Got a duck...what to do?

[Headless Chicken]

I was thinking roasting it with asian spices and basting wit hoisin sauce + star anies but thats too typical. I want to try something new, its or christmas. I got some lemons to stick into the cavity though I would prefer oranges. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[phatch]

This is my wife's favorite duck dish. Not a recipe but this is what the restaurant did.

Remove the legs.

Debone the leg, keeping the skin intact as possible. Make a forcemeat from the leg meat. Stuff it back in the skin.

You could cook the breast intact or debone it.

At this point, either grill, pan sear or roast the breast and stuffed legs. Reassemble on the plate to resemble the original duck.

many different seasonings would work, the sample we ate was in a mediterranean seasoning style.

Phil

[cheflayne]

How about roasting and basting with tamarind, ginger, and honey and serving with a deglet noor date, bosc pear, almond chutney?

[KeeperOfTheGood]

Hey oh

Is there a theme to your christmas? Could have some fun with it. Get a postcard from the late 1800's to early 1900's that depicts a christmas table setting featuring duck, and then replicate that. Further, have a photo enlatgement done of the postcard and made into placemats. With plates on them it won't of course be immediatly apperent, but a good chuckle when your guests lift the plates to discover a picture of the table spread under them.

Or you could do this type of traditional roast duck:

http://www.cookitsimply.com/poultry/...10-012h10.html

Sorry, feeling lazy, I know I could have typed that all out from memory, but ^^

Or the other thing I have done is a roasted a duck and goose together. Nice flavour match. Plum sauce is nice to serve with duck, or a sharp berry like currents, lingonberrys, or cranberrys. I like the green plums myself.

I don't like to over adorne meat. I like meat just the way it is. I did a chicken the other day, where I removed the legs and wings and coated them in a sauce of 1/2 cup water 1 tsp honey 2 tbls bbc spice and 1 tbls of cornstarch and roasted them. And the back and wing tips went to stock which I used to make rice. And the breast I rolled in a 50/50 mix of cornmeal and powdered coconut and roasted. I sliced the breast thin the next morning, pan fried it and did a mother and dauther breakfast. Very good. Very simple.

[kokopuffs]

Always prick your duck prior to roasting and as it roasts siphon off the fat to render later on. Potatos Lyonnaise cooked in a mixture duck fat, butter, garlique, clove, bayleaf. some freshly picked thyme and a side of freshly made Coleman's Mustard are second to none.

[kuan]

Ah, you're a culinary student. You can make this a challenge. Let's see, one duck, you can do it three ways with at least two sauces, and you have to use the bones! Do it all in 2 hours.

[Ma Facon]

Roast it with salt and pepper on mirepoix and use the panjuices to make a OVER THE TOP sauce of your choice . Tangerine and ginger , Grapefruit gastrique , How about putting B&B liquor in the sauce , Grand marnier , Or fennel roasted with ouzo , Balsamic with Rasberries , How about chambourd . In other words roast it simply and serve a superb sauce of your choice.

[chrose]

Originally Posted by kuan

Ah, you're a culinary student. You can make this a challenge. Let's see, one duck, you can do it three ways with at least two sauces, and you have to use the bones! Do it all in 2 hours.

Now that sounds like fun! I may just do that too! (just for fun)

What I would really like to do though is to have a dozen duck legs and 5 lbs of rendered duck fat..........Ahh....the cardiologists bills would be worth it!

[Mezzaluna]

Confit du canard!!!!!!!!!! Better invite me, Chrose. That stuff is finger-lickin' good. About once every five years, though.

[kokopuffs]

Ma Facon:

My experience with roasting duck is that the animal exudes so much fat that the roasting should be conducted using a baking rack, elevating the animal from the fat. You want neither the duck nor the mire poix swimming in all of that fat.

[Suzanne]

Here's what I did with a duck last week:

1. Removed the whole skin with fat attached (it was as if I had a whole separate animal )
2. Cut the duck into pieces: the whole leg quarters, cut off the breast meat (I sauteed it just before serving, like a steak, sliced it, and fanned the meat over the portions), chop up the rest into meaty/bony chunks
3. Brown the pieces in clarified butter (since there was no fat on them now)
4. Brown chunks of rutabaga (yellow turnip) and carrot, and whole garlic cloves and small onions
5. Deglaze the pan with wine (a mix of leftovers, red and white)
6. Put everything in the slow cooker with some chicken stock, S&P, and dried thyme
7. Let it cook.

Here's where to diverge from what I did: do NOT let it cook for 6 hours. Since there was no skin and no fat, that was waaaaaaaaaaaaay too long, and the meat fell apart. But it was really delicious! And did not need to be defatted, which was the best part.

Then again, this preparation is kind of inelegant, not quite what you want for a holiday meal.

[Headless Chicken]

I'm gonna do a simple roast.
Stuff the cavity with ginger, sage, some lemons, and an onion.
Roast @ around 400F for 1h and lower to 350F (migh adjust time and temp if the duck is lighter).
Reduce pan juices with some homemade wine my neighbors gave me. Maybe add a little honey or plum sauce. I was thinking beurre manie to thicken.
Debone after its done, cut into the 4 sections, slice.

kuan, I probrably could do it in 2h using my school's kitchen and everything prep'd for me. I might even have time to do a garlic mashed potatoes to go with it too

[Ma Facon]

kokopuffs , Assuming you roast the duck at a high enough temp in the appropriate vessel with properly cut mirepoix for the long roast ,One would want to brown the mirepoix even more in the fat , then drain the fat , deglaze with a good stock or wine and simmer and pass , skim and reduce then flavor the reduction , The fat imparts a unique flavor into the mirepoix which inturn flavors the final sauce wonderfully. The only time a duck swims is when it is in water..LOL

This is not a contemporary method but very effective

[KeeperOfTheGood]

Hey oh

Ok, I need to stick my foot into it lol. I assume that there are a number of varieties of duck that are sold comercially, and that there is also a differenence in how they are fed/bred/raised.

I have had two entirely opposing personal expieriences with dukc (not that I've only cook it twice, just giving this highlite). I will lid my roasters. Only because that is how I grew up doing so. I will do a proper roast now a day but thats anothere story.

My first important experience was a duck that was around 5 pounds in a roaster that gave about an inch clearance around the bird with the lid on. The depth of the fat at the end of cooking that bird was nearly 2 inches!! In that case, the duck did swim in fat.

My second important experience, you guess it, the exact opposite of the first. There was less than a quarter inch of fat at the end of cooking. Same method, same general size of bird, and significantly less fat!!

I do not know why I have had these differences, but I have. Go figure.

[Headless Chicken]

Keeper, did you buy a different type of duck? or perhaps a different grade?

I'm not expecting too much fat in this duck, I will be trimming the bird and draining the fat if/when needed druing roasting. It will be sitting on top of a bed of mirepoix at maybe an inch + a half, maybe higher. This is going to be fun! I'm thinking of saving the bones for stock, if I can scrounge the time to simmer them for like 3hours straight.

I'm doing a roast garlic mash potatoes, wilted spinach, and finish with a panettone cake.