Duck - Roast/Aromatic Crispy/Confit?

Gillby1 · 13 October 2005 at 11:29AM

Hi all!

I'm a keen, but inexperienced, cook, and am beginning to branch out from my usual selection of meals. Last night, in Sainsburys, i decided i just had to have one of their half price ducks, and it's now sitting in the fridge. It's probably wondering what i'm planning on doing with it....

The problem is, I'm wondering the same thing.

There are only two of us, and i'd love to have duck for roast dinner. Would it be ok if i cut off both legs then roast the rest (the crown??) as per instructions? Or would that ruin it? :eek:

Could i then use the legs to make aromatic crispy duck - to have with pancakes etc... boyfriend is a big fan. Does anyone have a recipe? If not, i have a recipe for confit de canard, which i'll try out.

What to do with the giblets...

Thanks

Gills

Jay-Jay_4 · 13 October 2005 at 11:42AM

I cook duck by washing it, drying thoroughly, stabbing it all over the skin with a very sharp knife (especially the thick fat between the legs and breast) but trying to only pierce the skin and fat, not the flesh- then rubbing with salt.

Then it goes in a hot oven on a trivet. You need to put it on a trivet as it will lose loads of fat, if you haven't got a trivet (or grill rack from your grill pan) then scrunch up some tin foil and place the duck onto that.

You may find that your oven smokes as the fat escaped from the duck; carefully pour off some of the fat during cooking to reduce the amount of spitting.

After cooking in a hot oven you'll find that the breast meat is tender but the legs are well done ie: perfect for pancakes. You can buy the pancakes in the chillers at Asda (next to the chickens). I haven't got a decent recipe for hoy sin sauce but I'm sure that someone will.

I have roast duck with a mixture of morello cherry jam and red wine, reduced right down. I serve it with new potatoes tossed in butter and mint sauce and sugar snap peas. I serve the whole lot in an enormous serving dish, the duck legs portioned up and the breast chopped in half (ie: two drumsticks, two thighs and 4 pieces of breast. I pour the cherry sauce over and put the potatoes next to it so that all the different flavours run together....it sounds revolting but it's YUM!!!!

BTW... save all the fat, it's LOVELY for cooking roast potatoes

squeaky · 13 October 2005 at 11:47AM

Jay-Jay wrote:

I have roast duck with a mixture of morello cherry jam and red wine, reduced right down. I serve it with new potatoes tossed in butter and mint sauce and sugar snap peas. I serve the whole lot in an enormous serving dish, the duck legs portioned up and the breast chopped in half (ie: two drumsticks, two thighs and 4 pieces of breast. I pour the cherry sauce over and put the potatoes next to it so that all the different flavours run together....it sounds revolting but it's YUM!!!!

What time did you say I should arrive on Sunday...?

Curry_Queen · 13 October 2005 at 11:53AM

Jay-Jay has pretty much covered most points but there's a couple I want to add

When you've pricked the skin all over, sit the duck on a rack in your sink and pour boiling water all over it. This will help to release more of the fat during cooking so you don't end up with a greasy meat. The dry off and brush all over with a marinade (I'll have a look in my files in a moment for one I use for Peking Duck) before roasting.

There's also a fat gland just under the tail that needs slicing through too, and it's a good idea to add add an inch or so of boiling water to your roasting pan to keep the duck moist during cooking

Curry_Queen · 13 October 2005 at 11:59AM

Peking-style Duck

2.2kg duckling
3 tbsp chinese five spice paste
2 star anise
1 tsp sea salt

For the glaze:
3 tbsp clear honey
4 tbsp dark soy sauce
5cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
100ml rice vinegar or dry sherry

The day before you cook the duck, cut away the strings, and remove and discard the giblets. Wash and pat dry with kitchen paper, then loosely wrap the duck in baking parchment and chill in the fridge until required, preferably overnight. This allows the duck to dry out, so it will be crispier when cooked.

The following day, preheat the oven to 220°C, gas mark 7. !!!!!! the skin of the duck all over with a fork. Make an incision with a sharp knife on the underside of the parson's nose (the tail end) and into the fat gland to release the fat. Place the bird on a wire rack over the sink. Pour a kettle of boiling water over the duck, empty out any water from the inside of the cavity and pat dry with kitchen paper.

This opens up the duck's skin pores to release more fat.

Make the glaze by heating 500ml cold water in a large pan with the honey, soy sauce, ginger and rice vinegar or dry sherry. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until reduced by half.

Meanwhile, rub five spice paste evenly inside the duck, then place the star anise in the cavity. Pour some cold water into the base of a large roasting tin and place the wire rack with the bird on it over the tin. Sprinkle the skin with the sea salt.

Roast the duck on the top shelf of the oven for 15 minutes then brush the skin thoroughly with half the glaze. Roast for 15 minutes, then brush with the remaining glaze . Return the duck to the oven and cook for 1-1¼ hours, reducing the oven temperature to 180°C, gas mark 4 after 15-20 minutes, or once the skin has turned a mahogany colour. If the skin becomes too dark, cover with foil. The duck is cooked if the juices run clear when a skewer is inserted into the thickest part of the thigh.

Mado · 13 October 2005 at 4:26PM

Jay-Jay wrote:

BTW... save all the fat, it's LOVELY for cooking roast potatoes

Duck fat is lovely to roast/sautee anything in....

Never made confit form fresh duck. Always bought it tinned or vaccuum packed. Maybe I should try...? How easy does it sound?

Gillby1 · 13 October 2005 at 4:52PM

I'll have a look tonight and post the recipe. I've seen a Nigel Slater recipe here, too - http://shopping.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4601725-110648,00.html

ka7e · 13 October 2005 at 4:55PM

The cheat's way to do it, is to coat the duck in either hoisin sauce or plum sauce (you need a jar to use on the pancakes, anyway) and roast it on a rack. Cook it for longer than the recommended time, until all the skin is crispy. Use 2 forks to shred the meat and skin and serve with pancakes, hoisin sauce, cucumber sticks and sliced (longways) spring onions. I also serve chow mein and dim sum with it.
My teenage children always have it as a birthday meal in preference to "going out" to eat!

tom_and_barbara_good · 13 October 2005 at 5:59PM

We love any kind of roast duck recipes but the state of the oven after :eek: There isn't really a clean way to do it, you can't cover it with foil or put it in a lidded roaster so it's 'Canard a l'Orange avec Monsieur Muscle'

Str4berr3 · 13 October 2005 at 10:44PM

Could anyone tell me what exactly are the 'Giblets' for?

squeaky · 13 October 2005 at 11:37PM

The cat/dog or for stock for soup mostly. I'm sure you'll hear other ideas though

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Duck - Roast/Aromatic Crispy/Confit?

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