So a duck walks into my freezer
January 9, 2016 9:10 PM Subscribe
I have a duck. I want to cook it. I don't know how, but I do know that I don't want orange duck. Give me your best savory duck recipes with details on the howto on cooking times.
You can roast it in the oven like a chicken. Rinse in cold water, onion or lemon quartered in the cavity, slash breast and tuck rosemary spears under the skin. If you don't like rosemary, you can do a 1:1 maple-balsamic reduction on the stovetop and baste with it. I'm not going to recommend cook time because that depends on the size of your duck.
Reserve the duck fat. You want to keep the duck fat. Duck fat will make things like home fries and grilled cheese sandwiches more delicious than you ever could imagine.
It's probably not fancy enough if this is Your One Special Duck, but I raise them and end up with a half dozen at a time, so I like to throw however many pieced up into the crock pot with water, onion, salt, pepper, potato, a little worcestershire sauce and mushrooms, and do a basic pastry crust, and make pasties and pot pie. Shredded cheddar on top of the pie crust as it bakes is amazing wonderful.
The carcass and bones make a phenomenal rich stock - stick it back in the crock pot and cover with water, cook it down all day then strain. Fantastic base for soups and stews.
posted by Lou Stuells at 10:01 PM on January 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
Reserve the duck fat. You want to keep the duck fat. Duck fat will make things like home fries and grilled cheese sandwiches more delicious than you ever could imagine.
It's probably not fancy enough if this is Your One Special Duck, but I raise them and end up with a half dozen at a time, so I like to throw however many pieced up into the crock pot with water, onion, salt, pepper, potato, a little worcestershire sauce and mushrooms, and do a basic pastry crust, and make pasties and pot pie. Shredded cheddar on top of the pie crust as it bakes is amazing wonderful.
The carcass and bones make a phenomenal rich stock - stick it back in the crock pot and cover with water, cook it down all day then strain. Fantastic base for soups and stews.
posted by Lou Stuells at 10:01 PM on January 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
This is the recipe from The Hungry Mouse. It is titled "The Best Way to Roast a Duck (Hello Crispy Skin!)
I have done this several times and it has always turned out fantastic. Also this "recipe" has step by step pictures so everything is clear.
I also concur regarding the capturing the duck fat for roasted vegetables, etc. and the carcass for fowl stock. These are often as much the motivation for roasting a duck as eating the meat!
posted by mountmccabe at 10:14 PM on January 9, 2016 [2 favorites]
I have done this several times and it has always turned out fantastic. Also this "recipe" has step by step pictures so everything is clear.
I also concur regarding the capturing the duck fat for roasted vegetables, etc. and the carcass for fowl stock. These are often as much the motivation for roasting a duck as eating the meat!
posted by mountmccabe at 10:14 PM on January 9, 2016 [2 favorites]
Oh, and I don't think I've ever done the glaze for the Hungry Mouse recipe. I am sure it's nice, but it's not necessary for a tasty meal.
The duck fat, poured off into a jar and placed in the refrigerator will be good for at least a couple weeks. I'd believe it'd be good longer, but it gets used up quickly.
The carcass, if desired, can also be saved in a freezer bag in the freezer until you have multiple fowl carcasses to simmer for stock.
posted by mountmccabe at 10:24 PM on January 9, 2016
The duck fat, poured off into a jar and placed in the refrigerator will be good for at least a couple weeks. I'd believe it'd be good longer, but it gets used up quickly.
The carcass, if desired, can also be saved in a freezer bag in the freezer until you have multiple fowl carcasses to simmer for stock.
posted by mountmccabe at 10:24 PM on January 9, 2016
If you would like it to be, roasting a duck is the simplest thing ever. I used this recipe just after Christmas and it was gorgeous: crispy and moist and delicious!
posted by DarlingBri at 1:00 AM on January 10, 2016
posted by DarlingBri at 1:00 AM on January 10, 2016
I have made the hello crispy skin recipe mountmccabe links many times and it is both easy and delicious.
posted by phunniemee at 4:36 AM on January 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by phunniemee at 4:36 AM on January 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Seconding simple roast, but:
You also can make a confit-related "I-forgot-I had to stand in the kitchen-at-all-style" (so yeah, it's my own version) duck. You'll need about 4-5 cups of goose or duck grease for this, a little depending on your puzzle abilities.
-- Start preparation right after breakfast on a snowy Sunday (or similar).
-- Cut the entire bird up into handleable bits, put ribcase and other small odds and ends aside for stock.
