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I'm going to cook the $#it out of this duck!!

post #1 of 30
2/29/08 at 10:54am
Thread Starter 
So I bought a whole duck, nice one from what I can tell.

I've trolled the web a bit and found an Alton Brown recipe which looks good, but too many steps. (quarter, brine, steam, roast, ...)

Couple of simpler ones (poke holes in skin, salt liberally, throw in v. hot oven)

But then I said HEY!! There have gotta be some cats on SF who know how to cook a duck!

So help a brother out. I'm looking for crispy skin, tender meat, and would like to render out as much surface fat as possible. And I want it to be simple.

Simple like I can do it after hitting the pub for a couple of hours.

Help me Styleforum! (thx)

K
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post #2 of 30
2/29/08 at 11:06am
Cook it just like a chicken. Coat in olive oil, salt, and spices and put in the oven at 375. Check with a meat thermometer to check doneness.
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post #3 of 30
2/29/08 at 11:22am
Thread Starter 
I cant decide on the olive oil thing. A lot of the recipes I see tell me to pat the thing totally dry with paper towels then salt it.

And after pricking the holes ( ) wouldnt all the fat seep out and do the same thing as the olive oil?

Ahhhhh Mr Duck, you are a worthy adversary

K
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post #4 of 30
2/29/08 at 11:37am
I would not recommend cooking it like chicken. I would cook it more like turkey. First, you want to decide whether you want to stuff it with anything or not. My mom makes a mean duckling and she stuffs it with either cooked rice/caramelized onions mixture or with apples. If that's too laborious, just wash it well, pad dry, season liberally, both inside and outside (salt and pepper is all you need), set it on the aluminum backing tray that you greased with some butter to prevent sticking, cover with alumimum foil, and in the oven it goes for as long or as little as you desire. My family like duck well done, so the baking time for a large duck about 2.5 hours. Once you think it is close to doness, take off the foil from the top, then use a spoon to baste it with its own juices, and then broil the duck for 5-10 minutes for that crispy skin, checking frequently that the skin does not burn. Enjoy.
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post #5 of 30
2/29/08 at 11:58am
i was going to say the same thing about not like chicken but like turkey. duck is pretty greasy.

i would brine. not hard. especially with a duck, which is not as big as a turkey. wash it in running cold water. take out any bonus parts they stuck in the body cavity. then soak the bird overnight in salt water with whatever little goodies you like as flavor. i would do this in a stock pot.

brining does not guarantee a good result, but it gives you much more room for error. it would be a lot harder to f$#k up your duck if you brine it first.
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post #6 of 30
2/29/08 at 12:14pm
Duck should be eaten rare in the breast and well done in the legs, unless you are making a specific recipe for well done duck. it is neither chicken nor turkey and does not cook up like either.
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post #7 of 30
2/29/08 at 12:15pm
For duck you really need to use one of the varios methods for draining most or all of the layer of fat between the skin and the meat. Poking holes is the absolute minimum, and does not work terribly well. The Chinese method is best: steam first, roast second.
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post #8 of 30
2/29/08 at 12:23pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Manton View Post
For duck you really need to use one of the varios methods for draining most or all of the layer of fat between the skin and the meat. Poking holes is the absolute minimum, and does not work terribly well. The Chinese method is best: steam first, roast second.

Damn, thats what I was afraid of, and what Alton Brown does.

I just dont want to deal with all of that. First brine, then steam, then roast. And everything in the kitchen will be covered in a fine layer of duck fat.

K
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post #9 of 30
2/29/08 at 12:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by VKK3450 View Post
And everything in the kitchen will be covered in a fine layer of duck fat.

Steam it in the roasting pan, over two burners, with a layer of water in the bottom and foil covering the top. The fat will drain into the water and can be easily poured out. No mess. Just check peoridically to make sure there is still water in the pan.
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post #10 of 30
2/29/08 at 1:10pm
While not overly simple, the best way to cook duck, IMO, is to remove the breast meat, roast the carcass and legs for a few hours and then cook the breasts until rare/medium-rare in a skillet starting skin side down to render fat. Time it so that you eat them together and make a gravy deglazing the roasting pan from the duck and carcass with some stock and adding a bit of butter and preserves at the end.
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post #11 of 30
2/29/08 at 1:12pm
It is, however, not all that easy to saute a duck breast, and properly render the fat, without burning the skin. Somewhat hard, actually.

If you have any tips, please post.
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post #12 of 30
2/29/08 at 1:18pm
iammatt and Manton, you two are making me hungry.
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post #13 of 30
2/29/08 at 1:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Manton View Post
It is, however, not all that easy to saute a duck breast, and properly render the fat, without burning the skin. Somewhat hard, actually.

If you have any tips, please post.
It isn't something I've ever had problems with, unlike many other things in the kitchen. I jsut score the skin and start them without fat skinside down until most of the fat is rendered and then flip for a couple of seconds.
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post #14 of 30
2/29/08 at 1:22pm
In my experience, if you use heat low enough not to burn the skin, the fat takes forever to render and by the time it does, the breast is cooked through, and overdone. If you use high heat like you'd sear and/or brown something else, the skin burns before the fat renders.
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post #15 of 30
2/29/08 at 1:29pm
It is easiest with magrets because of how think they are. I think they taste better anyway.
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