Best Roast Duck Recipes

Steps:

• Unwrap the ducks and allow them to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. With a fork, prick the skin without piercing the meat. This will allow the fat to drain off while the ducks cook.
• Meanwhile, in a very large stock pot which can hold the 2 ducks, heat the chicken broth with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt until it boils. Add the ducks very carefully and bring the stock back to a boil. If there isn't enough stock to cover the ducks, add the hottest tap water to cover. If the ducks float to the top, place a plate on top to keep them immersed. When the stock comes back to a boil, lower the heat and simmer the ducks in the stock for 45 minutes.
• When the ducks are finished simmering, skim off enough duck fat from the top of the stock to pour a film on the bottom of a 14 by 18 by 3-inch roasting pan. This will keep the ducks from sticking when they roast. Carefully take the ducks out of the stock, holding them over the pot to drain. Place them in the roasting pan, pat the skin dry with paper towels, and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt and the pepper. If you have time, allow the ducks to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow the skin to dry.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. (Be sure your oven is very clean or it will smoke!) Roast the ducks for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow them to rest, covered with aluminum foil, for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Steps:

• A day before roasting, remove the giblets and neck from the cavity of the bird and discard. If necessary pluck any stray pinfeathers off the duck with tweezers. Trim the neck flap and excess fat from around the cavity. Rinse and dry the bird well. Set the duck on a rack on a baking sheet, and refrigerate, uncovered, for 24 hours.
• Heat the oven to 300 degrees F. Pierce the duck's skin all over (including the back), every 1/2-inch, with a skewer or small knife. Season the cavity with salt and pepper and stuff with 3 strips of the orange zest and the onion. Set the duck on a rack in a roasting pan, and pour a cup of water in the pan. Roast the bird for 3 hours, removing the duck from the oven every hour to prick the skin again.
• Meanwhile, make the glaze: Combine the remaining orange zest, molasses, honey, coriander, pepper, orange juice, vinegar, and garlic in a small saucepan. Heat, stirring, over medium-high heat until warm. Remove glaze from the heat and set it aside at room temperature while the duck cooks.
• Remove the duck from the oven and carefully, pour off the excess fat from the pan. (If desired reserve this fat for frying potatoes or wilting greens.) Raise the oven temperature to 450 degree F. Return the duck to the oven and roast until crisp and brown, about 30 minutes more.
• Let the duck rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before carving. Brush the duck's skin with glaze 4 to 5 five times during the resting period. Carve the duck and transfer pieces to warm serving platter. Serve the remaining glaze at the table to drizzle over the duck, if desired.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Rub salt, pepper, and paprika into the skin of the duck. Place in a roasting pan.
• Roast duck in preheated oven for 1 hour. Spoon 1/4 cup melted butter over bird, and continue cooking for 45 more minutes. Spoon remaining 1/4 cup melted butter over duck, and cook for 15 more minutes, or until golden brown.

Steps:

• Remove giblets and wing tips from duck, trim neck, and remove excess fat, reserving all but fat (note--you can render the fat into duck schmaltz, if desired). Let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes (or until next step is done).
• Pour stock or water into a tall, narrow stockpot (deep enough to hold duck with plenty of room leftover). Note: if using a wider pot, more water or stock may be needed. Add wing tips, giblets, and neck. Cover and bring to boil over high heat.
• While stock is coming to a boil, prick duck skin all over with tines of fork, especially in fatty areas. Prick at an angle to avoid stabbing the meat. Carefully lower into boiling stock, breast end first, allowing cavity to fill as you lower it. Place a heat-proof plate or lid of smaller diameter than pot over duck to keep it submerged.
• Once the stock has returned to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Check every 10-15 minutes to ensure duck is still submerged (will tend to float even though weighted); keep stock at a gentle simmer to reduce likelihood of it rising above liquid.
• After duck has simmered for 45 minutes, spoon off about 1 tablespoon of fat from surface of liquid and spread around bottom of 12x18x1 1/2-inch roasting pan. Remove plate or lid and carefully remove duck from stock and allow to drain any liquid back into pan (reserve cooking liquid if planning to make broth later; cool and chill so you can scrape off the fat before making stock). Place duck in roasting pan. Spread neck flap out in pan.
• Pat duck dry with paper towelling and gently pat salt and pepper into skin (be careful, as it will be somewhat fragile at this point). Note: you can prepare duck up to this point in advance; cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day and bring back to room temperature before proceeding.
• Allow duck to cool for 30 minutes (if not made in advance) to allow skin to dry.
• Place oven rack on the second-lowest position. Preheat oven to 500* F.
• Place duck in oven feet first. Roast for 10 minutes, then remove duck from oven (keep door closed to keep it hot). Spoon off fat accumulated in bottom of pan. Wiggle duck around to loosen and return to oven for another 20 minutes. Be aware that any splatters or spills of fat will cause some smoke!
• Remove duck from oven and from pan; cover to keep warm while setting for 10-15 minutes. Again remove fat with a spoon. Deglaze pan with some stock or water, if desired for a sauce. Carve and serve immediately.
• If desired, reserve skin and bones for making duck stock.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Pierce duck skin all over with a fork. Mix remaining ingredients; rub over outside of duck. Place duck on rack in a shallow roasting pan; add 1 inch of water., Roast duck, uncovered, until a thermometer inserted in thigh reads 180°, 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes before carving. If desired, skim fat and thicken pan drippings for gravy. Serve with duck.

