Basic Roast Duck Recipes

ROAST DUCK

Steps:

• Unwrap the ducks and allow them to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. With a fork, prick the skin without piercing the meat. This will allow the fat to drain off while the ducks cook.
• Meanwhile, in a very large stock pot which can hold the 2 ducks, heat the chicken broth with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt until it boils. Add the ducks very carefully and bring the stock back to a boil. If there isn't enough stock to cover the ducks, add the hottest tap water to cover. If the ducks float to the top, place a plate on top to keep them immersed. When the stock comes back to a boil, lower the heat and simmer the ducks in the stock for 45 minutes.
• When the ducks are finished simmering, skim off enough duck fat from the top of the stock to pour a film on the bottom of a 14 by 18 by 3-inch roasting pan. This will keep the ducks from sticking when they roast. Carefully take the ducks out of the stock, holding them over the pot to drain. Place them in the roasting pan, pat the skin dry with paper towels, and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt and the pepper. If you have time, allow the ducks to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow the skin to dry.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. (Be sure your oven is very clean or it will smoke!) Roast the ducks for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow them to rest, covered with aluminum foil, for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

GARLIC ROASTED DUCK BREAST

Steps:

• Place duck breast skin side-down on a cutting board. Cut a small slit from top to bottom, 2/3 of the way through the duck breast. Season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Place duck breast skin side-down in the hot skillet; cook until browned, about 30 seconds. Flip and repeat on the other side.
• Transfer duck breast to a clean work surface, skin-side down. Place 3 or 4 garlic strips inside the slit. Place rosemary sprig over garlic; top with remaining garlic strips. Place skin side-up in a baking pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 120 degrees F (50 degrees C), about 10 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

ROAST DUCK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
• Trim duck of all visible fat. Using a fork, prick the skin all over without piercing the meat; season with salt and pepper. Place duck on a rack set in a roasting pan and transfer to oven; roast for 40 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 degrees and continue roasting until juices run clear when thigh is pierced, about 30 minutes more. Remove from oven and let cool.
• Reserve any duck fat from roasting pan. Store in an airtight container, refrigerated, up to 2 weeks. Remove skin from duck and discard. Remove meat from bones; discard bones. Shred meat and serve or store in an airtight container, refrigerated, up to 3 days.

EASY ROAST DUCK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove giblets and neck from duck cavity and discard or reserve for another use. Cut off excess fat from duck cavity.
• Place duck, breast side down (wings up), on a rack in a roasting pan; add water to come just below the rack. Sprinkle duck with pepper and brush with a little soy sauce.
• Roast 30 minutes, undisturbed. Prick the back all over with point of a sharp knife, then flip bird onto its back. Sprinkle with pepper and brush with soy sauce again. Add a little more water to the pan if the juices are spattering (carefully--you don't want to get water on the duck).
• Roast 20 minutes, then prick the breast all over , and brush with soy sauce. Roast 10 minutes; brush with soy sauce. Roast 5 or 10 minutes more if necessary, or until duck is a glorious brown all over and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh measures at least 155 degrees. Let rest 5 minutes before carving and serving.

BASIC ROAST DUCK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Remove all excess pieces of fat from around the duck cavities and cut away the extra skin from around these openings. Reserve the skin to make cracklings (by frying until crisp) or discard it. Rinse the ducks and dry them thoroughly. Squeeze the juice of a lemon inside each, then season the insides with salt and pepper. Place the cut pieces of squeezed lemon inside each duck.
• Using a sharp roasting fork, lightly prick the skin of the duck all over, pricking just into the fat of the duck and not penetrating the flesh.
• Place the ducks breast side down on racks in a roasting pan. It is very important that the ducks be on racks. Even cake racks set into the roasting pan will do.
• Roast the ducks for one-and-a-half hours, turn them breast side up and roast one-and-one-half hours longer.
• If the ducks are going to be served simply roasted, then at the end of the three hours' roasting time increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees and roast the ducks 30 minutes longer. Remove ducks from the oven, allow to rest for 10 minutes, then cut into serving pieces and serve.

BASIC ROAST DUCK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°; prick duck skin all over with a sharp fork, skewer, or thin-bladed knife; try not to hit the meat (the fat layer is usually about ¼ inch thick).
• Season the duck with salt and pepper and place it, breast side down, on a rack in a roasting pan.
• Roast the duck for 15 minutes, prick the exposed skin again, then roast another 15 minutes.
• Brush with a little soy sauce, and then turn it breast side up.
• Prick again, brush with a little more soy sauce, then roast until the meat is done, about another 45 minutes; all juices, including those from the center vent, should run clear and the leg bone should wiggle a little in its socket.
• When the bird is done, an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh will measure about 180°.
• Increase heat to 400° for the last 10 minutes of cooking if the duck is not as brown as you like.
• Carve duck and serve.

GRANDMA'S ROASTED DUCK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Pierce duck skin all over with a fork. Mix remaining ingredients; rub over outside of duck. Place duck on rack in a shallow roasting pan; add 1 inch of water., Roast duck, uncovered, until a thermometer inserted in thigh reads 180°, 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes before carving. If desired, skim fat and thicken pan drippings for gravy. Serve with duck.

BASIC ROAST DUCK BREAST

Steps:

• Score fat on duck breast in criss-cross pattern at one-inch intervals.
• Mix the five-spice powder, honey, soy sauce and lemon juice together in a dish, brush the mixture over both sides of the duck breasts and place the breasts in a dish. Cover and allow to marinate at least an hour at room temperature or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator, whichever is more convenient.
• Preheat oven to 175 degrees.
• Heat large, heavy skillet, preferably nonstick, to very hot. Remove duck breasts from marinade, reserving marinade for sauce, if desired. Place duck breasts in the skillet skin side down and sear for about two minutes, just until the skin is well browned. Remove the duck breasts from the skillet. Pour all the fat out of the skillet (reserve the fat for the sauce or other cooking, if you wish). Return the duck breasts to the skillet skin side up and cook for about a minute, just until the meat is seared.
• Transfer the duck breasts skin side up to a baking dish that will hold them in a single layer. Place in the oven for about an hour. By this time the duck breasts will be uniformly pink throughout. They can remain in the oven as long as two hours and can sit warming even longer if the oven is turned off after two hours. The recipe can also be expanded for as many duck breasts as you need.
• To serve, slice the duck breasts on an angle, into slices a quarter to a half-inch thick. Array on a platter and serve.