Waffle Fried Duck Drumsticks, Smoked Duck Sweet Potato Hash and Cranberry Maple Syrup

Waffle Batter:

• 1

  Place flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl; stir to combine.

• 2

  Place eggs, milk and oil in a separate mixing bowl; whisk to combine.

• 3

  Slowly, while whisking, add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients. Continue whisking until the batter is smooth. Reserve at room temperature while preparing the rest of the recipe.

• 4

  Adjust the batter consistency with water if necessary before using -- it should be the consistency of a cake batter.

Duck Legs:

• 1

  Preheat fryer to 340 degrees F. Remove duck legs from packages and pat dry with paper towels.

• 2

  Working one leg at a time with a paring knife, score the leg around the bone approximately 1/4 inch from the bottom and scrape the meat toward the drumstick. Stand the duck leg on your cutting board vertically and gently press the meat into a rounded ball shape toward the drumstick.

• 3

  Cover the legs and reserve in the cooler until ready for service.

• 4

  When ready for service, lightly dredge legs in flour; shake off excess. Dip into waffle batter and "float" the legs into the fryer, carefully holding them for a few seconds so they don't drop directly to the bottom. Fry until batter is golden brown on all sides and the internal temperature is 145 degrees F.

• 5

  Remove from fryer basket, drain on paper towels and season lightly with salt and pepper.

Smoked Duck Sweet Potato Hash:

• 1

  Start smoker over medium heat and let it smoke for 5 minutes over medium heat. Turn heat source off and leave it covered.

• 2

  Chop defrosted duck leg meat into small/medium pieces and place in smoker for 5 minutes; reserve covered.

• 3

  Heat half of the duck fat in sauté pan. Lightly season and sauté the sweet potatoes over medium heat until tender. Remove potatoes from pan and reserve.

• 4

  Heat remaining duck fat and add onions and red pepper. Season lightly with cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Add the smoked duck meat and sweet potatoes to the pan. Toss to combine; taste and adjust the seasoning with cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper.

• 5

  Deglaze the hash with the butter and duck stock; toss so the hash is well coated. Just before plating, add the green onions.

Spiced Cranberry Maple Syrup:

• 1

  Combine the sliced cranberries, chipotle powder and syrup in small saucepan and stir to combine.

• 2

  Heat gently over low heat and cook until cranberries are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, taste and adjust with chipotle powder.

Plating:

• 1

  Place one quarter of the hash on each of the plates.

• 2

  Trim the bottoms of each of the fried duck legs and nest two on the hash on each plate.

• 3

  Sauce the plates with the spiced cranberry syrup. Garnish plates with sliced green onions.