ERIC: We have this amazing dish that's very near and dear to our hearts.

It's our tamarind duck leg with our jollof rice.

SETH: Ooh, jollof rice.

And a beautiful duck leg right here.

How are we treating this?

ERIC: So, we're going to go confit.

A great way to preserve duck back in the day, before refrigeration, was actually cooking in its own fat, right?

So, we're going French style, but obviously, adding in our West African Ghanaian flavors.

So, we're going to take our mix of salt, a little bit of black pepper.

There's a little bit of alligator pepper that has been blended in there as well.

And then we have this amazing green seasoning that we take scallions, and thyme, and celery and ginger, and garlic.

We actually have one that we've marinated the night before.

SETH: Beautiful.

ERIC: Right?

We vacuum seal it just to sort of really impart that flavor.

So, this is the day two.

So after we take it out the bag, I'm going to go ahead and start to get ready for the confit process.

So beautifully marinated right there.

So, we're going to go ahead and add in our aromatics, some fresh bay leaves, black peppercorns, and we take that beautiful duck fat right there.

SETH: Oh, taking a little duck fat bath.

That is beautiful.

ERIC: Isn't that gorgeous?

SETH: You can do no wrong with duck fat.

ERIC: I really can't think of anything.

I mean, how are you mad right now?

So, we'll take that, tent it with the aluminum foil, and this goes straight into the oven.

And we go really low and slow until it's really, really nice and tender.

But I do want to show you what a finished confit product look like.

So, after it's out of the oven, we let it cool in its own fat, and it's ready just to be pan-seared.

SETH: It's done with its bath.

Ready to eat.

All right.

ERIC: Yes, sir.

But really, I'd be remiss if we didn't talk about the jollof rice.

Jollof rice actually speaks from the heart.

It's a culture dish.

So, we'll take a little bit of neutral oil, and then we're going to take some really thinly sliced onions, julienne.

Really want to get those aromatics sweated out as much as possible.

SETH: And is there something about Ghanaian jollof rice that makes it the best?

ERIC: Um, I mean, you said the first part.

It's Ghanaian, right, like, it's, it's... Honestly, no matter where you go, you're going to grab a really delicious version of this dish, whether you're in Togo, whether you're in Nigeria, whether you're in Ghana.

I say, though Ghanaian jollof rice is the best.

I think we use the perfect ratio of the warm spices, the more heat spices.

And I think how prideful we are about it, like it's a big deal.

SETH: Yeah, no, I know there's a lot of pride when it comes to jollof.

ERIC: It's massive, man.

So these onions get sweated out, and you start to concentrate a little bit of those sweetnesses, the starches, the sugars.

SETH: And it's smelling pretty good in here.

ERIC: It's smelling really good over here.

So, this is the long-grain rice.

We're using jasmine, and we rinse it a few times.

Super important.

We want to remove the starch from the rice.

You'll see it's white and chalky and milky.

We want to remove as much of that as possible to help make sure that each rice cooks individually perfectly.

So, go ahead and add in that beautiful rice.

SETH: And I love when rice gets a little sear in the pan.

ERIC: Yeah, absolutely.

SETH: Just gets a different texture than you get when you steam it.

ERIC: 100%.

That's a great call.

Yeah, you're almost like toasting the rice, right?

You're kind of priming for all of the beautiful love and goodness that we're going to throw in here with that jollof stew.

SETH: Snap, crackle, and pop right here.

ERIC: That's exactly it.

So, Seth, we're going to add in our mother sauce in West Africa, our red stew.

So, we take peppers, onions, ginger, garlic, blend that all down.

Spices that we love, curry, powdered nutmeg, paprika, almost like a vegetable smoothie, and then cook it down.

Very similar to like a marinara sauce.

After about an hour or so, you get this really beautiful concentrated red stew.

And then last but not least, Seth, we're going to go ahead and add in our chicken stock.

SETH: Ooh, so, all of that flavor is going to get into the rice itself.

ERIC: Absolutely.

We you want to bring this to a simmer, and then we'll grab some aluminum foil.

SETH: Trap all that flavor inside.

ERIC: Trap all of that flavor inside, absolutely.

SETH: Right.

ERIC: And then this itself goes back in the oven.

So, once it's in the oven is going to cook for about another 30, 40 minutes.

So up next, we're going to sear our confit duck leg.

And after that, it's time to plate.

So, we're going to take the duck leg, brush it with our beautiful tamarind glaze sauce.

Tamarind gives us a little bit of sour, a little tang, a little sweetness.

And then we'll plate off the jollof with the duck, roasted tomato salad, and then we'll be ready to chow down.

SETH: All right, Chef.

I'm loving the colors on this plate right here.

ERIC: It's a lot.

It's vibrant.

You know what we put the roasted tomato salad on.

It's absolutely delicious.

That's what you need, Seth.

That's what you need.

SETH: Wow, that is phenomenal.

ERIC: It's not too bad, right?

Yeah.

SETH: Not at all because with the duck confit, you get the tenderness, you get that silky texture.

But you still get a little bit of crispiness, too.

ERIC: Absolutely.

You sear it up, and then you just let the tamarind glaze sort of just lacquer that skin, so it stays crispy, but it has a beautiful sort of flavor profile to it.

SETH: And Chef, it looks like you added a little dollop of... we're talking Ghanaian hot sauce right here?

ERIC: Absolutely.

Good call.

So, we have our shito sauce, shrimp powder, ginger, garlic, tomato paste, a little chili, a little bit of crayfish powder.

What's it doing for you right now?

SETH: That gives such an extra depth to what is already a phenomenal bite.

ERIC: Adds a ton of umami to it.

And I think it just adds that last beautiful layer to this dish.

SETH: Right, because it's not heat.

It's not real spice, but it's just flavor.

ERIC: It is flavor, man.

It's just depth of flavor.

SETH: It's just really bold flavor.

ERIC: Exactly.

Yes, sir.