Slow Roast Duck Recipes

SLOW ROAST DUCK

Steps:

• Set your oven to 325°F. Using a needle or a sharp knife point, prick the skin of the duck all over -- but be sure to not pierce the meat itself, only the skin. This lets the fat render out and will help crisp the skin. Pay special attention to the back, the flanks, and the very front of the breast.
• Rub the cut lemon all over the duck and stick it inside the cavity. Liberally salt the bird; use a little more salt than you think you need. Stuff the duck with the herbs. Let the bird sit out for about 30 minutes to come to room temperature, while the oven heats up.
• When you are ready to roast, put the duck in an iron frying pan or other ovenproof pan and surround it with root vegetables. Set the pan in the oven. Small ducks (wood ducks, wigeon, teal, ruddies, etc.) only need 40 minutes in the oven. If you are roasting mallards or a typical, store-bought Pekin duck, you will want to increase the roasting time to 90 minutes. A goose may take as long as 2 hours. After the allotted time, take the pan out of the oven and set the ducks on a cutting board to rest. Spoon any fat that has accumulated over the vegetables and salt them well. If the veggies are ready to eat, remove them. If there is a lot of excess fat, spoon it off.
• Now increase the heat to 450°F. When the oven hits this temperature, return the birds to the oven and roast them for up to 30 more minutes, or until the skin is crisp. The reason you take the bird out of the oven is because a) the resting time helps redistribute the juices in the bird midstream, and b) you are crisping skin without totally overcooking the duck by only returning it to the oven when it is hot.
• Remove from oven and let the birds rest. Small ducks need 5 minutes resting time, large ducks 10 minutes, geese 15.

SLOW ROASTED DUCK WITH CRISPY SKIN

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 300F.
• Cut three thick slices off the orange. Quarter up any remaining orange.
• Stuff the quartered orange into the duck and place the slices down the middle of the roasting pan.
• Trim off excess fat from the duck. Tie together the legs with kitchen twine and sprinkle it all over with salt and pepper. Then prick the skin with fork.
• Place the duck, breast side up, on the orange slices. Put it in the oven and roast for 3 - 3 1/2 hours, or until the meat is fork tender.
• Raise the heat to 425F and roast for 15-20 minutes, or until the skin is golden brown.
• Remove the duck from the oven and let it rest while you make the sauce.
• In a medium sauce pan, combine the port, raspberry jam, and balsamic vinegar with the orange slices which were under the duck. Add a couple of dashes of chipotle powder.
• Bring to a boil and cook the sauce for 5-8 minutes, or until the sauce is thick and can coat a spoon. Taste and adjust the seasonings by adding a little kosher salt, pepper, and another dash of chipotle if needed.
• Arrange a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and pour the sauce into the sieve to strain out the orange slices.
• Transfer the sauce to a serving container. Carve the duck and serve it with the sauce.

SLOW-ROASTED DUCK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Season duck generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Put 1 or 2 pieces each of thyme, garlic, carrots, turnips, beets and shallots, in cavity. Truss duck; set in large casserole dish or medium roasting pan. Scatter rest of ingredients and neck around duck; season with salt and pepper. Cover loosely with foil.
• Roast duck for 10 minutes, lower temperature to 300 degrees and roast for 3 1/2 hours, basting vegetables and duck with pan juices and skimming off fat occasionally.
• Remove foil. Take out vegetables and neck, and set aside; roast duck for 1 more hour (if vegetables are not tender, continue roasting until they are). Skin should be well browned and crisp; the meat, extremely tender. Transfer duck to cutting board. Skim fat off pan juices; add water to pan, if necessary, to make 1/2 cup. Bring juices to boil, adjust seasoning, and transfer to serving bowl. Reheat vegetables and neck in baking dish in oven. Carefully carve duck (meat may fall off bone), adding vegetables from cavity to those in pan. Serve with pan juices and vegetables.

