Roasted duck legs with braised sauerkraut

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1. Prepare the duck legs

   Pat the duck legs dry and trim off any excess fat. Using a sharp knife, score the skin in a crosshatch pattern, cutting only through the skin and the fat underneath, not into the meat. This helps the fat render during roasting.

   Rub the legs with the salt, caraway seeds, marjoram, and crushed garlic.

2. Roast covered

   Preheat the oven to 160 °C (325 °F). Place the legs skin-side up in a roasting pan, pour in 150 ml water, cover with a lid or aluminum foil, and roast for 90 minutes.

3. Finish roasting until crisp

   Uncover the pan, baste the legs with the pan juices, and increase the oven temperature to 200 °C (400 °F). Roast for another 20–30 minutes, until the skin is golden brown and crisp and the meat pulls away from the bone easily. Pour the rendered fat into a bowl.

4. Braise the sauerkraut

   While the duck legs roast, taste the sauerkraut. If it is very sour, rinse it with cold water and let it drain. Finely chop the onion and sauté it in the heated lard until translucent. Add the sauerkraut, caraway seeds, and sugar, pour in 300 ml water, and simmer over low heat, covered, until the sauerkraut is tender.

5. Thicken the sauerkraut

   Sprinkle the all-purpose flour over the sauerkraut, stir, and simmer for 5 minutes to thicken. Season with salt and, if desired, add a tablespoon of duck fat from the roasting pan.

6. Serve

   Place a duck leg on each plate with braised sauerkraut alongside. Serve with steamed dumplings or lokše, Slovak potato flatbreads.

Tip: You can braise the sauerkraut a day ahead—it tastes better after resting. On the holiday, simply reheat it with a tablespoon of duck fat from the roasting pan.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Pečené kačacie stehná s dusenou kyslou kapustou