Duck leg with balsamic port wine chocolate sauce

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 4 m.-sized duck leg(s)
• 2 pinches of smoked salt
• 2 tbsp peppercorns, freshly ground
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 8 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 4 large shallots
• 2 cloves garlic
• 100 g dark chocolate
• 300 ml port wine, white
• 150 ml dry white wine
• some chili flakes
• 4 tbsp apricot jam (apricot jam)
• 4 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp honey, viscous

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 55 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 25 minutes

simply

Preheat oven to 220°C (top/bottom heat). Clean the duck legs, remove any excess fat, rinse thoroughly, and pat dry. Rub the legs all over with smoked salt and set aside. Crush the fresh peppercorns thoroughly in a mortar and pestle (there should be no whole kernels left). Heat the oil with the ground peppercorns in a roasting pan on the stovetop. Sear the duck legs, skin-side down, until crispy. Then pour in the balsamic vinegar and mix with the remaining peppercorn oil. Important: The legs must be placed on the balsamic-pepper oil with the crispy skin side down. Then place the roasting pan with the lid on in a hot oven at medium temperature for 45 minutes. In the meantime, peel the shallots and cut into thin wedges. Peel and finely dice the garlic, and cut the chocolate into small crumbs. Set everything aside. After 45 minutes, briefly remove the legs from the roasting pan. Now add 200 ml of port wine, 50 ml of white wine, the prepared shallots, the garlic, and the chili flakes to the stock. Also add the apricot jam, tomato paste, and honey, and mix everything well until you achieve a smooth, liquid consistency. Then place the legs back on the sauce skin-side down and braise with the lid closed for another 60 minutes. Now remove the lid. Place the legs skin-side up in the roasting pan lid. Return to the oven for about 15 minutes with the grill switched on and at around 200°C to allow the skin to crisp up. Meanwhile, pour the stock into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Now add the remaining port wine and the remaining white wine and bring everything to a brisk boil. Finally, melt the dark chocolate in the sauce; this creates both a special flavor nuance and a creamy consistency. Serve and enjoy. Classic dumplings and red cabbage go well with this, but also potatoes or wide ribbon noodles.