# I need advice on cooking a duck



## Gossie (Dec 28, 2006)

I went and bought us a duck.  Should have done it AFTER I got some good advice and good recipes. 

It's a full duck, not parts.  I just need to know temperature, and length of time, and which spices would be best.  I want to keep it real simple on my first test. 

If it quacks when I open the package tomorrow, it will NOT be cooked. ROFL  I won't get near it. LoL


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## VeraBlue (Dec 29, 2006)

Duck is wonderful, but extremely fatty.   It's much better to prepare a whole duck than parts, so good for you for getting the whole bird.

Cut an orange in half and stuff it into the cavity, along with some thyme, rosemary and sage sprigs.  Fresh herbs are best, here.

I hope you have a roasting rack.  Place the rack into a roasting pan and prick the duck all over with a fork, making sure to go into the fat.  Boil 4 cups of water.  Pour the boiling water over the duck as it is in the roasting pan.  

Roast it, uncovered 350 degrees till the flesh reaches a temperature of 165.  

I don't season the bird before I cook it because it oozes so much fat during the cooking process that it all runs off, anyway.

A vanilla sage sauce is wonderful with the duck.

Clean your oven the next day.  It will need it.


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## Gossie (Dec 29, 2006)

That's what I heard about a duck, how fatty it is.  But I love duck and tired of buying it in a restaurant, wanted to try it myself.  I figured it couldn't be too too hard, I can do chicken and turkey. LoL    Thanks Verablue.


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## Andy M. (Dec 29, 2006)

Bravo to you for making the effort.  Duck is fantastic!

There *IS* a lot of fat on a duck, but it's all in a layer between the skin and meat so it's easy to deal with.


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## Candocook (Dec 29, 2006)

You might look up Ina Garten's recipe. I'll try also. She parboils the duck to get rid of some of the fat (and saves it, of course) prior to roasting it. My mother made a wonderful roast duck pricking as has been suggested but it was a smokey fatty mess.
A number of TV chefs, including Ming, I think, are doing the pre-boiling thing.

Recipes : Roast Duck : Food Network

Personally I would make confit and cassoulet from it.


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## buckytom (Dec 29, 2006)

while it is an absolutely delicious meat (i do mine with sliced lemons/limes or apples, small onions, and herbs in the cavity like verablue), boy is your house gonna smell of duck fat.

i am forbidden to cook it in my house ever again.

the last time i made it, i had to hook up the showtime rotisserie outdoors under the apple tree.

btw, the apples and onions cooked in the bird are delicious.


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## Andy M. (Dec 29, 2006)

Alton Brown also par boils it then finishes in a screaming hot oven to crisp the skin.  I haven't tried that method.


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## stinemates (Dec 29, 2006)

Alton sure knows his stuff. 

I have yet to try duck, what is it's flavor akin to (if anything?) I have had Foi Gras a bunch of times, and a lot fo quail/pheasant.. does it have a gamey taste?


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## VeraBlue (Dec 29, 2006)

stinemates said:
			
		

> Alton sure knows his stuff.
> 
> I have yet to try duck, what is it's flavor akin to (if anything?) I have had Foi Gras a bunch of times, and a lot fo quail/pheasant.. does it have a gamey taste?



Well, it definitely has a poultry like flavour, but it's all dark meat.  I find it's reminicient of goose, actually, with just a bit more subtlty.


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## boufa06 (Dec 29, 2006)

If you have cinnamon, star aniseed, cloves, galangal and soya sauce available, you could braise it Chinese-style.


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## GB (Dec 29, 2006)

stinemates said:
			
		

> does it have a gamey taste?


No it doesn't. Well at least the duck I have eaten has never tasted gamey. It is a delicious bird, that is for sure!


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## Candocook (Dec 29, 2006)

And when grilling a duck breast it is the one kind of poultry that I will eat rare. In that case, it tastes a lot like steak!
The other plus for parboiling the duck and getting the fat is that you can use it, unlike the fat that will cook out as it roasts since this will be pretty burned. Duck fat for cooking potatoes is TDF.


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## cjs (Dec 30, 2006)

Pouring off the fat (or suctioning it) as it cooks helps.


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## Gossie (Dec 31, 2006)

I made it.   It tasted good.  TOO MANY BONES!!! lol


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## Andy M. (Dec 31, 2006)

Gossie said:
			
		

> I made it.  It tasted good. TOO MANY BONES!!! lol


 

Not sure what that means.  Pretty much the same as chicken.


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## Uncle Bob (Dec 31, 2006)

Smoked duck is delicious also...over indirect heat...with your favorite wood.
and then spit roasted over an open fire is nice too.


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## appletart (Dec 31, 2006)

We eat roast duck: With a fresh dressed duck, stuff the cavity with sections of apples; salt and pepper duck on all sides; pour in 1 cup of water in bottom of foil lined roasting pan; place duck (breast side up) on roasting rack in roasting pan; roast in 350 degrees for about 2 hours or until leg can be jiggled easily and you can see the skin moving with the leg. Remove from heat; let stand for 10 minutes; cut and serve on platter.. Serve with homemade applesauce.


