Duck and chourico baked rice: a whole duck braised and shredded, cooked into rice with its broth, finished in the oven with a crust of chourico slices and a beaten egg glaze.

Arroz de pato is one of the great rice dishes of the Portuguese table, and Braga's version at Casa de Pasto das Carvalheiras is the benchmark preparation in the city. The dish requires a whole duck braised for several hours, a step that most restaurants skip in favour of duck confit; the Carvalheiras kitchen makes it from scratch on a rotating weekly basis. The combination of long-braised duck, salty chourico and egg-glazed rice crust is a product of the Minho farmhouse tradition of using the Sunday duck for multiple meals.

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Make it at home

Serves 44 hrIntermediate

Ingredients

  • 1 whole duck, about 2kg
  • 1 onion, halved
  • 2 carrots, roughly chopped
  • 2 celery sticks
  • 4 bay leaves
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 400g long-grain white rice
  • 200g chourico, sliced into thin rounds
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • Olive oil

Method

  1. Put the duck in a large pot with onion, carrot, celery, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Cover with water and simmer for 2 to 2.5 hours until the duck is very tender.
  2. Lift out the duck and reserve the broth. When cool enough to handle, remove all meat from the bones and shred finely.
  3. Measure 900ml of the duck broth. Bring to a boil, add the rice and cook until just al dente, about 12 minutes. The rice should be slightly undercooked.
  4. Mix the shredded duck into the rice. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. Preheat oven to 200C. Tip the duck-rice into a large oiled baking dish and smooth the surface.
  6. Lay the chourico slices over the surface in overlapping rows. Brush the beaten egg over the exposed rice.
  7. Bake for 20 minutes until the top is golden and crisped. Rest 5 minutes before serving.

Editor tip. Use the duck braising broth to cook the rice; it carries all the fat and gelatin that gives the dish its depth.

Common allergens: Egg.