Crisp Roast Duck Recipes

CRISP ROAST DUCK

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F.
• If necessary, cut off wing tips with poultry shears or a sharp knife. Remove and discard excess fat from body cavity and neck, then rinse duck inside and out. Prick skin all over with a sharp fork. Fold neck skin under body, then put duck, breast side up, on a rack in a 13- by 9- by 3-inch roasting pan.
• Pour boiling-hot water over duck to tighten skin.
• Cool duck, then pour out any water from cavity into pan.
• Pat duck dry inside and out, reserving water in pan, then rub duck inside and out with kosher salt and pepper.
• Roast duck, breast side up, 45 minutes, then remove from oven.
• Turn duck over using 2 wooden spoons, and roast 45 minutes more.
• Turn duck over again (breast side up), tilting duck to drain any liquid from cavity into pan. Continue to roast duck until skin is brown and crisp, about 45 minutes more (total roasting time: about 2 1/4 hours).
• Tilt duck to drain any more liquid from cavity into pan. Transfer duck to a cutting board and let stand 15 minutes before carving. Discard liquid in roasting pan.

CRISPY WHOLE ROAST DUCK

Steps:

• Completely defrost the duck in the refrigerator for 1-2 days, if using frozen. Once defrosted, rinse and pat dry. For best results, let the duck sit uncovered in the refrigerator overnight. This will help to dry and crisp the skin.
• Use a sharp knife to score the skin on the duck's breast in a diamond pattern, trying to cut only the skin without reaching the breast meat below. Cut off excess fat and poke the bird all over with a knife. Only prick the skin, don't hit the meat.
• Season the duck all over with salt, including the cavity. Stuff the cavity with garlic, shallots, lemon, apple and prunes. Use 2-3 toothpicks to sew the skin around the cavity opening tightly together, to keep the inside moist during roasting. Cross the legs and tie them together with a cooking twine. Fold the wings under the duck.
• Place the bird on the roasting pan and cook at 300 F for 1 hour, breast side up. After 1 hour, remove the bird and prick the skin all over again. Flip the duck breast side down and roast for another hour. Continue doing this process of poking and flipping the bird every hour for 3 hours.
• Prepare the glaze by combining the glaze ingredients in a medium pan. Simmer until thickens, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• After 3 hours, remove the duck from the oven, poke once more, turn up heat to 400 F and blast for 15 minutes, breast side up. Then brush with glaze and finish for another 5-7 minutes.
• Rest. Carve. Enjoy!

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.

CRISPY ROAST DUCK

Steps:

• Remove the duck's giblets and wash them. Cut off any greenish parts from the livers and discard, then roughly chop the rest. Quarter the crops (the gullet), slicing any very red flesh away from the white sinew, which should be discarded. Put all bits and pieces into a large roasting tin.
• Cut off the parson's nose from each duck and add to the tin. Remove the wings: hold and pull on a wing, turning the skin back so you can see inside to where the wing is attached to the shoulder bone. Cut between the bones to release the wing, then cut around it from the skin side to remove it. Repeat with all wings and add them to the tin.
• Turn one of the ducks on to its breast. Cut down each side of the backbone, using a very sharp, sturdy kitchen knife and/or game scissors. Remove the backbone, then turn the duck the other way up and cut down each side of the breastbone, keeping the blade close to the bone so you don't cut away any breast meat. Put all the bones into the tin and repeat with the other ducks.
• Remove any lumps of fat from inside the duck and set aside. Cut off any flappy bits of skin and discard. Wash the duck halves then pat very dry. Prick the skin all over, especially the thick, fatty areas, then sprinkle with fine sea salt.
• Preheat the oven to 230C/Gas 8/fan oven 210C. Arrange the duck halves skin-side up on a rack set inside a large roasting tin. Roast for 11⁄4-11⁄2 hours, or until the skin is crisp and dark golden. You will need to drain off the fat that accumulates once or twice: pour it straight into the tin if you're going to roast potatoes, otherwise into a heatproof bowl.
• Leave the duck to rest for 10-15 minutes, serve with the gravy and veg (see 'Goes well with' recipes, right).

