Risotto with Backyard Ragù

To make the risotto with backyard ragù, first prepare the Beef Broth (you can use the bones from cleaning the chicken and duck) and keep it warm. Prepare the ragù: clean the carrot, onion, and celery 1, then finely chop them with a knife 2. Now remove the skin from the chicken and duck 3 and set it aside.

Chop the chicken 4 and duck thighs 5 with a knife, being careful to remove any tendons and cartilage: it is not necessary to obtain regular pieces, the important thing is that they are small 6.

Place the chicken and duck skin in a steel pan, turn on the heat 7 and let it sweat over a low flame; if necessary, you can add a little oil. When the skin has released a good amount of fat, add the minced duck 8 and chicken meat 9.

Raise the heat slightly and brown the meat for at least 5 minutes 10. Once it is colored, add the vegetables for the soffritto 11. Lower the heat again and gently cook the soffritto for at least 10 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan with a ladle to extract all the flavors. When the soffritto is well browned, remove the skin 12.

Deglaze with marsala 13 and let it evaporate, always scraping the bottom with a ladle, then add the white wine 14. At this point, pour in the meat broth, without waiting for the wine to dry completely 15.

Bundle the sage and rosemary together and add the aromatic bundle to the pan 16, then cover with the lid and cook over a very low heat for about one and a half hours 17, the meat should be tender and the sauce reduced. After this time, add the milk 18.

Stir 19 and continue cooking for another 30 minutes, still covered 20. At the end of cooking, season with salt and pepper 21.

You can proceed with cooking the risotto: in a saucepan, melt the butter in the oil 22, then add the sage leaves 23 and sauté them for a few moments. When they have curled and changed color, transfer them to absorbent paper and set aside 34.

In the same cooking base, pour in the rice 25, salt it 26 and toast it for 1-2 minutes over medium heat. When the grains are very hot to the touch, deglaze with white wine 27.

Cook the rice by adding a ladle of hot broth at a time, stirring occasionally 28. Once ready 29, remove the saucepan from the heat and add the thyme, then stir in the cold butter 30.

Add the grated cheese 31 and cover with the lid for a couple of minutes 32. Finally, stir well to combine everything and adjust the consistency by adding a little broth if necessary 33.

Plate the risotto and add the ragù in the center 34, then garnish with crispy sage leaves and pepper to taste 35. Your risotto with backyard ragù is ready to be served 36!