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## Robo410 (Dec 31, 2006)

If your food smells up your house, think seriously about getting proper ventilation. A fan vented outside with greese trap will do your cooking wonders...even better if attached to a hood over your stove. 

Duck is wonderful. and if you don't to deal with the grease, take the breast off the bone and braise over a mirepoix with red wine. crisp the skin in the oven. serve over wild rice pilaf.


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## Loprraine (Dec 31, 2006)

I've been buying frozen utility ducks for a great price.  I've starting boning out the breasts (takes a bit of practice) and cooking them separately.  The legs and thighs you can bone out also.  Make them into empanadas or dumplings, or confit them.  The bones make great stock for soup.  And save every drop of the fat to fry stuff in.


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## BreezyCooking (Dec 31, 2006)

Actually, both ducks & geese have a higher bone-to-meat ratio than chicken or turkey, which is why I always try to buy the largest bird possible.  While I used to do the pricking/steaming/boiling stuff like my mom, once I got my good old Ron Popeil rotisserie, all that went by the wayside.  The first time I used it to roast a duck I was sure there would be so much fat drippage that it would catch on fire, but believe it or not, there wasn't much more fat drippage than from a chicken!!  No smoke, no nothing.  Just crispier than crisp skin & juicy greaseless meat.  Absolutely FABULOUS!!

As for saucing, I've done the usual orange sauce, cherry sauce, spiced peaches, spiced apricots, & some Asian rubs.  Duck is very very versatile.


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## kalmen (Jul 14, 2007)

Hi All, I tried the Alton Brown Method, it was fool proof. My wife and kid loved it and it was the first time they tried it. I never was able to get a recipe as good until I went to an Egyptian joint and they served roast duck which was fantastic! They parboiled it and roasted in the oven while basting with butter regularly.


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## Chopstix (Jul 15, 2007)

Thanks Kalmen!  I love duck. I've pan-fried the breasts and confit'd the legs many times before but have never roasted it myself whole.  I'm going to check out AB's recipe.  I like the term fool proof very much! And welcome to DC!


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## kalmen (Jul 15, 2007)

Thanks a lot! I feel welcome already... Actually, AB cuts the duck into four pieces for easy steaming... But I've tried boiling it whole and skimming the stuff that shows up at the surface and then roasting... That's really nice!


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## BreezyCooking (Jul 15, 2007)

Actually, to give credit where credit is due, Alton Brown's method is far from original.  Julia Child has been "steam-roasting" ducks & geese for many years - long before Alton came on the scene.

In fact, I use Julia's steam-roasting method every year for my Xmas goose (since the goose is too large/long for my little rotisserie) & it turns out absolutely terrific every time with very little effort.

And if you like duck, you should also like goose.  Same wonderful dark meat, but with a slightly richer flavor.


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## kalmen (Jul 16, 2007)

Hmmm... You got me thinking goose  
I'll definitely research more into what you mentioned... My ultimate goal, is to find the tastiest method of preparation... 
I would agree with you that AB uses no original methods, and we'd need to credit the original initiators of the method...


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## BreezyCooking (Jul 16, 2007)

You might be able to find Julia's steam-roasted goose (or duck) recipe online somewhere, but if not, it's in her book The Way To Cook, which I believe is still in print (I saw a copy at Border's Books just a couple of months ago).  

This is a terrific cookbook to own - really good basic everyday stuff - nothing froufrou.  My copy is virtually falling apart I've used it so often - lol!!!  I can't recommend it highly enough.

(The recipe for "Roast Goose with Port Wine Gravy", which we've had every year for Xmas since the cookbook came out is reason enough to buy it.  Talk about easy & delicious!!!!)


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## college_cook (Jul 17, 2007)

Alot of people think that the fat in a duck is contained only underneath the skin, but the meat itself is also very very fatty.  There are two things you can do to make your duck experience more enjoyable.  First of all, score the skin.  I can't stress this enough.  There are large amounts of pure fat sitting between the skin and flesh of the duck, and to effectively render it away and leave you with perfectly crispy skin, score the skin and saute your duck meat over low heat.  The low heat also gradually heats the flesh of the duck and will rener the meat contained inside.  A properly sauteed duck breast will shrink to about 1/3 of the size it was when raw, and will still be a delicious medium rare in the center.

Another great thing to do with duck if you want to confit it, is to first cure it overnight.  This does 2 things.  First, it introduces flavor.  Second, it draws out moisture from the skin.  Next cook the duck confit (in its own fat) until it is falling off the bone tender.  At this point, most people think their work is done.  However, this leaves you with a very fatty duck confit.  I like to store the duck in its own fat (refrigerated, the fat will sort of gelatinize and is a great preservation method) until I am ready to cook it.  Befor I serve it, I like to roast the duck confit, which renders off any excess fat as well as leaves the skin perfectly crisp ( remember the cure?!).  It has been said that confit is perhaps the BEST way to enjoy duck.  Just remember to follow these steps to make it as tasty as possible.


