Duck

[Anonymous]

How hard is it to roast a duck? DH wants to do it for Christmas, he has decent/average cooking skills. We will have three guests, all family. Four people total will eat it (i hate duck). Do we need two? Is this a terrible idea? It's his family so I'm letting him take the lead on this one, but I'm nervous that he'd be cooking one without a trial run.

[Anonymous]

Do a trial run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do a trial run.

I know, I know, and if it was up to me we would. But we literally have no time to try it between now and then.

Maybe two entrees - one duck and one beef? That way there's a backup

[Anonymous]

Sorry, hit submit too soon. I have a good friend with excellent cooking skills who has had difficulty with duck in the past.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, hit submit too soon. I have a good friend with excellent cooking skills who has had difficulty with duck in the past.

That's what I was afraid of! I appreciate the input...sounds like we will def need a backup plan.

[Anonymous]

I have had no problems with duck, but I did my research first and knew what i was doing.
One for four is just about enough if there are a lot of sides, but it is not a lot of meat. How about a goose or two ducks?

[Anonymous]

I love duck and we prepare it fairly often. Duck is actually very easy to do. It is a really fatty bird, so it will need time to roast to drain the fat. Other than undercooking, it would be tough to ruin it (unless you use frozen and do not fully thaw). The meat is really tender and juicy, so it doesn't need much more than salt and pepper, you could also stuff it with fruit (apples work best for simplicity but you could also throw in a few plums / dried apricots for color). So don't look for complicated recipes, find something really simple, cause the meat is good on it's own!

[Anonymous]

I tried roasting a duck long ago (in my 20s) and the grease spilled out of the pan and smoked up the whole house…

Is it possible to buy fresh duck breasts anywhere? I had these in Hungary this summer, where you can buy the breasts in many markets, as they are right next to the chicken breasts. Pan fried, skin removed, served cold, sliced thin…very good!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have had no problems with duck, but I did my research first and knew what i was doing.
One for four is just about enough if there are a lot of sides, but it is not a lot of meat. How about a goose or two ducks?

Definitely will need more meat. I roasted a duck once for Christmas and was relieved that I had another main.

I've always wanted to try this recipe (clean up looks easier):

http://saramoulton.com/2010/09/duck-confit-in-an-oven-bag/

[Anonymous]

My best tip for duck is to find a recipe that starts with poaching. It gets rid of some of the excess fat and really lets the skin crisp up when you roast it afterwards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My best tip for duck is to find a recipe that starts with poaching. It gets rid of some of the excess fat and really lets the skin crisp up when you roast it afterwards.

I have to agree. The Chinese also have a trick involving boiling water that does the same thing. I did that when I prepared my duck a l'orange and the results were worth it.
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[Anonymous]

We recently roasted for the first time. Bought the halal duck from Costco. Used a recipe from Charlie trotters cook book. We stuffed the duck with oranges, rosemary and garlic. Poked with fork 10-15 times and that helped release the fat. Basted while roasting. Roasted 1/2 per pound. It turned out really good. The only downside is that the fat really stinks. So it stunk out the whole house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My best tip for duck is to find a recipe that starts with poaching. It gets rid of some of the excess fat and really lets the skin crisp up when you roast it afterwards.

I have to agree. The Chinese also have a trick involving boiling water that does the same thing. I did that when I prepared my duck a l'orange and the results were worth it.

America's Test Kitchen uses a similar tactic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I tried roasting a duck long ago (in my 20s) and the grease spilled out of the pan and smoked up the whole house…

Is it possible to buy fresh duck breasts anywhere? I had these in Hungary this summer, where you can buy the breasts in many markets, as they are right next to the chicken breasts. Pan fried, skin removed, served cold, sliced thin…very good!

Balducci's carries D'Artagnan brand duck breasts (very tasty). I'm sure WF has them too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We recently roasted for the first time. Bought the halal duck from Costco. Used a recipe from Charlie trotters cook book. We stuffed the duck with oranges, rosemary and garlic. Poked with fork 10-15 times and that helped release the fat. Basted while roasting. Roasted 1/2 per pound. It turned out really good. The only downside is that the fat really stinks. So it stunk out the whole house.

I have to disagree. Duck fat is great - save it for cooking potatoes - the best you will ever taste.