Roast duck, and a little extra.....

 

I love duck in all forms and could eat far more of it than is healthy for me! Here I'm doing a simple roast duck, very traditional and then showing a variation with spiced honey. The roasting technique is following the instructions of Joel Rubuchon.

Incidentally the female duck is nearly always tastier and plumper than the male drake, so if possible acquire a female! One other consideration is always ensure that the grease glands have been removed - check with your butcher. The glands taste very bitter and can effect the flavour of the whole duck.

Hope you enjoy them both:

Ingredients:

1 young female duck weighing around 1.8 kg with giblets if possible

4 peeled carrots

2 peeled medium onions

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 sprig of thyme

vegetable oil and a little butter

To begin, remove the duck from the fridge at least half an hour before cooking, preferably 1 hour.

Prepare the vegetables, peeled but leave whole, season them and sprinkle thyme leaves over them. Take the duck, remove the giblets and set aside, you'll need them in a minute!. Season the duck both inside and out with sea salt and black pepper. Finally lightly oil the skin of the duck with a brush.

Pre-heat the oven to 240 C

Whilst the oven is warming, take a roasting dish big enough to hold the duck and the vegetables. Lightly butter the base of the dish. Place the duck on it's side in the centre of the dish (ie resting on one wing and leg). Prop it up with the giblets, then add the vegetables to the roasting dish.

Carefully place the dish in the oven, ensuring that the neck end of the duck is facing the back wall of the oven. Close the door and roast for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes remove the dish from the oven, and spoon off as much fat as is possible but leave the dark duck juices in the dish. Turn the duck over onto the other wing and leg and place back in the oven for another 20 minutes.

Now repeat the exercise after 20 minutes, remove the dish and spoon off the fat. Turn the duck onto it's back and give the duck a quarter turn. Put back into the oven, 10 minutes for rare, 20 minutes for medium rare to medium.

When the duck is done to your liking remove from the oven, but leave the oven on! If using the vegetables remove from the tray, drain and keep warm. Leave the giblets in the roasting dish but spoon off any excess fat once more. Place the duck on a carving board and carefully remove each of the legs. Put the legs back into the roasting dish and back into the oven for a further 10 minutes, as the legs take longer to cook!

Allow the rest of the duck to rest for 15 minutes by propping it up until near vertical but with the breasts down. Season with fleur de sel and a little pepper. Keep warm with a loose tent of foil.

After 10 minutes cooking remove the legs and season also.

Drain off the remaining fat from the roasting dish, stir in a little water if necessary to make the sauce and serve immediately.

Delicious!

Now if you wish for a slightly different take on the roast duck, see the recipe below. This recipe was produced by Joel Rubuchon and is as you might expect absolutely delicious!

This is roast duck with spiced honey:

Ingredients

As above plus:

100 g golden raisins (soaked in warm water for 1 hour)

150 g honey

1 teaspoon juniper berries

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon  coffee beans

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon cardamom seeds (from inside the cardamom pod)

1 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

a large pinch of caster sugar

3 teaspoons butter

2 golden delicious apples, cored, peeled and sliced - each into 6 slices

a pinch of ground cinnamon powder

sea salt and black pepper

20 shelled walnut halves

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

100 ml clear chicken stock

Soak the raisins in warm water for a minimum of 1 hour before cooking.

Cook the duck as per the basic recipe above, stopping at the 50 minute point when the duck is removed from the oven for the second time.

Whilst the duck is cooking prepare the wonderful spiced honey. Pour the honey into a saucepan and warm over a medium heat. As it begins to bubble add the juniper berries, coriander seeds, coffee beans, peppercorns, cardamom seeds, star anise and cinnamon stick. Mix well with a wooden spoon, then remove from the heat.

Now, in a frying pan, heat a teaspoon of butter and add the apples in a single layer to the pan. Cook for 10 minutes, turning  them regularly. After 10 minutes, add the remaining butter, sugar cinnamon, a pinch of salt, a dash of pepper and the drained raisins and walnuts. Add 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar and cook for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat immediately.

As with the recipe above, remove the duck after 50 minutes, leave the oven on, and remove the duck legs. Coat the duck breasts and legs with the spiced honey. Place everything back in the oven as above and cook for a further 8 to 10 minutes, but re-coat the duck at least twice during this cooking period. 

Remove the duck and rest as above, place the legs into a smaller dish and back in the oven for 10 minutes.

Whilst the duck is resting, spoon the fat from the roasting dish. Add 2 teaspoons of cider vinegar and the clear chicken stock. Stir and scrape with the spatula before pouring all the contents into a saucepan and placing over a medium heat. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer Check for seasoning, add the remaining teaspoon of cider vinegar and cook for a maximum of 30 seconds. Strain through a fine sieve and serve the sauce separately.

Place the duck on a serving plate with the legs and carefully arrange the prepared apples, raisin and walnuts around the wonderfully spicy, honeyed duck. Serve immediately, no doubt to wild applause!

Comments

[medical consultation]

I love that roast duck..

[Foodycat]

Duck is such a wonderful meat! I haven't had much luck with cooking whole ducks - I struggle with the timing.

[Paul]

Hi FC - I've found these timings pretty reliable - at least duck is one of the few things not to suffer too much if timings go a little astray!