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## Rom (Jul 27, 2007)

I LOVE duck!!! I buy the frozen ones, defrost and wash them nicely.
Cut it down the middle and flatten it
Mix, fresh chopped parsley, roughly chopped cloves of garlic and evoo, and rub it all over the duck, putting bits under the sking etc.
Leave it for a few hours/over night
Cook for approx-about an hour in the oven - turn it over half way - get rid of most of the *50 inches of oil* it leaks. lol jokes
Roast some potatoes along with it.
mmmm duckkkk


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## kalmen (Jul 27, 2007)

That's nice...


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## Loprraine (Jul 27, 2007)

" Roast some potatoes along with it "

Oh yes!!!!  What temp do you roast it at?


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## kalmen (Jul 27, 2007)

Hi All,
I just tried something, that didn't work quite well. I brined the duck in sugar-salt water and added balsamic vinager. Over night, and then steamed and put in an iron skillet (AB method).
The thighs were great... but the breast meat almost tasted like liver (that strong flavor) which I had difficulty finishing. 

I guess adding the Garlic with pineapple/orange juice brine was the best, it took away all those unwanted flavors... (speaking for myself) 

I liked Rom's recipe, I'm going to try it... I need to get my hands on a recipie that I can make for people who are trying duck for the first time... so far, the closest I can use is the AB recipe but you can't present it nicely because the steam shrinks the meat and the bones show up. 

I found another recipe on simply ming, where you can tea-smoke it for an hour and then roast for another hour and a half... That sounds interesting.

Since Duck is not very popular where I stay, only frozen is available (one american brand, and another german... ducklins... female...) I found a place that sell free range organic, but it was way too expensive... So I am sticking to frozen. So far, I've only used the German brand (becuase it's cheaper) and I am considering amercican next time.

Having said all of the above, I must say, even though I started eating duck this year for the first time in my life... I seem mysteriously attracted to it... and will continue looking for a set of recipes that I can use all the time...


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## BreezyCooking (Jul 27, 2007)

Don't feel out of the loop because all you can get is frozen duck.  That's pretty much all we get here in Virginia, USA, along with most of the rest of the U.S.  Duck farms are getting few & far between because of the high level of pollution that raising ducks produces.

Since I was born & raised on Long Island - home of the famous Long Island Duck - I know a lot about the situation, having followed it long after leaving Long Island.  Duck farms went from dozens to, I believe, just one or two today - & those just supply restaurants & certain high-end suppliers.  Gone are the days of driving into a supermarket or butcher & picking up a Long Island Duck for a couple of bucks.  So sad.

However, frozen duck doesn't equal sub-standard duck at all.  The ducks I've purchased frozen that have come from the the midwest have all been delicious, & anyone interested in trying duck shouldn't shy away from them.


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## kalmen (Jul 27, 2007)

That brings me comfort... to know that frozen quality is as good... not the decline of farms. I never knew duck farms are polluting... In Japan they use ducks in oraganic rice farms... to eat insects, fertalize the land and they get eaten at the end...


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## BreezyCooking (Jul 27, 2007)

Hey - frozen duck quality is EXCELLENT! And if you find it isn't, contact the producer & tell them what happened.  I've only had to do this once, but was more than pleasantly surprised.

I had purchased a frozen duck for Easter dinner that, when it was thawed, deflated like a balloon or a duck that had been run over by a truck - lol!

I did roast it, although it was diffcult, but as an afterthought, pried the wrapping out of the trash & contacted the supplier via e-mail.  They not only apologized, but sent me 2 certficates for 2 free ducks.

Can't beat that for customer service.


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## Rom (Jul 29, 2007)

"Oh yes!!!!  What temp do you roast it at?"

um my oven is a bit...how can i put this..."STUPID" i am renting and am using what I have...the temperature isn't very "acurate" unfortunately (so if someone says put it in the overn at 180..i putit in the oven at 300 LOL), but i normally roast it real high for half an hourish (maybe bit less), then lower it


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## Rom (Jul 29, 2007)

kalmen...my dad would swear by garlic and parsley on his duck and i doubt he would eat it any other way 

my bf first tried it like this as he never had it before and he loved it too.

We get Frozen ducklings @ our supermarkets "Coles" or "Woolworths" and my mum order free range stuff and gets fresh duck if she wants.


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## kalmen (Jul 30, 2007)

Nice! That's going to be my my next trial!


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## Rom (Jul 30, 2007)

I should come and taste test your duck..if its good i mean not good i will eat it all and you can make 'me..cough..cough  i mean you can cook another duck for your first timers LOLLLLL jokes

duck is YUMMYYYY


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## kalmen (Jul 30, 2007)

I'll go buy the duck tonight


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## Rom (Jul 30, 2007)

i better jump on the plane right now then LOL


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## buckytom (Jul 30, 2007)

i an only say to get the frozen american ducks.

the german ones may cook in more precise time, but the american ones have larger breasts.


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