Roasted Sherry Duck Recipes

CRISP-TENDER ROAST DUCK WITH CHERRY-ROSEMARY SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Rinse the duck inside and out and pat dry. Trim any excess fat from the neck and cavity, snip off wingtips and discard. Mix 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl, and sprinkle the bird inside and out. Using a paring knife, make dozens of slits through the skin and fat (taking care not to pierce the meat) all over both sides and all parts of the bird.
• Put the duck breast-side up on a rack in a roasting pan and roast for 1 hour. Take the bird out of the oven, transfer to a platter and carefully drain the fat from the pan into a measuring cup (you'll end up getting 2 to 3 cups). Return the duck to the pan, prick with the knife again, turn it breast-side down and roast another hour. Repeat each hour, roasting the duck for a total of 4 1/2 hours.
• While the duck cooks, make the sauce: In a small saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon duck fat over medium heat and cook the shallots until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the cherries, stock, preserves, honey and rosemary, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the lemon juice, swirl in the butter and taste for salt and pepper. Set aside until the duck is finished.
• After 4 1/2 hours of roasting, turn the oven temperature up to 350 degrees F, prick the duck skin one last time, salt the skin again and return bird to the oven, breast-side up. Roast for 30 minutes until the skin is nicely browned.
• Remove from the oven, tent with foil and let rest for 20 minutes. Gently reheat the sauce over low heat. Carve the duck, put the pieces on a serving platter and serve with sauce.

SLOW ROASTED DUCK WITH ORANGE-SHERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 500 degrees. In a large bowl, toss onions with melted butter. Season duck inside and out with salt and pepper. Place rosemary sprigs inside duck's cavity and then tightly pack with buttered onion mixture.
• Place duck in medium-size roasting pan, and roast for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and cover pan loosely with foil. Roast for about 4 1/2 hours, draining fat every hour.
• Remove pan from oven and carefully discard as much fat as possible with a ladle. Add orange juice, sherry and soy sauce. Return pan to oven and roast uncovered for 30 minutes. Transfer duck to a platter and let cool slightly. Pour pan juices (about 4 cups) into a saucepan, discarding any pieces of skin. Skim off fat and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add carrots and reduce to 1 1/2 cups, strain and keep on the side. In same pan, sauté mushrooms with 2 tablespoons butter until brown. Add red peppers and briefly sauté, then add reduced sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm over low heat.
• Remove onions and rosemary from duck's cavity. Remove meat from bones. Place skin from duck breasts onto cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees until skin starts to foam, about 5 to 10 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 200 degrees and place meat in oven to keep warm until serving.
• Cover bottoms of individual plates with sauce and top with either pasta, shoestring fries, hash browns or unsalted potato chips. Place a generous amount of duck meat on top, then garnish with crispy skin, vegetables and chives.

ROAST DUCK IN CHERRY AND BLACK PEPPERCORN SAUCE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over low heat. Add the shallots and saute slowly, until soft. Add the dried cherries, molasses, pepper, and duck stock. Simmer 15 minutes.
• Blend the arrowroot with the 1/4 cup of the Madeira. Mix the Madeira into the duck sauce and simmer 3 to 4 minutes, until slightly thickened. Set aside. (The sauce may be made ahead, up to this point.)
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Season the duck cavity with the salt and pepper. Pierce the skin thoroughly around the lower breast, back, and thighs. Truss the duck and place, breast side up, on rack in shallow roasting pan. Place the duck in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and roast the duck 30 minutes per side. With a bulb baster, remove some of fat that accumulates as the duck roast. Turn the duck, breast side up, and sprinkle with salt. Roast 10 to 15 minutes longer for medium rare or until juices run rosy when a thigh is pierced with a fork. For well done, roast until juices run clear.
• Remove the trussing. Place the duck on a serving platter and keep warm in a turned off oven while finishing the sauce. (The duck may be roasted in the morning, if desired, and reheated at 300 degrees at this point.) Place under a broiler for 3 to 5 minutes for extra crisp skin.
• Remove all but 1 tablespoon fat from the roasting pan. Add the remaining 1/4 cup Madeira to the drippings in the pan. Boil rapidly, scraping the brown bits from the bottom and reducing the wine to 2 tablespoons. Strain the wine reduction into the prepared duck sauce. Finish the sauce with the sherry vinegar. Simmer 1 to 2 minutes and swirl in the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter.

ROAST DUCK WITH ORANGE AND GINGER

Steps:

• Rinse duck and pat dry. Remove neck and giblets and save for another purpose. Remove excess fat from cavity and tail area and trim off a bit of flappy neck skin. Prick duck skin all over with tip of sharp paring knife, making sure not to penetrate meat.
• Mix together salt and 5-spice powder. Season interior of duck with 1 tablespoon salt mixture; use remainder to generously season exterior (you may have a little left over). Combine orange zest with grated ginger and garlic, then smear mixture inside cavity. Place orange wedges in cavity. Tie legs together. Secure neck flap with wooden skewer or toothpicks. Place duck on rack in roasting pan breast-side-up and refrigerate overnight, uncovered.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, bring duck to room temperature and make the glaze: Bring orange juice, honey, sugar and soy sauce to a simmer. Add sliced ginger and star anise, then reduce mixture until you have a medium-thick syrup, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Roast duck for 2 hours, carefully pouring off fat and turning duck over every 30 minutes. Paint with glaze and roast another 30 minutes (2 1/2 hours in all). Tent with foil if glaze begins to get too dark. Duck is done when temperature at thickest part of leg reads 165 degrees. Paint duck once more, keep warm and let rest 20 minutes. Use poultry shears to cut into quarters (remove backbone first) or carve in the traditional way, removing legs from carcass and slicing breast. Serve with mashed butternut squash if desired.