-- Put a bunch of bay leaves and some thyme and coarsely-ground black pepper into an ovenproof dish/bowl/pot of appropriate size, and especially, depth. Now puzzle the duck pieces into the vessel, having an eye on space-economy.
-- Add a dash of dry white wine or rosé, sprinkle the bird bits judiciously with salt (it's easy to add more later...).
-- Cover the combo with clumps of goose fat, making sure the end result won't overflow, while on the other hand all the pieces should end up submerged once the fat has melted.
-- Set the oven to 215° F or so, put the Duck-Con-Fat (a pronunciation variant, I guess?) into the oven and forget about it for up to an entire day.
-- Serve the now super-tender bits with roasted potatoes and a fresh salad of some sort. Or you can save them and re-fry them. Make sure to scoop off the cooking fat and save it for Moar confit or other applications, in order to get at the de-li-cious cooking juice at the bottom of the pan, too.
posted by Namlit at 5:06 AM on January 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
You also can make a confit-related "I-forgot-I had to stand in the kitchen-at-all-style" (so yeah, it's my own version) duck. You'll need about 4-5 cups of goose or duck grease for this, a little depending on your puzzle abilities.
-- Start preparation right after breakfast on a snowy Sunday (or similar).
-- Cut the entire bird up into handleable bits, put ribcase and other small odds and ends aside for stock.
-- Put a bunch of bay leaves and some thyme and coarsely-ground black pepper into an ovenproof dish/bowl/pot of appropriate size, and especially, depth. Now puzzle the duck pieces into the vessel, having an eye on space-economy.
-- Add a dash of dry white wine or rosé, sprinkle the bird bits judiciously with salt (it's easy to add more later...).
-- Cover the combo with clumps of goose fat, making sure the end result won't overflow, while on the other hand all the pieces should end up submerged once the fat has melted.
-- Set the oven to 215° F or so, put the Duck-Con-Fat (a pronunciation variant, I guess?) into the oven and forget about it for up to an entire day.
-- Serve the now super-tender bits with roasted potatoes and a fresh salad of some sort. Or you can save them and re-fry them. Make sure to scoop off the cooking fat and save it for Moar confit or other applications, in order to get at the de-li-cious cooking juice at the bottom of the pan, too.
posted by Namlit at 5:06 AM on January 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
make sure you have a big enough roasting pan, there is a lot of fat that comes off the duck and it almost overflowed the innapropriate pan i was using
posted by TheAdamist at 7:16 AM on January 10, 2016
posted by TheAdamist at 7:16 AM on January 10, 2016
Tea smoked duck. There's nothing else like it. You smoke it directly in your wok. Requires an overnight marinade and is altogether a few hours to make, but so worth it. The sichuan peppercorns are absolutely necessary, not optional.
posted by nightrecordings at 7:17 AM on January 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by nightrecordings at 7:17 AM on January 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Note that you can freeze the duck fat for quite a while as well.
posted by slateyness at 7:49 AM on January 10, 2016
posted by slateyness at 7:49 AM on January 10, 2016
Duck is my favorite food. I'll cook it any way. But during the holidays, I cooked both a chicken and a goose using this method, and they were both excellent. I'm certain it's good for duck as well. (No, I didn't buy a 500 + dollar pot, I used what I have). Given that you prefer a savory preparation, you might just go with the stuffing Ruhlman suggests in the video. I made rice pilau stuffings with pistachio nuts, almonds and dried fruit. I could also stuff a duck with apples and onions, on occasion..
posted by mumimor at 11:16 AM on January 10, 2016
posted by mumimor at 11:16 AM on January 10, 2016
Alton Brown's Mighty Duck recipe is pretty fool-proof. The approach that it takes that is different than other recipes is that he steams the duck which renders out a lot of the fat, then finishes it off in the oven which crisps up the skin nicely.
posted by plinth at 2:49 PM on January 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by plinth at 2:49 PM on January 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
I love duck, and I love cooking duck! (I was quite sad when chef took the duck off the menu recently.)
So a few basics:
Ducks are rarely, except in the classic Chinese dish, cooked whole. So you'll want to butcher your bird (after defrosting it in the fridge for ~24 hours). You can easily find how to butcher on Youtube; the tldr version is remove legs with the thighs, then the wings, then the breasts. Score through the skin on the breasts with a very sharp knife, to about half the depth of the fat--don't cut the flesh.
