dry-roasted Pekin duck

2014-06-05

Quack, quack...

This was my first duck in probably more than 30 years. I don't think I ever cooked duck before. This was also the first one that made it from our garden onto the table. It was good, even if I didn’t get all the pin feathers out. :-)

Dressed-out ducks are so similar in appearance to chicken, yet also so very different. Everything is there, but the proportions are quite different: the carcass is much longer and narrower with less meat, the legs are tiny, the wings longer and skinnier, and the breastbone and breast muscles are not supersized. No white meat like chicken, all dark. I do find it more flavorful than chicken.

Dry-roasted here means that the duck sits on a drippings pan that drains the drippings away from the duck. Duck is a lot more fatty than chicken, and this helps to reduce that. The duck never sits in its own fat and juices and is completely crisp and dry on the outside.

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for4 servings:

1 whole duck, 3-4 lbs.
olive oil
S&P, spices

Pic1: dry-roasted duck

Directions

Preheat the oven at 350 ºF
Wash the duck inside and out. Pat dry with paper towels.
Optionally poke holes or cut the skin in diagonal lines about 1” apart.
Do not cut down into the meat.
Mix the olive oil, S&P and your favorite spice mix.
Rub the duck inside out with the oil and spice mixture.
Optional:
- Stuff the body cavity with sliced apples, onion and garlic.
Place the duck on a baking tray with drip pan, breast side up. (Pic1)
Bake at 350 ºF for 40-60 minutes.
Remove from the oven.
Rest 10 minutes before carving.
Serve and enjoy.

b. Honey-basted Pekin duck

2017-01-09

This was cooked slightly differently, at lower temperature.

This duck was roasted without having been steamed first. I did not prick or cut the skin. Because of the lower-temperature cooking, the fat layer under the skin wasn’t rendered out completely and most of the juices were still contained under the skin, which made for a moister meat but also somewhat greasier skin. Basting makes quite a difference in how the end product looks.

Delicious.

Pic2: honey-basted (lacquered) Pekin duck
Pic3: served

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for4 servings:

5-6 lb. Pekin duck
4-5 small oranges

spice rub:

paprika / curry
honey
S&P
olive oil

side dishes:

beans cooked with onions
boiled potatoes

DIRECTIONS

Pic4: basting mix
Pic5: before cooking
Pic6: halfway

Preheat the oven to 200 ºF.
Rinse the duck inside and outside. Pat dry with paper towels.
Rub inside and outside with the spice rub.
Optional:
- Stuff the inside with peeled and halved oranges.
Truss the duck with kitchen twine. Use toothpicks or twine to close the skin over the openings.
Bake for 2 ½ hrs. at 200 ºF.
Remove from the oven. Raise oven temperature to 375 ºF.
Make a thick glaze by mixing some water into raw honey. Add spices of choice.
Paint the duck with the mixture. Bake 5 minutes at 375 ºF.
Repeat painting and baking 2 more times.
This will cover the duck with a dark glaze. (Pic7)

Pic7: all done
Pic8: carved
Pic9: served

Remove from the oven and rest 10 minutes.
Carve and serve. Enjoy.
The oranges that were stuffed inside the duck (Pic7+8) can also be served as a side dish.

See also: Deming, NM gardens, animals and more and avemariasongs.org

See also: Deming, NM gardens, animals and more
and avemariasongs.org