Whole Duck, how best to cook

[veg4681]

I've got a whole duck hogging the freezer since I bought it last Christmas as it was reduced. The only duck dish I can think of is crispy Peking Duck but I'm not confident I can produce anything like the sort you get in Chinese restaurant or takeaway . So how do you cook yours in the tastiest way possible? I'm under the impression that they're best served with sweet fruity sauce.

[bluemoon]

I can't really help here - although I can tell you how not to cook it. Do not, under any circumstances, try to spit-roast it over a barbie when an on-shore breeze is blowing the smoke into your tent, and the vegetarian dog from the camper-van next door is waiting in the hope that you drop it, and you made the salad at the beginning of cooking time which was so long ago that it's now mush, and you've got to eat it all yourself because the kids got fed-up and starving hours ago and have taken themselves off to the chippy.

PS A fruity sauce sounds nice.

PPS I don't think the dog was voluntarily a veggie as he'd hightailed it with our bacon the day before.

[Snadger]

I love the taste of duck and I too also have a duck in the freezer!

The last time I cooked one it was by the Chris Christofferson method and turned out like a rubber duck, so I will be interested in replies!

[areia]

i always have duck for christmas not a turkey fan, tip is depending on size to prick the skin round the legs, cook breast side down for 3 quarters of the time on a low heat 160ish 180 then turn over to crisp up the skin, whack up the heat for the last 20 mins of so, test as you would chicken ie the no blood running, i have mine on a meat rack to but before i got one i used a deep baking tray and an old cake rack, then i used to roast the parsnips and the tatties underneath (blanched of course) ooooooo damn it *drools*
any left overs i use to just break up put back in the oven to crisp a bit and use them in dips . i'm afraid i cant give you times im a throw it bash it taste it as i go along kind of cook.


strange but quick BBQ cooking sauce brown sauce ketchup brown sugar warmed till sugar disolved add coca cola *yes* warm and taste

plum sauce otherwise is the best with duck

[Gauckwin]

Wash duck inside and out, dry inside and out, with a fork stab all over (you cant over stab, so give it plenty) then get some sea salt abt; 2 level desert spoon -- (yes i know this is a lot of salt, but you need that much to draw the fat from the duck during cooking time) and some freshly ground black pepper ( abt; a level tsp) rub both all over your duck, place on a rack in a deep roasting tin and cook in a preheated oven ( 180 -C/350 F/4 for 2 hours, turning once or twice during cooking time.
You may want to drain some of the fat off during the cook time---but please dont throw this fat away, its fantastis for roasting potatoes and will last about 3/4weeks in the fridge.

Sharwoods, Hoi-Sin or their Hoi-Sin and spring sauce, both very nice.

Ps, forgot to say if your using a fan oven, turning is not nessary, you can pop down to the lottie for a couple of hours. Enjoy.

[Paulottie]

Quack and chips?

You are right Crispy Peking duck is very difficult to emulate at home.

You can joint it and casserole it, Port and black cherries quite a famous one. A l'orange also well known but dated and I don't rate myself.

You can also roast off the legs separately for one meal. (roast carcass and then make stock from it) and Then panfry the breasts Slit the skin fry that way up till crispy then seal meat side and serve pink with you choice of sauce- Madiera quite good.

Of course then there's roast with apple sauce. and a good gravy.( make stock with neck and gizzard onion carrot celery) Tends to be good if pink or really well done- in between is tough. I Can't say I entirely agree with Gauckwin. I don't think you need to salt it that much -a teaspoon of table salt quite sufficient (or it ruins dripping and gravy) and I certainly wouldn't stab it with a fork. Roast on rack as suggested (start upside down if you wish-though that's a trick I use with chicken more and you can damage the skin if it sticks to the rack) When it is hot then just prick the skin with a sharp knife point -to allow the fat to run out-Do NOT go too deep and hit the meat or it will bleed and the blood burns on the skin. Like pork it is best to start hot I/2 hr and then turn it down and roast slowly for a further 1 1/2 hours

A top tip is to put some foil in the bottom of the oven- but whatever it covers it in fat. Decant of the fat into a warmed jar a couple of times and baste as you go. Don't stuff it but you can make stuffing in a foil covered dish and spoon some fat over to lubricate. Roast you spuds/ parsnips carrots etc Again in a separate tray in A LITTLE of the fat rather than boiling them in fat underneath. Final decant, as it rests and roots finish,To deglaze... add tablespoon of flower cook off for three minutes, add a glass of wine then the stock and resting juices and perhaps a spoon of redcurrant jelly for sweetness

I like spiced sultana red cabbage with it too. Wash down with good red wine. and a sorbet to follow. Don't take a collesterol test for a few days!!!

[Birdie Wife]

I've only been sucessful doing Peking duck with the legs only, not a whole duck. They need to be salted overnight, steamed until cooked and then deep fried! It's a bit involved and I would very much hestitate to do it with a whole duck, because for a start you would need a steamer large enough for the whole bird. I would just roast it in the way Paulottie describes above, it sounds delish, and duck or goose fat is superb for roasting veggies. But maybe not for roasting veggie dogs

[shirley]

All the above excellent...only one thing to add. Do you fancy jointing the duck and removing the breasts.? Just thought I would throw that into the equation

[allotmentlady]

This is what I do with mine,

Wash the duck and stab it several times.......in the dish your going to cook it in, fill the bottom with some vine tomatoes, some splashings of olive oil, some hoi sin sauce, sliced red pepper, sliced mushrooms. Place the duck on top and cover with foil, half way through cooking turn the duck over in the juices and spread over the duck, leave to finish cooking, about 15 mins b4 end of cooking, take off foil, to crisp, lovely jubbly.........

[trousers]

if you like, you can cook the duck whole, as in roast then cut in half debone stuff each half with a mixture of blanched leeks apple sage and bread crumbs,back inthe oven for ten minutes then serve with a rich port sauce or similar...

[nikkijy]

crispy skin

to get really crispy skin pour boiling water over the duck before cooking. pat the duck dry to rid of all extra moisture and season however you want. Prick skin as everyone else has said and cook on a wire rack so you can collect fat and empty it several times throughout cooking. save fat in fridge for gorgeous roast pots.

[HeyWayne]

Just make sure you comply with EU regs!!

Saw this in the paper the other day....

EU may keep Peking duck out of Britain - UPI.com

Madness.

[lynda66]

if you like chinese duck ....... take it down the chippy, and let them cook it

[Wren]

Make a lovely orange sauce from marmalade, brown sugar, orange juice and grated orange zest, lemon juice and a few shots of lea and perrings then roast the duck with slices of orange and lemons.
Baste it all over lots and lots with the sauce mix and serve it up with some too.

wonderful...

Wren