Duck for Christmas dinner help !

springchicken

I have bought 2 ducks for Christmas dinner ,due too everyone saying they are fed up of Turkey !
Have cooked lamb ,beef and pork before on Christmas day but have heard to give duck a try.
However I havnt got a clue what to do for accompaniments ,flavouring for the gravy ,stuffing etc. Would the usual Turkey accompaniments work?
I dont want to cook any flavours too extreme, as teenagers are incredibly fussy !
Has anyone out there experience of a duck Christmas dinner ,any tips gratefully recieved .

competitionscafe

I love duck but have never roasted a whole one so not much use there - have just cooked breasts or legs in various recipes. Funnily enough I was looking at the whole fresh free-range ducks in Waitrose today and thinking that was a much more economical alternative to a goose at about a quarter to a third of the price.

There are a few suggestions here though:

Honey-roasted duck with creamed cauliflower
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1285/honeyroasted-duck-with-creamed-cauliflower

Crispy Roast Duck
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3248/crispy-roast-duck

Sage and Onion Sauce
A great accompaniment to roast duck that can be made in advance
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3250/sage-and-onion-sauce

comping_cat

I love duck, its our favourite - we have one for New Years Day, and also for Easter. i cook it exactly as i do a chicken - i just drain the fat off more regularly (make sure you keep it, just like goose fat it helps make delicious roast potatoes!!!).

From cookery progs, ive noticed that duck can be served rare (obviously with chicken it has to be well cooked) but ive never cooked it that way.

EssexHebridean

Duck will take a slightly more robust flavoured stuffing than chicken or turkey, although personally I'd always be in favour of cooking the stuffing separately anyway as it makes calculating roasting times easier. Think along the lines of fruity flavours for the stuffing - maybe apricot and chestnut or cranberry and orange would be a lovely one.

When you roast your duck pr1ck (for goodness sake - the language filters on here are patronising beyond belief at times!) all over the skin well with a fork - this will help to release the fat more easily and prevent the meat from being fatty - be careful not to overcook it though as duck can dry out quite easily.

For other accompaniments you can do the same sort of thing as you would with a turkey dinner really - pigs in blankets, cranberry sauce etc. Veg wise I would think about something like red cabbage and apple - again, nice and fruity and with a sharp edge to cut any fattiness from the duck. Along with peas or carrots of whatever you'd usually have, plus some lovely crispy roasties...yum!

shammyjack

There should only be two of you when you eat duck !

You and the duck !

springchicken

Thanks for all replies so far .
Any more ideas really appreciated ,am slowly forming some sort of menu in my head:p
Any suggestions for what to add to make the gravy from the juices ?
Would 2 ducks be enough for 5 adults ,2 teens ?
TIA Springchicken

mother_noah

Would depend on the size .There is not a lot of meat on a duck so may need half a duck per person . Made this mistake when newly married and thought the duck I had bought would feed four.We each had about a slice of meat each .

Pink.

springchicken wrote: »

Thanks for all replies so far .
Any more ideas really appreciated ,am slowly forming some sort of menu in my head:p
Any suggestions for what to add to make the gravy from the juices ?
Would 2 ducks be enough for 5 adults ,2 teens ?
TIA Springchicken

Hi springchicken,

My son requested a roast duck for his birthday tea this week and one large gresham duck was just enough for us (two adults, a 15 year old with a mansize appetite and an 8 year old) so I think two ducks will be fine but there won't be any leftovers. I served roast potatoes using the duck fat, braised red cabbage and apple (which can be done earlier in the day and reheated) and just plain steamed carrots and brocolli because it can be a very rich meal.

This is the stuffing I did, I usually make it with goose but it worked well with the duck.

breadcrumbs
an onion
a little sausage meat
salt
pepper
sage
the duck liver finely chopped
two large apples, peeled, cored and diced.

Blitz all ingredients in a food processor. I prefer to stuff the bird but if you intend to cook the stuffing separately don't forget to baste it with the juices from the duck for extra flavour. I haven't given quantities as I tend to cook by eye rather than stick to a recipe but it will give you an idea.


For the sauce, put the giblets in a pan (this can be done the day before) and simmer gently for about an hour. Strain the stock and discard the giblets. Add about a third of a bottle of red wine and a couple of heaped dessert spoons of jam (cherry is my favourite but I only had blackberry in so used that instead). Simmer until the sauce begins to reduce and thicken but do keep an eye on it as it can burn if it reduces too much. This sauce is very rich and you won't need much. Once all the fat has been poured off you can add any juices into the sauce and reduce it further if you need to.

You might pick up more ideas on this earlier thread:

cooking a whole duck

Pink

misskool

we're having duck for christmas dinner too

It's the same as any roast, I !!!!! the skin all around then roast it on a rack (otherwise draining the fat will be interesting). It can be slightly pink (when overcooked it goes really stringy and tough). The flavour is more robust but it'll go well with pretty much anything. Gravy from the juices when you rest the duck, and then use the fat to do the potatoes. I use a bit of five spice on the skin to crisp it up

We're having roast potatoes, shredded sprouts with pancetta, home made chestnut stuffing, pigs in blanket, carrots and followed by a trifle.

EssexHebridean

Hi Springchicken. You don't say how old the two teens are but they may well have adult sized appetites I'm guessing? As Pink says above you should just about get the birds to stretch but there won't be much if anything left. Plenty of accompaniments is probably the answer - if the roasties are good people will be quite happy to fill up on those, pigs in blankets and stuff.

I made cranberry and clementine sauce to go with turkey last year but that would also work well with Duck - just cranberries stewed down gently with a spoonful or two of demerara sugar, then add a slosh of clementine juice (either freshly squeezed or asda do a bottled juice which is nice) and cook until the consistency is right. Nice and sharp to go with duck or goose. As for the gravy, I'd just make as normal - that way those who want a plainer plateful can have their meat, spuds and gravy as normal.

JailhouseBabe

Hello all,

DD and I are having our first christmas home alone (I normally cook at my parents house), so we've decided to forego the turkey and try something different this year.

I've bought a free-range duck that looks huge for just the two of us, so I'm sure there'll be lots of left-overs. Never having cooked duck before, I'd like to know if anyone has any fail-safe roasting tips, and ideas for left-overs. I wouldn't mind attempting a HM stuffing as well - but only if I can use what's in or source ingredients without having to visit a supermarket! :eek:

JB x