Steps:

• Wash and dry duckling.
• Combine remaining ingredients and brush inside and out over duckling; let stand for 1 hour, turning occasionally.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Roast for 2 hours, turning and basting with drippings occasionally.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove giblets and neck from duck cavity and discard or reserve for another use. Cut off excess fat from duck cavity.
• Place duck, breast side down (wings up), on a rack in a roasting pan; add water to come just below the rack. Sprinkle duck with pepper and brush with a little soy sauce.
• Roast 30 minutes, undisturbed. Prick the back all over with point of a sharp knife, then flip bird onto its back. Sprinkle with pepper and brush with soy sauce again. Add a little more water to the pan if the juices are spattering (carefully--you don't want to get water on the duck).
• Roast 20 minutes, then prick the breast all over , and brush with soy sauce. Roast 10 minutes; brush with soy sauce. Roast 5 or 10 minutes more if necessary, or until duck is a glorious brown all over and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh measures at least 155 degrees. Let rest 5 minutes before carving and serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
• Trim duck of all visible fat. Using a fork, prick the skin all over without piercing the meat; season with salt and pepper. Place duck on a rack set in a roasting pan and transfer to oven; roast for 40 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 degrees and continue roasting until juices run clear when thigh is pierced, about 30 minutes more. Remove from oven and let cool.
• Reserve any duck fat from roasting pan. Store in an airtight container, refrigerated, up to 2 weeks. Remove skin from duck and discard. Remove meat from bones; discard bones. Shred meat and serve or store in an airtight container, refrigerated, up to 3 days.

Steps:

• Remove the duck's giblets and wash them. Cut off any greenish parts from the livers and discard, then roughly chop the rest. Quarter the crops (the gullet), slicing any very red flesh away from the white sinew, which should be discarded. Put all bits and pieces into a large roasting tin.
• Cut off the parson's nose from each duck and add to the tin. Remove the wings: hold and pull on a wing, turning the skin back so you can see inside to where the wing is attached to the shoulder bone. Cut between the bones to release the wing, then cut around it from the skin side to remove it. Repeat with all wings and add them to the tin.
• Turn one of the ducks on to its breast. Cut down each side of the backbone, using a very sharp, sturdy kitchen knife and/or game scissors. Remove the backbone, then turn the duck the other way up and cut down each side of the breastbone, keeping the blade close to the bone so you don't cut away any breast meat. Put all the bones into the tin and repeat with the other ducks.
• Remove any lumps of fat from inside the duck and set aside. Cut off any flappy bits of skin and discard. Wash the duck halves then pat very dry. Prick the skin all over, especially the thick, fatty areas, then sprinkle with fine sea salt.
• Preheat the oven to 230C/Gas 8/fan oven 210C. Arrange the duck halves skin-side up on a rack set inside a large roasting tin. Roast for 11⁄4-11⁄2 hours, or until the skin is crisp and dark golden. You will need to drain off the fat that accumulates once or twice: pour it straight into the tin if you're going to roast potatoes, otherwise into a heatproof bowl.
• Leave the duck to rest for 10-15 minutes, serve with the gravy and veg (see 'Goes well with' recipes, right).