Arroz de Pato was one of the first dishes I tried in Portugal, and I was immediately blown away! It comprises juicy duck meat, rice, and Portuguese chouriço, all baked in the oven until nice and crispy. It’s quite simple to cook and the perfect dish for the colder months. It’s also a great way to prepare duck, which is such an underrated meat!
Arroz de Pato Recipe
If you have tried any of my other Portuguese rice recipes before, you are probably already acquainted with the process. First, we stew the duck with the chouriço, some carrots, onions, garlic, and fresh herbs.
This creates a rich broth that we will use to cook our rice. I recommend using a whole duck, quartered. Alternatively, you can use drumsticks or the breast, but preferably a bone in cut for a more flavoursome broth. Once cooked the duck meat is pulled apart from the bones and skin, shredded, sautéed and combined with the cooked rice.
What Type of Rice Should You Use in Arroz de Pato?
When cooking Portuguese rice recipes, I usually go with the local Carolino rice, which is a short grain rice that’s great at absorbing the flavour of other ingredients. However, for this recipe I will be using parboiled rice that will guarantee a crispy texture when you bake the rice.
However, it seems there’s no consensus among the Portuguese with what rice should be used. My advice is, if you prefer a creamier, juicier dish, go for the Carolino, if you prefer crispier use parboiled rice. I’ve tried the two ways, and they are both delicious and equally authentic.
How to Make Portuguese Duck Rice
Arroz de Pato – Portuguese Duck Rice
6
servings15
minutes1
hour15
minutes733
kcalArroz de Pato is a tradition rice dish made up of rice and duck cooked in a delicous duck stock.
Ingredients
1 Whole 1 Whole Duck, Quartered
450 g 2 3/7 cup Parboiled Rice
3 3 Medium Carrots
3 3 Small Onions
3 3 Garlic Cloves
100 g 3 1/2 oz Chouriço
20 ml 4 tsp Olive Oil
100 ml 3/7 cup Port Wine
1 tbsp 1 Tomato Concentrate
1 1 Bay Leaf
1 1 Sprig of Rosemary
3 3 Sprigs of Thyme
Directions
- Place a large pan with a thick base over medium heat. Once hot, add the olive oil, and the quartered duck with skin facing down, fry for about 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Repeat the process until you’re finished with the duck. Drain most of the fat into a bowl, reserve.
- Peel the carrots and roughly chop them, do the same with two of the onions. Add both to the pan you used to sear the duck. Add in the garlic and the fresh herbs too, cook over low to medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring from time to time.
- Deglaze the pan with the port wine, place the seared duck back into the pan, and the whole chouriço. Cover with boiling water, let it simmer with the lid on for about 30 minutes. Using a spoon, skim the excessive fat that floats on the surface.
- Pull out the duck pieces and the chouriço, set aside to cool. Strain the broth, also set aside.
- Pre heat the oven to 180°C.In the meantime, dice the remaining onion and a third of the cooked chouriço.
- Once the duck is slightly cooler, remove the skin, then shred the meat.
- Place a clean high sided skillet over low to medium heat, add 3tbsp of the duck fat you reserved earlier, and fry the diced onions and chouriço until the onion is translucent. Add in the shredded duck meat, fry for another 5 minutes.
- Add in the rice, cook for another 2 minutes, add the tomato concentrate, and 1L of the duck stock, stir well to combine. Season with salt and pepper, cover with the lid, then cook undisturbed for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, slice the remaining chouriço. Transfer the rice to a baking tray, it shouldn’t be fully cooked as it will continue to cook in the oven. It should also have some liquid, so if yours is completely dry, make sure to add more stock before you bake. Distribute the sliced chouriço on top, bake for about 20 minutes or until golden and crispy.
Have you tried this recipe? Let me know in the comments!
So tasty!