High Roast Duck????

[RufusTF]

I didn't find anything specific about this in any forum(s), so I thought I'd put the question to all of you.
I often make high roast chicken (butterflied, w/ potatoes, sometimes some herb/garlic butter under the skin, 500 F) and thought I might try it with a duck. No added butter, maybe prick the skin, but otherwise use the same process. Now I know that the duck is much fattier than the chicken, so I'd pull off or trim any excess fat, especially that bunch that you invariably find on the butts of them. Once trimmed, I can't think of why it wouldn't be a tasty thing to eat.
So, is there any reason I shouldn't try this with a duck?
I did find one thing when I googled "high roast duck". It was this:
they must need bears - High-roast duck, and catstabbing^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hwaxing.
So at least one person has tried this and liked it. I have no idea who it is, though. Maybe it's someone who likes dry, burnt poultry. (Hey, I've heard it before at a BBQ, "I LIKE the chicken like this!").
Anyhow, I thought that this would be the place to get the straight dope on whether I should or shouldn't subject a butterflied duck to my 500 F oven.
BTW-I have cooked duck before (roasted whole, seared breasts), so I have some idea what I'm dealing with.
Thanks in advance-
RTF

[Anneke]

I wouldn't do it. I like the slow roast method because it's impossible to remove all the fat by hand. With the high heat method, the holes in the skin seize up and doesn't allow the fat to leech out. Not to mention you'll be chasing your smoke alarms the whole time....

[boar_d_laze]

I can't offer you much hope of success. The best way to think of duck is as two birds. The breasts cook very differently from the thighs, legs and wings. The breast may be cooked at high temp to rare, but the thighs and legs must be cooked slowly to well done. Whole (or half) roast duck is a compromise -- and to do it well, you often add a few chef tricks to compensate for the deficiencies inherent in a compromise -- such as brining, blanching off, finishing in the fryer, etc. The "High" method won't work for the legs and thighs at all. Just to get them cooked means drying the breast to a fare thee well. And if they are cooked through they'll be tough and dry. Those muscles require help (or time) denaturing.

Speaking of chef tricks -- next time you try "high chicken," try cutting the chicken "spatchcock" style before cooking. It will work better still. Also, try brining.

BDL

[phatch]

BDL gives good advice.

Also read this: Bringing duck home / A guide to cooking a bird that's both crisp and juicy

[RufusTF]

Yeah, I forgot about steaming and brining both when I put the post up. I will usually steam a whole duck in a pressure cooker first and save the duck fat for something else. Can't say I've brined one though.
That makes sense about the legs and thighs, I guess. Is that because the tendons/other connective tissue and the more exercised muscle need the lower & longer cooking to break them down?
Both of your posts made a lot of sense so I think I'll skip it.
Thanks
RTF

[boar_d_laze]

Here's one of my three favorite methods for cooking duck:

Make a brine by bringing 3 quarts of water, 1/2 cup table salt, 1 cup molasses and 2 large onions, rough chopped to the boil. Remove from the heat, and add 1 grapefruit, 2 oranges, 3 lemons, and 5 limes, each cut in quarters. Allow the citrus to steep for 10 minutes.

Add the (very cold) duck to the pot, and let steep for 10 minutes. Turn if necessary to make sure all parts are immersed in the hot water for at least a few minutes. After ten minutes, massage the breast to make sure the skin detaches from the fat. Add enough ice to bring the temperature down significantly, about 1 quart. Allow the duck to brine between four and eight hours -- no more. Remove the duck from the brine and dry thoroughly. If not ready to cook hold the duck in the refrigerator, preferably uncovered..

One hour before cooking, remove the duck from the refrigerator. Trim as much fat as possible from the vent. Reserve the fat for another purpose. Break the wings at the second joint and remove the wingtips and forearm. Reserve with the neck and feet for another purpose (stock). Make sure the duck is completely dry. If the duck finished drying in the fridge, the skin will be tacky and won't need a slather. If not, rub the skin down with a little mayonnaise or olive oil. Season the duck inside and out with basic pork rub to which a mix of ground fennel and coriander seeds have been added at a ratio of 2 pork rub to 1 fennel/coriander. Stuff the cavity with an orange and a sprig of rosemary, sew the cavity shut and truss the legs and wings.

Meanwhile, prepare the smoker to run at 300F with a water pan, using oak for smoke. Put the duck in the smoker, breast down, with a drip pan beneath. Smoke the duck for 2 hours, then discontinue smoke. The fat will render copiously, empty the drip pan every hour and reserve the smoked fat of another purpose.

Alternative 1: Cook for another hour in the smoker. While the duck is smoking prepare citrus sauce by combining 1/2 cup of white sugar, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 2tbs corn starch 1/2 cup of orange juice, squeeze each of lemon, lime, and grapefruit, and 1/2 cup of triple sec. Bring to the boil and add 1 tsp each of lemon and orange zest (taken with a microplane). Bring to the simmer. When sauce thickens, remove from heat, and strain through a fine sieve.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350. When the duck has finished its three hours in the smoker, remove and baste all over with citrus sauce. Place the duck, breast side up, on a rack in the oven. Cook approximately 45 minutes, until skin crisps and the duck is completely done. Serve with citrus sauce.

Alternative 2:

Cook duck for another 1-1/2 hours (approx) in the smoker. Meanwhile make a sauce by melting 1/2 cup of orange marmalde with 1/4 cup of lemon curd in 1/2 cup grapefruit juice and 1 cup rum. Simmer until the rum loses its alcohol edge. Thicken slightly with a corn-startch slurry, sieve. When duck reaches an internal of 160, remove from the smoker. Let rest for 15 minutes. Split in half, and pan fry each half until the skin is completely crisp. Serve with sauce.

Quack,
BDL