How to cook duck?

[Llyra]

DH says to put it right on the oven rack, and then put a pan of water on the lower rack. If I do that, though, I'll lose all the drippings, into the water. And I really want the drippings. What's the point of duck, which is so fatty, if I can't use the fat?

Can't I dry roast duck, like I would a chicken or turkey? And what temperature is best? Is it 20 minutes a pound, like chicken is? Please help me with a primer on duck!!!!!! Thank you.

I'm also wondering-- if you have small children, would you TELL them it's duck? I'm thinking DD might refuse to eat it, if she knows it used to be a cute duck like on her grandma's lake. Does it look/taste enough like chicken that I'd get away with fibbing and telling her it's chicken? I know she'll like it once she tries it. She knows that chicken is a chicken, and she's okay with it, but we've never encouraged her to think of chickens in an anthropomorphic way-- but my mom has NAMES for all her ducks, and lets my kids feed them.

[HollyBearsMom]

I have used the amateur gourmets recipe with great success.  I use the fat to fry up the duck's liver. yum!!

http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2009/05/how_to_roast_a.html

Personally I don't sugar coat where our food comes from so *I* would tell my kids it was duck same as he knows we eat cows and chickens, even bambi! 

[Arduinna]

What's with the pan of water? Yes you can roast a duck dry. It doesn't stay dry for long without a rack or veggies or something because boy you get a lot of duck fat out of it.

[plantnerd]

Take duck.  Cut out back and save for stock (duck stock is HEAVEN for rice pilaf).  Rub duck all over with kosher salt and splay flat skin side up on broiler pan or regular pan with rack.  Poke skin all over with a fork.  Pepper skin side as well.  Let sit at room temp 30 minutes or so.  Place in 325 degree oven for 1 hr.  Remove from oven, turn oven to 400 degrees.  Put duck back in for 15-20 minutes to crisp skin.  That's it, easy peasy, delicious.  Serve quartered (I find duck best eaten in large pieces with the hands).  Save all of the bones and make your stock with the back and carcass, and of course mirepoix (carrot onion celery).  Save grease in fridge-  I once made a pot pie crust with duck fat that would have won any contest out there.

[cristeen]

There are all sorts of ways to cook a duck.  Mostly I just roast it like I would a chicken. However, it does not have to be cooked to done like a chicken does - duck is perfectly safe at medium.  In fact, if you're just cooking breasts, they're far better on the med rare side. 

As for telling the kids - if they're observant you're not going to be able to pass it off as chicken.  Firstly, it's a red meat, not a white meat.  Secondly, it's much richer than chicken.  I'd be more inclined to ask them to try it before telling them what it was - which was a ploy that always worked on me as a kid. 

Also - make sure you puncture the skin before cooking so you render off the fat rather than trapping it under the skin.  I usually have to pour it off halfway through (you can get more than a cup off one bird).  Gotta serve the skin crispy - if it's under cooked, it's flabby and unpleasant, not soft like chicken. 

[Chicky2]

Mmmmm, we have 2 Muscovy drakes outside that are looking more tasty by the second.  I've been telling my dh we need to put those 2 on the table, lol.  I've never even eaten duck, and Muscovy's are suppose to be one of the tastiest, and leanest (even though I personally will love rendering out and using the fat!) ducks out there.

[Bantams]

Chickens are great roasted whole, but ducks are so different that they really need to be cooked another way.  This means cooking the breast and legs separately.

The breast meat should be seared, and cooked medium-rare to medium.  Think of it like beef.

To cook:  Season with salt and pepper, and lay skin side down in a pan.  Cook over low heat for about 10-15 minutes to render the fat and crisp the skin.  Crank up the heat, and flip the meat over to finish cooking.  Let rest off the heat for 5 minutes before thinly slicing (otherwise all the juices will flow out).

For a young duck the legs can be roasted, but they are at their best when braised in stock or duck fat (confit).  Season the legs heavily with salt/pepper, some herbs and garlic, then chill for 24 hours.  Then place the legs in a deep pan and cover with flavorful chicken or duck stock, or melted duck fat, and cook in the oven at 300* for several hours.  The meat should be ready to fall off the bone (very tender).  You can shred the meat for a salad or rillettes, or briefly sear the skin to crisp it up and serve the legs whole.  Delicious!

[KoalaMommy]

I made fabulous roast duck for Christmas this year.  I brushed it with soy sauce and mustard, and then pricked the skin all over with a fork (so the fat runs out instead of pooling).  You have to flip it twice.  You roast breast up on a rack for 45 minutes, back up for 30 minutes and the breast up again for 15-30 minutes.  And with that last turn, I put a bunch of sliced mushrooms in the roasting pan in the drippings, and OH MY WORD, were they ever delicious!  We are always always ALWAYS having duck like that for Christmas.  My kids enjoyed it way too much to care what kind of fluffy quacky creature they were eating!