"Duckling" help me please!!!!

wishingonastar_3

my dearest granddad has just announced he's got me a fresh whole duckling from his shopping expedition reduced to 99p.
can someone tell me where i start with it and if its nice, can honestly say i've never fancied duck, duckling sounds worse somehow, but i can't let it go to waste.
also, can i freeze it??
thanks,

woas.

Rikki

You can freeze it.

I get wild duck off the river in season and I only take the breasts off. Then I either pan fry or caserol them in red wine. Stire fried in a Hoi sin sause is nice too.

With a whole duck you can roast it. They can be fatty so place a rack in the roasting tin. Then you can either serve it as a roast dinner. Chinese style, Shredded with a plumb sause spring onions wrapped in a thin pancake.

jenniferpa

To expand on what Rikki said -

Don't be surprised when it shrinks dramatically! Once that fat has run off, 1 duckling will probably only feed 2 -3 unless you go the pancake route. I always !!!!!! the skin so that more fat runs out. As a side bar, the fat that runs out, after straining, makes the most wonderful savory pastry, so don't discard it!

Jennifer

Lucie_2

Duck fat also makes the crispiest roast potatoes.

comping_cat

I love duck, its our favourite!!! I would just roast it, like you would chicken, and like Lucie said, save the fat for your roast potatos!!!!

Pink.

Hi wishingonastar,

Duck is delicious but there isn't a lot of meat on it once it's cooked. As others have said cook it on a rack and save the fat to use for roast potatoes, it really does make a difference to them. It's a good idea to drain the fat off a few times during cooking as it really starts to spit and can make a terrible mess of the oven.

Here are some recent threads on cooking duck that might help you.

Bought a duck for £3.99....

Duck hints

Duck - Roast/Aromatic Crispy/Confit?


Pink

wishingonastar_3

thanks so much, i've popped it in the freezer, and am going to use it for sunday lunch, as there is only the 2 of us, i'll save the fat for the roasties.

suki1964

I always defrost a duck the day before Im going to use it. On the day of cooking I leave it out and !!!!!! it all over with a skewer as I find this gets the fat running straight away and makes for a drier duck. Also I throughly dry it helping to crisp the skin