SLOW ROASTED DUCK

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
• Season the ducks generously, putting some salt in the cavity as well. Make sure you save the fat and the giblets for the gravy.
• Coarsely grate half the ginger and rhubarb. Mix this in a bowl with half the sage and all the garlic and onion, and stuff the mixture inside the cavity of the ducks, ensuring there is an air cavity.
• Place the ducks on a tray on top of the chopped up giblets and roast in the oven for one hour. Turn the temperature down to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) and cook for another 1 1/2 hours until crisp and tender. The ducks are ready when the skin is crisp and the leg bones can be easily removed.
• During this time you will need to drain the fat maybe 3 times into a bowl, this will separate into a clear fat which you can keep for roasting.
• Once cooked allow the ducks to rest on a warmed plate while you make the sauce. Drain off any remaining fat from the roasting tray.
• Pull out all the stuffing and any juices from the inside of the duck and put in the roasting tray and warm this on a low heat.
• Add the Marsala and loosen all the sticky goodness from the bottom of the tray, and reduce. Add the stock and reduce to a good taste and consistency.
• Pass the sauce trough a coarse sieve.
• Remove the breasts from the ducks with a knife and, using your hands, remove the thighs. Arrange the breasts and thighs on a large serving plate.
• Finely slice the remaining ginger and fry off in a little hot oil (or you can use the duck fat) in a non-stick pan. As the ginger begins to color, add the rest of the rhubarb, finely sliced, and the rest of the sage. Fry until crisp. Sprinkle this over the duck and drizzle with the sauce.

CRISPY ROAST DUCK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
• Trim ducks: with a sharp knife, cut away excess fat and skin from both ends of ducks. (Render fat for another use or discard.)
• Salt cavity of each duck. Prick each duck all over with a fork, about 30 times. Place them on a rack set in a large roasting pan and roast 1 hour. Prick ducks all over and turn on one side. Repeat pricking ducks all over and turn onto second side. Repeat two more times. After four hours, increase heat to 350 degrees F.
• Continue to roast 30 to 90 minutes more, pricking and turning once, according to taste: 1) For very juicy, slightly crisp ducks: Roast 15 minutes, prick and turn, and roast 15 minutes more. 2) For juicy, crisp ducks: Roast 30 minutes, prick and turn, and roast 30 minutes more. 3) For slightly drier, very crisp ducks: Roast 45 minutes, prick and turn, and roast 45 minutes more.
• Remove ducks to a carving board and let them sit 15 minutes, loosely covered. Simply cut ducks in half and serve half a duck per person; or carefully remove breast and legs from bone, making sure to keep skin intact, and cut them into 1/2-inch wide pieces. Generously season with salt and pepper before serving.

SPICED SLOW-ROAST DUCK & APPLE SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Remove any giblets and pull the excess fat from the duck's cavity. Use a roasting fork or skewer to prick the skin of the duck all over - do this lightly as you don't want to pierce the meat.
• Season generously inside, rub the skin with a little oil and season with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the lemon halves, cinnamon, star anise and garlic. Sit the duck in a roomy roasting tin (you will be adding potatoes to the tin later). Roast the duck for 2 hrs, pricking again every now and then. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes for 10 mins until just cooked.
• Remove the duck from the oven and increase the heat to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Place the duck on a board and pour off half the fat from the tin. Toss the potatoes in the tin so they are completely coated in the juices, then push them to the side of the tin. Sit the duck back in and give it a final 20-30 mins in the oven to crisp up.
• Meanwhile, make the apple sauce. Peel and finely slice the apples, discarding the core. Melt the butter in a pan until sizzling, add the apples and spices, then stir to coat.
• Pour in 100ml apple juice, cover and simmer for 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Add a splash more juice if the apples are becoming a bit dry. Cook until the apples have collapsed into a fluffy sauce.
• Remove the duck from the oven to a board to rest, then place the potatoes back into the oven for 20 mins to crisp up. When the duck has rested and the potatoes are brown, you are ready to carve and plate up.