Legs and thighs are usually cooked as confit--duck's a bit heavy to be tearing into a leg like one would with chicken. To confit, mix two cups of kosher or sea salt (not iodized table salt, gross) with the zest of one lemon, two sprigs of stripped and chopped rosemary, 3-4 sprigs of stripped thyme, and some crushed star anise. Rub the legs and thighs liberally with the salt and leave uncovered in the fridge (ideally on a rack over a tray) for 24 hours. Rinse off the salt, and return to the fridge uncovered for another 24. Fit the pieces into a small pan that can be covered (tinfoil is fine), immersed in duck or goose fat. Cook at 225F for 4 hours until the meat is falling off the bone. Drain, keep the fat. If not serving immediately, chill rapidly. To serve, crisp the skin in a 350 oven and consume. Or shred the flesh to make a wide variety of charcuterie--e.g. duck rillettes.
Wings can be treated exactly like chicken wings.
Duck breasts are best seared and served medium rare. Do the same air-dry-for-24-hours thing in the fridge; it slightly dehydrates the flesh leading to crispier skin and a more intense flavour. No need to salt it though.
When you're ready to eat, get a heavy-bottomed pan that can comfortably fit the breasts. Cast iron is ideal if you have it. Heat it on a fairly low heat, dry. Season the breasts with salt and pepper. Place in the pan skin side down--you want to hear just a very gentle sizzle--and leave them alone. You can peek occasionally--it's time to turn them over when the fat is rendered out and the skin is a rich golden brown. I can't give you specific timing on that because it varies from duck to duck.
Flip the breast, and cook the other side for roughly a third of the time it was on its other side. You can baste the skin a bit with the rendered fat if you want it even crispier. Remove from pan, leave in a warm but not hot place to rest for 5-8 minutes. In really general terms, your total cooking time for a large breast is going to be approximately 12-15 minutes.
So them's the basics. I rarely ever buy duck to eat at home, so when I do I make something of a production out of it. Truly the best duck dish I've ever had in my life is the one chef took off the menu, but it might be a little daunting to cook at home--it has like eleven components, including making sausages and rillette, and takes a couple of days. Here's some of the simpler components.
We would use squash two ways: pureed (easy peasy: cut butternut or kabocha squash into roughly even dice, simmer in salted water until tender. Reserve 1/3 of the dice, wazz the rest in the blender with a little cream until smooth and thick, a bit thicker than ketchup). Then we'd take slices, season well with salt and pepper, and pan-sear in oil and butter until golden. Then deglaze with a splash of sherry vinegar, add a couple tablespoons of maple syrup, and put in a 350 oven for about ten minutes to finish cooking through.
Take a red cabbage, and cut the leaves into 1" wide strips and place in a large heatproof bowl. In a stainless steel pot, bring to a boil 1 litre water. 1 litre white wine vinegar (not white vinegar, wine), 250 mL sugar, 10 mL salt, two pieces of star anise. Once it hits a rolling boil, cut the heat and pour over the cabbage. Allow to cool, then chill in the fridge--keeps for a week or two. If you do canning at home, follow your usual canning procedures and it will keep on the shelf for a year. To serve, take a few strips of the cabbage, a tablespoon of the liquid, and a tablespoon of butter. Put it all in the pan and put in a 350F/175C oven for ten minutes to warm through.
Cook 2 cups lentils according to package directions, adding two sprigs of thyme, a bay leaf, and one finely chopped shallot. To serve, toss in the reserved diced squash.
Take 8 green beans, toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Grill, or sautee over high heat, until charred or golden, respectively.
Place a puddle of the squash on a plate. Lentils on top. Then the duck breast. Arrange the beans, cabbage, and roasted squash in whatever way pleases you. Enjoy.
(If you want the full recipes for the rillette, sausage, and two sauces let me know.)
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 11:34 AM on January 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
So a few basics:
Ducks are rarely, except in the classic Chinese dish, cooked whole. So you'll want to butcher your bird (after defrosting it in the fridge for ~24 hours). You can easily find how to butcher on Youtube; the tldr version is remove legs with the thighs, then the wings, then the breasts. Score through the skin on the breasts with a very sharp knife, to about half the depth of the fat--don't cut the flesh.
Legs and thighs are usually cooked as confit--duck's a bit heavy to be tearing into a leg like one would with chicken. To confit, mix two cups of kosher or sea salt (not iodized table salt, gross) with the zest of one lemon, two sprigs of stripped and chopped rosemary, 3-4 sprigs of stripped thyme, and some crushed star anise. Rub the legs and thighs liberally with the salt and leave uncovered in the fridge (ideally on a rack over a tray) for 24 hours. Rinse off the salt, and return to the fridge uncovered for another 24. Fit the pieces into a small pan that can be covered (tinfoil is fine), immersed in duck or goose fat. Cook at 225F for 4 hours until the meat is falling off the bone. Drain, keep the fat. If not serving immediately, chill rapidly. To serve, crisp the skin in a 350 oven and consume. Or shred the flesh to make a wide variety of charcuterie--e.g. duck rillettes.