ROAST CRISP DUCK

Steps:

• Wash duck with cold water. Dry it well. Salt inside and out. Sprinkle lemon juice in cavity and rub skin with lemon juice too. If duck is fresh killed, refrigerate it for 1 or 2 days.
• Place orange, apple and onion in cavity of duck. These will be removed after roasting and discarded. Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Truss bird by bringing cord under back and around sides of breasts, under tail, and then tie around legs. Place duck on a rack in an open roasting pan and cook for 1 hour.
• Set oven up to 400°F and roast 30 to 60 minutes more. During this time, turn bird for even browning and baste with orange juice.
• Remove duck from oven and drain all fat from pan. Save brown drippings and 2 tablespoons fat for your sauce.
• Duck may be kept in oven while you cook the sauce.
• If you own a rotissierie by all means use it. This is an excellent method for duck. Allow about one hour on high heat. Entire cooking time for oven roasting should be 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• For family style service, cut duck into eighths 30 minutes before dinner. Place duck and orange slices on an ovenproof platter. Coat all with sauce. Before serving, broil for 1 minute, 4 inches below flame. Yield: 2 to 3 servings.
• FOR THE SAUCE:.
• Simmer rind and water for 5 minutes. Add duck fat with brown sugar, orange juice, jelly, lemon juice and duck broth. Simmer all gently for 2 to 3 minutes. Blend cornstarch with water in a cup. Add the cornstarch mixture slowly, if you obtain the desired thickness before you have used it all, stop.
• *If you have not used giblets to prepare broth, hold roasted duck over sauce to allow cavity juices to run down into sauce. This fortifies the duck flavor of the sauce.
• Lessons in Gourmet Cooking.

​​CRISP ROAST DUCK

Steps:

• Bring a full kettle or medium pot of water to a boil (at least 2 quarts).
• Meanwhile, remove giblets and neck from the duck cavity and reserve for another use. Trim any excess fat from around the duck cavity and the neck. Place duck, breast side up, on a rack in the sink. Pour half of the boiling water all over the top of the duck to tighten the skin. Flip the bird and pour remaining boiling water over the back.
• Once the duck is cool enough to handle, using the tip of a very sharp paring knife, prick duck skin all over to help release the fat, especially where the skin is thickest, and be careful not to pierce the meat. It can be helpful to hold the knife nearly parallel to the bird. After piercing the skin, use the knife blade to score the duck breast in a crosshatch pattern (making deep cuts into the skin only, and not into the breast meat). Flip the bird and score the back as well (you don't need to prick the back). You may need to sharpen your knife along the way, as it's much easier to make clean cuts into the skin with a sharp knife. Using a clean kitchen towel or paper towels, thoroughly pat duck dry, including inside the cavity.
• Season the duck all over, including cavity, with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine garlic, chopped herbs, citrus zest and coriander, if using, and make a paste. Rub garlic paste all over duck, inside and out. Place duck, breast side up, on rack in a roasting pan, stuff cavity with herb sprigs, and refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
• When it's time to cook the bird, heat the oven to 450 degrees. Roast for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and carefully prick duck skin all over the top of the bird using a sharp paring knife. (You don't need to prick the back of the duck.) Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting until skin is golden brown and crispy, and the internal temperature at thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 1 hour to 1 hour 45 minutes longer. Using tongs, gently tip duck to drain any liquid from the cavity. Transfer bird to cutting board to rest for at least 10 minutes. Carve and serve.

CRISP ROAST DUCK WITH OLIVES

Steps:

• This recipe yields a succulent roast duck, every morsel of which is tender and tasty, and as a by-product, a good half pint of duck fat. No cook worth her salt would waste a scrap of this precious substance, which is kept in a pot in the fridge and used for frying and flavoring.
• Trim any flaps of fat on the duck, and pull out any lumps of fat tucked inside. Rinse and dry the duck, then prick lightly all over with a skewer (about 20-30 times), trying to pierce the skin but not the flesh underneath. Rub all over with salt and sprinkle some inside the cavity.
• Put on a rack and roast upside down for 3 hours at 250° F (200° F convection). Drain the fat into a bowl, set the duck the right way up and increase the heat to 350° F (325° F convection) for 45 minutes longer, till nicely browned. Leave to stand for 15 minutes, loosely covered with foil.
• Reduce the chicken stock with the tomato and herbs to a saucelike consistency, then strain into a clean pan. Simmer the olives in water for 2 minutes to temper the flavor, then strain and stir into the sauce.
• Cut the duck into pieces and serve with the sauce.