North Croatian Roasted Duck Recipes

NORTH CROATIAN ROASTED DUCK

Steps:

• Clean the duck and salt only from inside 2-3 hours before roasting. Add one tablespoon of marjoram inside the duck to cover inside meat.
• Heat oven to 250°C If there is enough fat inside duck, remove this fat and melt it separately in small pot; add lard. Heat lard and pour over duck's skin (that way we close pores on skin).
• Immediately put the duck into hot oven, roast 20 minutes on 250°C and than reduce heat to 180°C Last 20 minutes roast again on 200°C
• Duck weight 2500 g need about 120 minutes roasting.
• Start cutting the duck after 15 minutes resting outside. Use this time to remove fat drippings you will need for "mlinci".

ROASTED DUCK WITH KUMQUAT SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Prepare the duck: Poke the skin all over the duck with a fork. Season the duck all over with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and one-fourth teaspoon pepper, rubbing the seasoning over the skin.
• In a small bowl, stir together the celery, onion, cinnamon sticks, star anise and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Stuff the mixture into the cavity of the duck and tie the legs together with the tail to prevent the stuffing from falling out.
• Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the remaining tablespoon oil. Brown the duck, turning every few minutes to color each side evenly and well, about 20 minutes total.
• Place the duck and any juices in a baking pan and roast, basting every 15 minutes, until the juices run clear when you prick the thigh, about 2 hours.
• Remove the duck and set aside to rest 20 to 30 minutes before carving.
• While the duck is in the final hour of roasting, make the kumquat sauce. Place the honey in a 2-quart heavy-bottom saucepan over high heat. Bring the honey to a boil and cook just until it begins to darken and caramelize. Immediately remove the pan from heat and add the vinegar and orange juice, stirring to combine.
• Cook over medium heat until the liquid is reduced by three-fourths, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in the butter and kumquat slices and simmer gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to allow the flavors to marry. Remove from heat and serve with the duck.

ROASTED DUCK WITH LICORICE MERLOT SAUCE

Steps:

• .In a medium saucepan, simmer the honey over moderate heat for 1 minute. Add the kumquats and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.
• Strain the honey into a medium saucepan; reserve the kumquats separately.
• Add the wine and chicken stock to the honey and cook over moderate heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 15 minutes.
• Add the jelly beans, remove the saucepan from the heat and let stand until the sauce has a nice licorice flavor, about 5 minutes. Discard the jelly beans.
• Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large saucepan, cover the celery root and potato chunks with water and add 1 teaspoon of salt.
• Boil over moderately high heat until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain the vegetables; return them to the saucepan and shake over high heat to dry out.
• Transfer the celery root and potato to a food processor and puree until smooth. Wipe out the saucepan and return the puree to it. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the butter and the hazelnut oil.
• Season with salt and pepper, cover and keep warm.
• Heat a large skillet. Using a sharp knife, score the duck breast skin in a cross-hatch pattern.
• Season the breasts with salt and pepper and add 3 to the skillet, skin side down. Cook over moderate heat until the skin is deep brown and crisp, about 5 minutes; spoon off the fat once or twice.
• Turn the breasts and cook until browned on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Transfer the breasts to a baking sheet, skin side down, pour off the fat from the skillet and repeat with the remaining breasts.
• Bake the duck in the oven for about 6 minutes, or until medium rare. Transfer to a carving board, skin side up, cover loosely with foil and let rest for 5 minutes.
• Bring the licorice sauce just to a boil. Remove from the heat and whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter; season with salt and pepper.
• Thinly slice the duck breasts crosswise and arrange the slices on 8 large plates.
• Spoon the licorice sauce over the duck and top with the honeyed kumquats. Spoon the celery root puree alongside the duck and serve.

EVERYDAY ROASTED DUCK

Steps:

• Recommended equipment: kitchen twine, heavy-duty flameproof roasting pan with a flat wire roasting rack, a fat-separating measuring cup (2 cups or larger), poultry shears or heavy knife for splitting the bird.
• Arrange an oven rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to 400°.
• Remove all clods of fat from the duck cavities, and trim any loose flaps of skin; rinse the bird, including the giblets and neck; pat dry with paper towels.
• Sprinkle a teaspoon of salt inside the belly cavity; and push in the rosemary sprigs.
• With the breast side up, twist and fold the wing tips so they stay under the bird.
• Cross the legs over the cavity opening and tie the ends tightly with kitchen twine.
• Chop the duck neck into two or three pieces and scatter in the bottom of the pan, along with the giblets, under or around the wire rack.
• Set the duck, breast side up, on the roasting rack in the pan.
• Whisk the wine, lemon juice, and olive oil vigorously together until emulsified, and pour this all over the duck skin; sprinkle the remaining 2 teaspoon salt over the bird, making sure that the sides are moistened and salted as well as the breast.
• Roast the duck for an hour, breast up, then baste it all over with the pan juices, using a bulb baster or large spoon--tilt the roasting pan carefully to scoop up the liquid.
• Continue to roast for another 1 to 1 1/2 hours, basting the bird every 30 minutes or so, until it is dark gold and very crisp all over.
• Remove the duck to a platter, take out the rack and gather the giblets and neck pieces onto the platter, too.
• Carefully pour the hot juices from the pan into a fat separator and let the fat gather on top.
• Pour the good juices out of the separator into the roasting pan (if you don't have a separator, spoon off all the fat first, then pour in a cup or more of stock, so you have at least 1 1/2 cups liquid to deglaze the pan and cook into a sauce).
• Set the roasting pan over med-high heat on top of the stove, and bring the liquids to a boil, vigorously scraping up all the caramelized bits on the bottom of the pan.
• Let the juices reduce until slightly thickened and flavorful, then turn off heat.
• In the meantime, cut up the duck into small pieces to serve family-style; pile the cut pieces on a serving platter, along with the roasted neck and giblet morsels.
• Keep warm, and when the sauce is ready pour the pan sauce all over.

ROASTED DUCK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Rub salt, pepper, and paprika into the skin of the duck. Place in a roasting pan.
• Roast duck in preheated oven for 1 hour. Spoon 1/4 cup melted butter over bird, and continue cooking for 45 more minutes. Spoon remaining 1/4 cup melted butter over duck, and cook for 15 more minutes, or until golden brown.

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.