Pato no Tucupi

Pato no Tucupi (Brazilian Duck in Tucupi Sauce)

Pato no Tucupi is a signature dish from Pará in the Brazilian Amazon, where duck is slow-simmered until tender and finished in the bright, acidic tucupi sauce made from manioc root, with onions, tomatoes, and fresh basil.

Prep

25 min

Cook

150 min

Total

175 min

Serves

6

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •1.8 kg (4 lb) whole duck, cut into pieces, or 4 duck legs plus 2 bone-in breasts
• •30 g (2 tbsp) cupuacu butter or salted butter, cupuacu butter is traditional; regular butter is the home substitute
• •2 whole (2 medium) onions, finely chopped
• •4 cloves garlic, minced
• •4 whole (4 medium) ripe tomatoes, chopped
• •1 L (4¼ cups) tucupi, fermented manioc/cassava broth; DO NOT use raw manioc juice at home. Boil tucupi for 10 minutes before use to eliminate residual toxins. Ready-to-use bottled tucupi (Gomes da Costa brand) is safest for home cooks
• •500 ml (2 cups) duck or chicken stock
• •20 g (¾ cup packed) fresh basil leaves (jambu or chicória do Pará if available), jambu is the Amazonian herb that causes the classic tongue-tingle; sweet basil is the home substitute
• •1 whole lime, juiced
• •10 g (1 tbsp) fine sea salt, adjust to taste
• •2 g (1 tsp) freshly ground black pepper
• •30 ml (2 tbsp) neutral oil, for browning the duck
• •1 whole large onion, sliced into thick rounds for the vinaigrette
• •60 ml (¼ cup) white vinegar or sour-wine vinegar

Steps

1. 1 Pat the duck pieces dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat and brown the duck in batches, skin-side down first, until deep golden on all sides, about 8 minutes total per batch. Transfer to a plate and discard all but about 2 tablespoons of fat.
2. 2 Reduce heat to medium. Add the chopped onions and cook, stirring, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute until fragrant. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and cook until they break down into a thick sauce, about 8 minutes.
3. 3 Return the duck pieces and any juices to the pot. Pour in the duck stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer gently for 1 hour 30 minutes, turning the duck occasionally, until the meat is fork-tender and pulls easily from the bone. The duck is safe when the thickest part of the thigh reads 74°C (165°F) on an instant-read thermometer and the juices run clear.
4. 4 SAFETY STEP: If using bottled tucupi, bring it to a rolling boil in a separate saucepan for 10 minutes to ensure it is safe. (Raw cassava/manioc contains cyanogenic glycosides; commercially fermented tucupi is processed, but the home cook should still boil it as a precaution.)
5. 5 Carefully lift the duck pieces out of the pot and set aside. Strain the braising liquid through a fine sieve, skimming off excess fat. Pour the strained cooking liquid together with the boiled tucupi into the pot. Add the cupuacu butter (or regular butter) and simmer gently for 15 minutes to meld the flavors. Taste and adjust salt.
6. 6 While the sauce reduces, make the traditional onion vinaigrette: lightly char the thick onion rounds on a dry skillet or directly over a gas flame until blackened in spots. Slice and toss with the vinegar and a pinch of salt.
7. 7 Return the duck to the tucupi sauce and warm through for 5 minutes. Stir in the basil leaves (or jambu) off the heat so they keep their color and aroma, and finish with the fresh lime juice.
8. 8 Serve the duck in deep bowls, ladle the bright yellow tucupi sauce generously over it, and top each bowl with the charred onion vinaigrette. Traditionally accompanied by white rice and farinha de mandioca (toasted manioc flour).