verbatim: Duck, Duck, Rice

I forgot to take a photo, but trust me, this duck was GORGEOUS! I did the 5-hour version from Sally Schneider—it's so-so-so worth the time. (Update 2/15/09: Here's a photo!)

The Ultimate Roast Duck

Preheat the oven to 300°. Rinse a 5-lb. duck inside and out; pat dry. Remove the excess fat from the neck and hind cavity and discard. Cut off the wing tips. Sprinkle the duck inside and out with kosher salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with 3 chopped garlic cloves and a small bunch of fresh thyme. With a sharp paring knife, pierce the duck skin without cutting into the flesh, by inserting the tip of the knife on a sharp diagonal almost parallel to the bird; make dozens of slits all over the bird.

Place the duck breast-side-up on a rack set in a roasting pan. Roast the duck for 1 hour. Remove the bird from the oven and carefully pour off the fat into a measuring cup,* making sure to hold the bird and rack securely with a kitchen fork. Pierce the skin again and turn the bird over. Repeat this process every hour. After 4 hours, increase the oven temperature to 350°. The bird, which should be breast side up at this point, should be golden brown. Season the skin liberally with salt and pepper and cook until the skin is browned and very crisp, about 1 hour longer. Remove from the oven and allow the duck to rest for 20 minutes.

Cut up however you want and serve with rice and Bigarade (bitter orange) Sauce:

Pour off the rest of the fat in the pan and deglaze with 1 cup chicken stock. Remove a little of the hot stock and mix in 1 teaspoon arrowroot or cornstarch, then add that to the pan and cook until thickened.

In a small saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar and 2 tablespoons sugar until light brown. Add the sauce from the roasting pan (strained, if desired) and cook for 5 minutes, then add 1/2 cup hot orange juice from blood oranges or Seville oranges. (I used 3 blood oranges and nuked the juice.) Add a splash of orange liqueur (Cointreau, Grand Marnier, Triple Sec) if you wish.

*Strain the duck fat and save it in the fridge for the next time you're frying potatoes—oh, behave!

Comments

Oh, my Gawd.

While my (duck-averse) better half was out of town this week, I made one of these bad boys. Started mid-afternoon on Sunday with a fresh (not frozen!) bird, and at about 9:30 I sat down to a serious duck meal. I wish I had taken a picture, it looked so good.

And tasted good, too. Crisp skin, tender meat, not greasy (well, not too greasy: it is duck, after all). I ended up eating the whole damn thing in one sitting, and I'm not the least ashamed.

For souvenirs, I still have about 1/3 cup of leftover Bigarade (yum!) and a cup of nice duck schmaltz. Hmmm...I can sauté the livers in that...

Posted by: Steve | June 30, 2004 at 10:34 AM