Pato no tucupi

Ingredients

Duck

• 1whole duck, about 2 kg, jointed
• 4 clovesgarlic, crushed
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 tbspsalt
• black pepper

Tucupi

• 2 litrestucupi, the fermented liquid pressed from cassava

Aromatics

• 4 clovesgarlic
• 1onion, sliced
• 6chicory or alfavaca leaves
• 2 sprigsbasil
• 2 sprigscoriander
• 1 tspsalt

Jambu

• 2large bunches jambu leaves, Acmella oleracea

To serve

• white rice
• farinha d’água
• pimenta de cheiro peppers in tucupi

Directions

1. Boil the tucupi hard and uncovered for at least an hour before anything else goes into it, and longer is better.
2. Boil it uncovered so the compounds leave with the steam. Never taste tucupi before it has been boiled, and never reduce the boiling time. Season the duck pieces with crushed garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper and leave them an hour.
3. Roast the duck at 200°C (390°F) for about an hour, until the skin is brown and crisp and much of the fat has rendered out. Roast the duck before it goes in the tucupi.
4. Pour off and keep the rendered fat, which is excellent for cooking. Meanwhile boil the tucupi hard for an hour, skimming the foam.
5. Add the roasted duck pieces to the tucupi and simmer gently for 45 minutes to an hour. The duck should become tender and take on the sour, faintly fermented flavour of the broth.
6. Add the blanched jambu to the pot for the last 5 minutes only. Taste the broth: it should be sour, savoury and yellow, and your lips should tingle faintly.
7. Serve the duck in deep bowls with plenty of the tucupi broth, jambu leaves draped over, and white rice alongside.

Technique

• Tucupi is sold bottled in Brazil and increasingly frozen abroad, and it is bright yellow and smells sharply sour.
• Jambu is sold fresh in Pará and frozen elsewhere, and there is no substitute for the numbing effect.
• The dish is better the next day, once the duck has sat in the broth.

Substitutions

• Chicken in place of duck, which is common and cooks faster.
• Watercress in place of jambu, which gives none of the tingle but works texturally.

Variations

• Made with chicken, as frango no tucupi.
• Tacacá, the tucupi soup with dried shrimp.
• With more jambu, which locals prefer.

History

Belem’s signature dish, eaten in Para during the Cirio de Nazare procession each October; the duck is roasted, then bathed in tucupi.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pato no tucupi?

Pato no tucupi is a main from Brazil: duck simmered in tucupi broth with mouth-numbing jambu leaves. Belem’s signature dish, eaten in Para during the Cirio de Nazare procession each October; the duck is roasted, then bathed in tucupi.

How long does Pato no tucupi take to make?

Pato no tucupi takes 40 min of preparation and 3 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Pato no tucupi?

Yes, within limits. Chicken in place of duck, which is common and cooks faster. Watercress in place of jambu, which gives none of the tingle but works texturally.

What is the most important thing to get right in Pato no tucupi?

Boil it uncovered so the compounds leave with the steam. Never taste tucupi before it has been boiled, and never reduce the boiling time. Season the duck pieces with crushed garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper and leave them an hour.