Wings can be treated exactly like chicken wings.
Duck breasts are best seared and served medium rare. Do the same air-dry-for-24-hours thing in the fridge; it slightly dehydrates the flesh leading to crispier skin and a more intense flavour. No need to salt it though.
When you're ready to eat, get a heavy-bottomed pan that can comfortably fit the breasts. Cast iron is ideal if you have it. Heat it on a fairly low heat, dry. Season the breasts with salt and pepper. Place in the pan skin side down--you want to hear just a very gentle sizzle--and leave them alone. You can peek occasionally--it's time to turn them over when the fat is rendered out and the skin is a rich golden brown. I can't give you specific timing on that because it varies from duck to duck.
Flip the breast, and cook the other side for roughly a third of the time it was on its other side. You can baste the skin a bit with the rendered fat if you want it even crispier. Remove from pan, leave in a warm but not hot place to rest for 5-8 minutes. In really general terms, your total cooking time for a large breast is going to be approximately 12-15 minutes.
So them's the basics. I rarely ever buy duck to eat at home, so when I do I make something of a production out of it. Truly the best duck dish I've ever had in my life is the one chef took off the menu, but it might be a little daunting to cook at home--it has like eleven components, including making sausages and rillette, and takes a couple of days. Here's some of the simpler components.
We would use squash two ways: pureed (easy peasy: cut butternut or kabocha squash into roughly even dice, simmer in salted water until tender. Reserve 1/3 of the dice, wazz the rest in the blender with a little cream until smooth and thick, a bit thicker than ketchup). Then we'd take slices, season well with salt and pepper, and pan-sear in oil and butter until golden. Then deglaze with a splash of sherry vinegar, add a couple tablespoons of maple syrup, and put in a 350 oven for about ten minutes to finish cooking through.
Take a red cabbage, and cut the leaves into 1" wide strips and place in a large heatproof bowl. In a stainless steel pot, bring to a boil 1 litre water. 1 litre white wine vinegar (not white vinegar, wine), 250 mL sugar, 10 mL salt, two pieces of star anise. Once it hits a rolling boil, cut the heat and pour over the cabbage. Allow to cool, then chill in the fridge--keeps for a week or two. If you do canning at home, follow your usual canning procedures and it will keep on the shelf for a year. To serve, take a few strips of the cabbage, a tablespoon of the liquid, and a tablespoon of butter. Put it all in the pan and put in a 350F/175C oven for ten minutes to warm through.
Cook 2 cups lentils according to package directions, adding two sprigs of thyme, a bay leaf, and one finely chopped shallot. To serve, toss in the reserved diced squash.
Take 8 green beans, toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Grill, or sautee over high heat, until charred or golden, respectively.
Place a puddle of the squash on a plate. Lentils on top. Then the duck breast. Arrange the beans, cabbage, and roasted squash in whatever way pleases you. Enjoy.
(If you want the full recipes for the rillette, sausage, and two sauces let me know.)
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 11:34 AM on January 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
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It works fine if you don't have a proper Peking duck (I didn't). I just used whatever fatty delicious duck the grocery store had. The only thing about not having a Peking duck is that you won't get the super crispy skin that Peking duck is known for, but it still tastes delicious!
A couple things I did different from the recipe: I did the maltose syrup and salt/baking soda rub twice. This is mostly my own fault because I didn't let my duck thaw all the way (and forgot to take out his little duck organs) so the bottom of my baking sheet ended up in a weird bloody syrupy soup after being in the fridge overnight. I just wiped the duck down with a paper towel and started again. Total time in the fridge for my duck was about 16 hours.
Since there was more fat on my duck, I roasted it at 250 degrees for 45 minutes instead of 30 to let more fat drip off. My biggest regret with cooking this duck is that I didn't have any potatoes or other vegetables to roast using the duck fat.
Other than those two changes, I did everything else as suggested by the recipe.
Anyway, the pancakes and plum sauce are optional. I'd imagine a corn tortilla would work just as fine. It went well with Mexican rice and avocado for me last night.
I've since made a duck broth from the leftover carcass and bones. For that, I just put the unwanted duck bits in a pot and covered it up with water. Salt to taste.
posted by astapasta24 at 9:58 PM on January 9, 2016