Gingerduck Recipes

DUCK WITH HONEY, SOY, AND GINGER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Use a sharp knife to score across the duck breasts 4 times through the skin and fat but just barely to the meat. Rub the skin with salt, cayenne, and black pepper.
• Preheat an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Lay the breasts in the skillet skin-side down and fry until the skin is brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Use a spoon to carefully discard any excess fat from the bottom of the skillet. Turn the breasts over and cook for 1 minute.
• Place the skillet into the preheated oven and roast until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the breasts reach 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) for well done, or the breasts reach desired doneness.
• Remove the duck breasts from the skillet and cover with foil. Set aside to rest. Pour off excess fat from the skillet. Place the stock, honey, soy sauce, rice wine, ginger, tomato sauce, chili powder, and lime juice in the skillet. Whisk the sauce over high heat, bring to a boil and cook until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Slice the duck breasts thinly, arrange on serving plates, and pour the sauce over the top.

FAVORITE OLD FASHIONED GINGERBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9-inch square pan.
• In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the egg, and mix in the molasses.
• In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Blend into the creamed mixture. Stir in the hot water. Pour into the prepared pan.
• Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan before serving.

ROAST DUCK WITH ORANGE AND GINGER

Steps:

• Rinse duck and pat dry. Remove neck and giblets and save for another purpose. Remove excess fat from cavity and tail area and trim off a bit of flappy neck skin. Prick duck skin all over with tip of sharp paring knife, making sure not to penetrate meat.
• Mix together salt and 5-spice powder. Season interior of duck with 1 tablespoon salt mixture; use remainder to generously season exterior (you may have a little left over). Combine orange zest with grated ginger and garlic, then smear mixture inside cavity. Place orange wedges in cavity. Tie legs together. Secure neck flap with wooden skewer or toothpicks. Place duck on rack in roasting pan breast-side-up and refrigerate overnight, uncovered.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, bring duck to room temperature and make the glaze: Bring orange juice, honey, sugar and soy sauce to a simmer. Add sliced ginger and star anise, then reduce mixture until you have a medium-thick syrup, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Roast duck for 2 hours, carefully pouring off fat and turning duck over every 30 minutes. Paint with glaze and roast another 30 minutes (2 1/2 hours in all). Tent with foil if glaze begins to get too dark. Duck is done when temperature at thickest part of leg reads 165 degrees. Paint duck once more, keep warm and let rest 20 minutes. Use poultry shears to cut into quarters (remove backbone first) or carve in the traditional way, removing legs from carcass and slicing breast. Serve with mashed butternut squash if desired.

SEARED DUCK BREAST WITH GINGER

Steps:

• With the point of a knife, score the skin side of the duck breasts in crosshatch pattern, being careful not to pierce the flesh of the meat.
• Season the duck breasts with salt and pepper. Heat a saute pan over medium heat for 2 minutes before adding the breasts, skin side down. Cook over medium to low heat for approximately 6 minutes to 8 minutes to render the fat.
• Before turning the breasts over, carefully remove the excess fat from the saute pan. Turn the breasts over and saute the flesh side for 3 to 4 minutes before removing the duck breasts from the pan.
• Add the shallots to the pan in which the duck breasts were cooked and return to the heat. Saute the shallots briefly before adding the ginger, add the honey and mirin, stir to combine and add the hot broth. Reduce to a simmer and cook until half the liquid has evaporated. Add the soy and cabbage and cook for 2 minutes before adding the scallions, stir, and remove from the heat.
• The breasts have rested for several minutes and should now be medium rare. They can be sliced lengthwise or crosswise and several slices placed on each plate. Quickly reheat the sauce, if necessary, and drizzle some around the duck breasts.

ROASTED DUCK WITH ORANGE GINGER GLAZE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Begin by placing the duck breast side up on a baking rack. Season with the salt and pepper, and roast until the juices run barely pink, about 45 minutes. Remove the duckling from the pan and set it aside.
• Degrease the pan drippings by skimming off the top layer.
• To prepare the sauce, combine the sugar and water and caramelize carefully. Add the wine, vinegar, orange juice and ginger. Mix them well and reduce by half. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the pan drippings, reduce the heat and simmer until sauce reduces by half. Once sauce is done, strain it through a cheesecloth or fine strainer and set aside.
• To serve, place the duckling on a large serving tray. Add the orange segments on top and around the duck, and pour the sauce over the duck.

GINGER DUCK

Steps:

• The day before, stuff the duck with the onion and celery. Place the duck, breast side up, in a large soup pot with enough water to half cover it. Add the ginger and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat so that it simmers gently for an hour.
• After one hour, turn the duck over. Add the sugar, soy sauce and salt. Continue simmering for another hour. Turn duck once again and simmer until tender and almost falling apart, about another hour. Turn off the heat and when cool enough, remove duck from pot and place in a roasting pan. Cover and refrigerate until the next day.
• Pour the broth into a container and chill overnight. A layer of fat will form on top. Scrape off and discard. What remains is delicious in rice and soups and can be frozen for months.
• Before serving, bring duck to room temperature in roasting pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add the sherry and 1 cup of the defatted duck broth to the roasting pan and place in the oven. Roast uncovered for 30 to 45 minutes, basting occasionally with the juices from the pan. The duck is done when it is heated through and the skin is crisp and chestnut brown.
• Transfer the duck to a serving platter and garnish with watercress.

GINGER DUCK

Steps:

• Partly thaw duck, pry open cavity and remove as much fat as possible.
• Rub with some soy and ginger and thaw completely.
• Place in deep casserole (dutch oven).
• Add remaining soy and ginger.
• Add water to cover duck and bring to a boil.
• Simmer 1 hour then drain.
• (Liquid can be defatted and used as stock).
• Place duck on rack and roast at 450 for 1/2 hour until crisp.