Duck: The Topic

[Trishiad]

My son has asked if we can have duck because he's never "ate'n" duck before. I've never cooked duck before. What shall I do? Keep it simple please.

[racheld]

I'm hitchhiking on this duck thread, but I've posted in several sites looking for a recipe for wild duck with turnips and prunes...anyone know that one?

It was mentioned in Prince of Tides and may be totally fiction, but surely somewhere there's a combination like that.

Can't reply to thread because I've only cooked Mallards.

[Gifted Gourmet]

My son has asked if we can have duck because he's never "ate'n" duck before.  I've never cooked duck before.  What shall I do?  Keep it simple please.

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I think before beginning this, I'd want to know whether he enjoys eating dark meat chicken ... it is, after all, not so dissimilar ...

simplest duck recipe is here .. enjoy!

However this one is even nicer Divine Duck to die for!Balsamic, Orange, Honey, Maple Syrup Glazed Duck

[Trishiad]

wowie! do i have to do a whole duck? can't i start with the breast???

[wattacetti]

wowie! do i have to do a whole duck? can't i start with the breast???

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Quoting the guy in Calgary who sells me a lot of wine: "either go big or go home."

What are you going to do without leftovers to snack on?

[goldie]

I have a three year old, too. They want to try everything- which is awesome! Does he want to see the whole duck cook or would he be ok with just the end result? In a smokehouse near me and in my Whole Foods you can buy smoked(I think- they are cooked in any case) duck breasts. As I'm the only one who likes duck (have to have my little buddy try it), I've not purchased them. If he likes sweet with savory, make it with cherries.

Let us know what happens!

[PCL]

For quick and simple duck breast, I can suggest the following:

couple star anise seeds (not crucial)

clove of garlic

honey/maple syrup

white wine

fresh OJ, or from a bottle/pack

shallots/1 medium onion

salt + pepper

duck breasts, skin on.

Preheat oven to 200C.

Lay breasts skin up on baking tray, slash skin at 1/2" intervals and whack 'em in the oven.

While they cook for 15/20 minutes depending on done-ness, do the following:

brown onion/shallots in butter

deglaze with OJ and white wine

add honey or maple syrup and reduce

at this point, chuck in the star anise as well.

the duck should be medium rare/just done depending on time

heat a heavy pan with half and half butter and oil and stick the duck on skin side down to crisp up. should be medium high heat. pour off excess fat (or pour into sauce over heat, yum!!)

when crisp, simply carve into slices or serve whole with sauce on the plate, but not poured over the duck 'cos you wanna the skin to be-ah crispy-ah...

[Dave the Cook]

That sounds great, PCL.

Alternatively, you can cook duck breasts on the stovetop:

Score the skin and fat (do your best not to pierce the meat) in a crosshatch with 1/2-inch spacing. Sprinkle generously with salt.

Place in a heavy skillet on a cold burner, skin side down. Turn the heat up to medium. (If you have a spatter screen, this would be a good time to get it out.)

Fry until the skin is deeply brown, ten to twelve minutes. Turn and reduce heat slightly. Cook until internal temperature reaches 135 F, about another ten minutes. (If you're not a fan of medium-rare duck, give it another couple of minutes, to 145 or 150 F, but it will start to toughen.)

At this point, your duck is done. You've got lots of fat in the pan, most of which you should drain and save. You could pick up with PCL's sauce recipe, or make a pan sauce (I like to saute a little shallot or onion with ground ancho -- good chile powder will do -- then add some orange juice and white wine, and reduce slightly. Mount butter.)

[Betts]

For the absolute simplest, what about a decent Chinese restaurant or market that does duck? If the restaurant is a possibility in your area, find out when they do the ducks - I've found the weekends to be best.

Give that boy a hug. If he were nearby, I'd take him for a duck tasting - it's one of the tastiest foods. three year olds are so cool - too bad they go to school and learn to be less adventurous from classmates.

