Outlines how to cook duck easily and perfectly, with chef tips for preparation, 3 recipes to try: classic, slow-cooked and gourmet.
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A roast duck always has something festive about it, reminiscent of time with the family, of cosiness and a little of childhood. Incidentally, the tender duck is developing into a serious competitor to the classic Christmas goose.
How to cook duck: Tips to prepare the duck perfectly
- Calculate a duck weighing 2 to 2.5 kilograms for 4 people.
You can stick to the topic with the starter. I’m just saying fried duck liver. Caution: Always add salt to the liver after frying! Otherwise it will be tough. - If the duck has a lot of fat, you prick the skin – but only the skin! – carefully so that it comes out easier. The meat must not be pricked so as not to lose juice.
- The core temperature of a duck should not be higher than 70 °, otherwise the protein will change and the duck will become dry.
- How do I recognize a fresh duck? The skin is dry and the meat smells nice. But important: duck spoils easily, so always store it in a cool place and don’t leave it out in the open for long!
- Do the duck legs threaten to get too cooked on the bone? Wrap with aluminum foil to slow the cooking down!
- What grandma already knew: If you coat the duck with a little canned milk 15 minutes before the end of the cooking time, it will be extra crispy. The secret is the sugar that caramelizes on the duck skin.
The challenge: crispy skin, moist meat
Poultry is inconceivable without skin: duck should crunch. But only outside. Inside, please, full-fleshed and juicy. The problem is that the individual pieces of meat have different cooking times. The proverbial tender duck breast is done much faster than the strong legs. So the first thing to know in how to cook duck is that the right preparation method is important: And there are many roads leading to Rome or to the crispy duck. I will introduce you to my best duck recipes.
1. How to cook duck: the classic way
For the roast with a filling:
- 1 duck of about 2 kg
- 2 slightly tart apples, diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 tbsp mugwort
- 2 tbsp marjoram
- salt
For the sauce:
- ½ l red wine, preferably dry
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- some strength
The duck is washed well inside and out and patted dry. Then salt it nicely. Cut off the neck and wings – don’t throw them away! Now mix all the ingredients for the filling and stuff it into the duck until it comes out (almost) to her neck again … Seal the open ends with roulade needles or wooden sticks and put the duck aside.
Pour about 500 ml of water into a large roasting pan, add the wings and neck (and any excess fat) and finally the duck breast-side down. Then the roaster moves into the oven, which is preheated to 200 degrees circulating air. Give the roast a good hour to braise.
The red wine is mixed with sugar and a pinch of salt and placed in the roaster in between. Together with the roast, this is the basis for a wonderful sauce. Pour some of the liquid over the meat every 15 minutes. After a good 60 minutes, turn the duck over and cook for another hour.
Now the roast is allowed to rest a little, this is important so that the meat juice is evenly distributed in the duck. In the meantime, let’s take care of the sauce: Skim off about half of the duck fat that has leaked out, stir the rest with the starch dissolved in water and bring to the boil. Remove the bones (wings, neck), add some filling to the sauce and mix with the hand blender.
2. Slow cooked duck
For the roast with a filling:
- 1 duck of about 2 kg
- 2 apples
- 4 slices of toast bread
- 1 onion
- some parsley
- some mugwort
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 egg
- salt
- pepper
As with duck, wash and salt; Cut off the neck and wing tips and place this next to the duck (breast side down) on the drip pan. Everything is fried in the preheated oven at 220 ° C for about 1/2 hour. Now comes the highlight:
the roast will simmer for 7 hours at a low temperature of no more than 80 ° (it is essential to pay attention to the core temperature!) A duck will not get any more tender than this!
3. How to cook duck for Christmas
Poultry tastes best freshly prepared — it is not like a stew that gets better every time it is reheated. But how do you get the duck crispy to the point when all the guests are gathered and all the side dishes are ready?
- Wrap the prepared duck (gutted, washed, etc.) tightly in cling film
- Cook the poultry at ideally 69 ° (70 ° also works) for 11 (!) Hours
- Remove the foil and cook for another 20 minutes on the grid at approx. 225 ° and let it become crispy
- Drip pan underneath, because the fat now runs out evenly
The good thing about it: Pre-cooking can also be done the day before, only the 20-minute sizzling is necessary shortly before the desired serving time. Perfect to have less stress with the duck Christmas roast!
And now something for gourmets…
This recipe – roast duck with minced meat and fruits – is something for cold days when the stomach craves something strong but exquisite. Sweet and savory are not everybody’s thing, but a fully juicy duck goes well with the taste of apples and oranges.
You need:
- 1 large, fresh duck
- 1 large onion in wedges
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 1 pack of dried fruit
- 250 ml apple juice
- 400 g fresh spiced pork mince (see additional recipe below)
- 2 large oranges (the fillets and the collected juice)
- 2 tbsp honey mustard
- 5 tbsp liquid butter
- 5 tbsp honey
- salt
- pepper
- 1 large, tart apple, diced
- 1 large, tart apple in wedges
- 750 ml duck stock
- some cream
For the Spiced pork mince
- 500 g fresh, lean ground pork
- 2-3 onions
- some crushed caraway seeds (optional)
- 1 finely grated clove of garlic (optional)
- freshly ground pepper
- salt
- Peel the onions , chop one of them finely and slice the remaining ones thinly.
- Mix the mince with the finely weighed onion and the spices well.
- The minced meat to taste, place on a plate, cover with the grated onion and immediately serve.
- Never use packaged or frozen ground pork . It is better to go to a trusted butcher, choose the piece of meat yourself and then have it freshly minced.
- Process and consume freshly chopped minced meat quickly.
For the duck
Soak the dried fruit in apple juice overnight. Salt and pepper the washed and dried duck inside and out. Mix the dried fruit, minced meat, onion cubes, mustard and apple cubes, pour into the duck, seal the opening tightly. Place the apple and onion wedges with the duck on the drip pan and pour in some stock. Fry in a preheated oven at 175 ° for about 2 hours. Pour stock over from time to time.
Then transfer the duck from the tray onto the wire shelf (with baking paper). Mix the butter and honey, spread on the roast and let it become crispy. Sometimes the duck is already well done, so maybe only grill the tasty side of the breast .
For the sauce for the duck, strain through the roast, collecting the fruit. Mix with the cream and orange juice, season to taste, if necessary thicken. Then you add the fruit and the orange fillets to the sauce. Give it a try – you’ll lick your fingers!
CONCLUSION
Duck juicy and crispy at the same time? No problem if you try one of the above recipes! But be careful: without the best meat , a tough bird will not turn into a tender feast. With a South Oldenburg duck from our Christmas range, you are excellently prepared if you want a classic duck instead of the opulent goose for Christmas.
