyed a lot of it over my time here, so I had a good idea of the ingredients for most of the recipes. On the table here were rather regular tapas, a different lunchtime menu daily, with a big focus on fish and meat dishes served à la carte. What I loved most about that restaurant—A Presunção de Agua Benta (now defunct due to the pandemic)—was that I was learning new stuff every day and, given my lack of experience preparing such cuisine, it would not have been the first restaurant I would have considered working at nor giving my CV. 56 Portugal Living Magazine
At family-run places—with spouses, children, aunts and uncles, cousins, and friends manning the decks and holding the fort—it is rare for an estrangeiro to head up the kitchen. But there I was, soldiering on as best I could with a nagging fear of being caught in the imposter syndrome. Yet, it was a great team to work with and typically Portuguese—enthusiastic and encouraging, funny and fun, and oozing warmth for a welcomed outsider. The kitchen routine of menu planning, stock-checking, ordering, and using everything in stock was less of a shock, though some obscure products and dishes came to light from the deepest recesses of the freezer: chicken gizzards for moelas, pig’s blood for papas sarrabulho, a bag of rabbit heads—eyes and all—for, erm, stock. And a whole duck pulled out by the general manager with a flourish and a triumphant cry of “Arroz de Pato!” “Conheço e já comi, mas nunca fiz.” I know it and have eaten it, but never prepared it. “É facil. O rapazito tem receita da avó!” It’s easy! The little kid has his grandmother’s recipe! Indeed, he did and, quite possibly, it’s the craziest recipe I’ve ever come across, especially for a dish considered to be one of Portugal’s most loved and well known. And here you have it, too. Bom Proveito!