[PCL]

get 'em early on the plum sauce.

but be very very careful. I'm Chinese, and a single bad Chinese Roast Duck experience can scar one for life. Ensure that your purveyor of Chinese Roast Duck is reputable in all ways possible. check his nails, check the status of his stall and display and for heaven's sake, no drippy oily bits man... AAAARRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!

[megwoo]

Another simple preparation would be to buy prepared legs of duck confit, sear them on both sides in a hot pan and toss them in the oven until warmed through. They taste incredible!

http://www.iheartbacon.com/index.php?id=215

[PassionateChefsDie]

For the absolute simplest, what about a decent Chinese restaurant or market that does duck?  If the restaurant is a possibility in your area, find out when they do the ducks - I've found the weekends to be best.

Give that boy a hug.  If he were nearby, I'd take him for a duck tasting - it's one of the tastiest foods.  three year olds are so cool - too bad they go to school and learn to be less adventurous from classmates.

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The best 1 I did was a six year olds B-day, she wanted to eat at the local 3 rosette restaurant(Top 10% in UK) proceeded to order a steak Black and Blue I was blown away. It's never been more of a pleasure to cook for a child we pulled the stops out for that Girl she impressed us that much!

[cacao]

Hi folks:

I am a 'recovering vegetarian' who used to love to eat duck - something like 20 years ago. My significant other loves duck, and so, as cooking is love to me, I've decided to try roasting a whole duck for Xmas eve dinner for my sweetie and I. Since it's been a long time for me, I want to make as greaseless a duck as I can, so I will be able to enjoy and digest it, after all these years!

I'm hoping to find a good recipe, perhaps in the 'Peking style' of cooking (as in steaming or boiling the duck before roasting) , but with perhaps Frenchified/Westernized seasoning. Any advice or favorite recipes out there? I saw something on epicurious with a fig and mushroom sauce that looked interesting... any other ideas?

Thanks much,

Cacao

[BryanZ]

On Thanksgiving I did a twice-cooked duck. Steamed for about 40 minutes in some water with aromatics. Then roasted for about an hour at 425 (I think). I glazed it with a pomegranate, honey, and soy thing. It was a kind of a trite presentation (not exactly cutting edge) but very tasty all the same. I suggest some sort of sweet and salty glaze to baste the duck with when it's roasting.

[Daniel]

I just did a duck stuffed with red rice and andouille sausage.. Just took the cleaned the inside out.. Tucked the kneck skin inside and sewed shut the other end.. Baked it at a low 325 and when the internal temp hit 175 I put the heat up and crisped the duck...

What better way to get back into the swing with a meat stuffed duck!

[WHS]

I did a "peking-style" duck a few years back which involved par-boiling the whole bird in a mixture of water, soy sauce, star anise, ginger and garlic for about 10-15 minutes to render some of the fat, then letting it air-dry overnight to crisp up the skin. Then you roast it as you would western-style. You get the succulent meat and the crispy skin, without having to install a whole Chinese kitchen.

I also have a "Stewed Chinese Duck" recipe from the Bangkok Post if you're interested...

[repoman]

I made Steven Raichlen's Duckling La'Orange from his Beer Can Chicken book and it was the best preparation of duck I have had outside of a few restaurants. The skin was crispy, the meat was juicy and had the right amount of orange flavor. The Apricot Orange Sauce was the perfect accompiament. You basically are roasting the duck upright on a beer can on a grill. If you don't have a grill or don;t like grilling in the winter you could easily use the same technique in the oven.

You end up taking a "tall boy" beer can filling it with beer and orange soda. The steam from this mixture keeps the duck moist while the heat from the grill prefectly crisps the skin. You need to poke holes in the skin before you cook it and about 45 minutes into the cooking time. The result is a perfectly cooked duck with a crisy skin.

I will likely try other preperations using the same technique. You could easily experiment with various rubs, marinades, and beer can ingredients.

