Duck Curing Mixture:

• 2 tablespoons fresh orange zest
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon Cumin Seed 
• 1 tablespoon European Coriander Seed 
• 1-1/2 teaspoons Curing Salt 
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup Kosher Salt
  

For Confit:

• 3 lb bone-in duck legs
• 4 lb of duck fat or lard

For the Mole:

• 2 tablespoons duck fat
• 1 cup grilled yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 1 cup roasted Roma tomatoes
• 2 roasted Poblano peppers, stemmed and deseeded
• 2 roasted Anaheim chilies, stemmed and deseeded
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup toasted raisins
• 1/2 cup ground Mole Olé (one small pouch)
• 1/4 cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 6 cups duck or chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 grilled corn tortilla
• 3 tablespoons molasses
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• Salt to taste

Recommended for Garnish:

• Corn tortillas
• Limes
• Queso fresco
• Toasted white sesame seeds
• Cilantro
• Radish, thinly sliced

For the Duck Legs:

In a large bowl, add all of the duck curing mixture ingredients. Stir mixture until well mixed, then aggressively rub the mixture on the duck legs. Place the duck legs on a rack on a sheet tray, skin side up. As the legs cure, they will drip off excess liquid. Cover duck legs with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 days. 

After two days rinse off the duck legs and pat dry. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven, place duck legs skin side up and cover in duck fat or lard until submerged. Cover with parchment and foil. Bake for 2 hours at 300 degrees. For the last 15 minutes, turn up the oven to 375 degrees and cook until the skin is lightly golden. 

Remove the duck legs from oven and let cool before picking off the meat. Shred the meat and set aside to make mole. 

For the Mole:

In a heavy bottom pot on medium heat, add two tablespoons of duck fat. Then add the onion and let it sweat. You want the onion to caramelize and sweeten. Next add the roasted tomatoes and peppers. Sauté until the tomatoes have broken down.

Next add the garlic and stir until fragrant. When that's ready, add the toasted raisins, Mole Ole seasoning, pepitas, and chicken stock. Give it a stir, adding the peanut butter, apple cider vinegar, grilled tortilla, and molasses.Once the mixture is at a simmer, stir in the dark chocolate. Bring down to temperature to low. You want to avoid any scorching. Let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes. Due to the amount of sauce, you may need to puree in batches. Blend sauce on high in a blender until velvety smooth. Return sauce to pot and add the shredded duck confit. Let the sauce simmer with the meat on low and covered for 20 minutes. Taste the sauce and add salt as needed. Duck confit is cured and is naturally salty like bacon. The salt from the meat will infuse the sauce as it cooks. Season to taste, if needed. 

The mole can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge up to a 5 days or up to 6 months in the freezer. 

For the Tacos:

Warm up corn tortillas and add a couple tablespoons of the duck confit mole mixture. Sprinkle on your favorite taco garnishes. Everyone can enjoy their taco as they wish. 

Notes:

Strain and keep your leftover confit fat and use for future cooking. Its flavor will be delicious.

Mole is about char and adding the nutty roasted flavor to all of the ingredients before creating the sauce. Don't be afraid of a few burnt pieces of tomato skin or peppers. You can achieve this at home in a dry skillet on your stove top using high heat, but it is easier and quicker if done directly on the grill. Don't worry about peeling off the skin — IT'S FLAVOR!For toasting the raisins, add them to a dry skillet on high heat and toss them around for 2 minutes until they puff up and smell like caramel.