The recipe is available for free on his website:

http://www.barbecuebible.com/featured/reci...ling_a_lora.php

Edited December 19, 2005 by repoman (log)

[mtigges]

German style is my favourite. Stuffed with fresh tart apple bits (one apple) and dried fruits, figs, prunes ... whatever, onion, garlic. Salt, pepper inside and everywhere, sage, thyme inside too. Sew it up, poke the crap out of the skin. 325 for 1.25 - 1.75 hours draining the fat every now and then.

Very delicious. Very easy.

[jtcookie]

I did a "peking-style" duck a few years back which involved par-boiling the whole bird in a mixture of water, soy sauce, star anise, ginger and garlic for about 10-15 minutes to render some of the fat, then letting it air-dry overnight to crisp up the skin.  Then you roast it as you would western-style.  You get the succulent meat and the crispy skin, without having to install a whole Chinese kitchen. 

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We used a method similar to this, but boiled the duck longer, and instead of giving it a roasting took it out when cooked but still firm, and then smoked it over a combination of black tea leaves, rice and brown sugar.

Tealicious!

John

[cacao]

Thanks for the ideas, all,

Ok, I am definitely planning the Peking duck style cooking process of steaming and then roasting. I'm inclined to try stuffing some aromatics into the duck during steaming, and then roasting with a basting of pomegranate /soy/honey ( that combo sounds good to me).

For those in the know, methinks I've got myself a Liberty Duck on order

The smoked duck sounds terrific... I need to get me a smoker one of these days!

I'll let you know how Xmas dinner turns out!

-Cacao

[WHS]

Enjoy--and for your files, here is a recipe for Duck with ginger and honey from a restaurant in Prague called U Modre Kachnichky, which is famous for its duck:

http://www.praguepost.com/P03/2005/Art/1215/featu1.php

[jtcookie]

Thanks for the ideas, all,

The smoked duck sounds terrific... I need to get me a smoker one of these days!

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I used the stove-top method for smoking; use a pot large enough to hold your duck, and keep the bird off the bottom with a cake cooling rack. The mixture should be smouldering first, put a tight fitting lid on quickly, and keep over the lowest heat you can for about 1 hour. Maybe experiment with chicken first; they are delicious prepared this way also, and you'll be 'pro' when the time comes for smoked duck! The mixture ratio varies, but we used 2:2:1 rice, tea, sugar (by volume) Don't use your favourite stock pot or Dutch oven, as the burnt mixture is difficult to clean off afterwards.

John

[alexw]

Odd title I know, but please bear with me.

thought I would do a simple duck dish for the family yesterday, cook the breasts as I normally do, probably didn't let them rest as long as i should, when I finished plating the rest of them, not too long only 5 of us eating. I carved lots of slices from the breasts. a little juice poured out, but no problem yet.

when we started eating, after a bout 6-7 minutes I looked down at my still nearly full plate ( i was talking too much), and noticed that a couple of slices looked positively green, I have seen this happen before but couldn't explain it before and didn't have eGullet to help me out then. the flavour wasn't bad, and the meat was certainley fresh. also mine was the only plate where it had occured.

duck was normal and the only thing that touched it was a folded steel high carbon knife.

could someone please put me out of my misery as I ate it, not wanting my dinner guests to be put off by the host leaving some of his dinner.

thanks all

[jsolomon]

Were you eating the famed Vulcan duck?

When you're saying positively green, was it a very bright shade of green, or sort of a dingy green? Also, to what extent was the duck cooked? Rare? Med-rare? Well-done?

[alexw]

Were you eating the famed Vulcan duck?

When you're saying positively green, was it a very bright shade of green, or sort of a dingy green?  Also, to what extent was the duck cooked?  Rare? Med-rare?  Well-done?

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duck was cooked med-rare. and just bog-standard seasoned fried for a long time on the skin to render fat. than placed in an oven for 6 minutes(ish) on a trivet of thyme and rosemary. this is how I cook some 100+ a week at work. no sorry not Vulcan though, just gressingham.

colour was a deep and slightly metallic green.

Alex.