Herbed Roast Duck Recipes

HERBED ROAST DUCK

Steps:

• Remove neck, giblets, and any glaze/sauce packets from the cavity of the duck, reserving giblets and neck for another use-like making duck stock. If the duck has a pop-up timer, remove it and discard. Carefully rinse duck (avoid splashing!), inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Remove any excess fat or fat pads that you can easily get to without damaging the skin. Cover with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Position your oven rack in the lower third of your oven; preheat oven to 500°F. While the oven preheats, sprinkle 1 tsp. each of salt and pepper around the cavity of the duck. Place the onion and the fresh herbs through the thyme sprigs into the cavity. Truss the legs to the tail with kitchen twine. Pin the neck flap to the back with toothpicks and tuck the wing tips under the back (I sometimes break the joint in the wings so that they tuck under more easily). Salt and pepper the outside of the duck liberally.
• Place the duck, breast side down, onto a rack set in a shallow roasting pan. Add the hot broth to the pan; place the roasting pan in the oven. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F and roast for 45 minutes.
• Carefully take the roasting pan out of the oven. Turn the duck breast-side up and replace onto rack. Dot the breast with half of the butter cubes and return to the oven. Roast for an additional 45 minutes to an hour (basting with the pan juices once and turning the roasting pan), or until you can until you can easily wiggle the legs in their sockets and the internal temperature of the thickest part of the drumstick reads 165°F. Remove the duck from the oven and place onto a cutting board; allow to rest for at least 15 minutes.
• While the duck rests, prepare the sauce. Pour the vinegar into a saucepan over low heat with the peppercorns, chervil, and tarragon. Simmer until the vinegar has reduced by half. Strain into a bowl and allow to cool. Mix together the egg yolks, tomato paste, and cream to a heatproof bowl or double boiler. Season with 1/8 tsp. each salt and pepper. Set over barely simmering water; gradually whisk in the remaining butter. Remove sauce from heat and mix in the reduced vinegar. Check for seasoning.
• Carve the duck and set onto a serving platter: make it pretty, garnishing with any remaining herb sprigs. Serve with sauce spooned over the slices of duck. Enjoy!

ROAST HERBED DUCK

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine rosemary, sage, juniper berries, nutmeg and bay leaves. Crush herbs together until mixed and broken into small pieces.
• Sprinkle duck with salt and pepper to taste. Place on a platter and rub well, inside and out, with herb mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 48 hours.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roast duck for 20 minutes a pound (2 hours for a 6-pound duck). Transfer duck to a platter, cover and keep warm. Remove any burned pieces from roasting pan, and place pan over a medium flame. Add wine, and stir to deglaze pan. Pour wine sauce into a heat-proof measuring cup and allow it to settle, then pour off and discard most of the fat.
• To serve, cut duck into serving pieces. Arrange on a warm platter, and pour wine sauce on top. Serve hot, with watermelon-rind pickles passed separately.

HERB-RUBBED DUCK WITH TART CHERRY AND SAGE SAUCE

Steps:

• 1. Herb rub. If using fresh bay leaves, pull out the center veins. Combine all the ingredients for the herb rub in a spice mill or blender and grind to a coarse paste.
• 2. Marinating the duck. Cut up the ducks by removing the 2 legs and the 2 boneless breasts (with skin) from each bird. Reserve the necks and carcasses. Score the skin on the breasts by drawing a very sharp knife across the skin in a diagonal crisscross pattern, 4 or 5 lines in each direction. Be careful to cut only into the skin and not into the flesh. This helps render the fat quickly when the breasts are cooked. Rub the duck breasts and legs with the herb paste as evenly as you can, rubbing some inside the scored cuts. Put them in a medium bowl, cover, and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or as long as 24 hours.
• 3. Stock. Cut the wings off the duck carcasses, remove as much skin and fat as comes off easily, and cut the carcasses in half (you can bend them until they snap, then cut between bones, or use a cleaver). You should now have 4 wings, 4 pieces of carcass, and 2 necks. Heat the oil in a large (6- to 8-quart) heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. Add these 10 pieces to the pot and brown them for 10 to 12 minutes, turning once or twice. This step is important for building flavor in the stock but not all of the surfaces need to be evenly brown. Pour off the fat that has accumulated in the pan, then pour in enough cold water to barely cover the bones. Bring the stock to a boil, turn the heat to very low, and skim off any fat or foam that rises to the surface. Add the onion, carrot, celery, thyme, and bay leaves and gently simmer uncovered for 2 to 3 hours.
• Sauce. Strain the stock, discard the bones, and return the stock to the pot. Add the wine, shallot, and cherries. Boil the sauce until it is thickened and reduced to about 2 cups, 45 to 60 minutes. (The sauce can be made a day ahead and refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
• Roasting the legs. Preheat the oven to 425°F. About 45 minutes before serving, heat a large (10- to 12-inch) ovenproof skillet (cast iron works well) over medium-high heat. Pour in a film of vegetable oil and heat. Add the duck legs skin side down and cook until the skin side browns, 4 to 5 minutes. Without turning the legs over, put the pan in the oven and roast for 10 minutes. Turn the duck legs and continue to roast until the skin is very brown and crisp and the meat is tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes longer. Remove them from the oven and let rest on a plate in a warm spot.
• 6. Sautéeing the breasts. When the legs have been in the oven for 20 minutes, begin to cook the breasts. Pour a thin film of oil into another large (12-inch) skillet and heat it over medium heat until hot. Add the duck breasts skin side down, reduce the heat to medium-low, and let cook slowly and undisturbed. After 5 minutes, about 1/2 inch of fat will have rendered into the pan, which will help render the remaining fat from under the skin. Continue to cook the breasts until the skin is very brown and crisp, another 5 to 10 minutes. If the rendered fat rises above the level of the skin and the duck meat begins to be submerged, pour some of it off into a small bowl. This will prevent the breast meat from overcooking before the skin is crisp. When the skin is crisp but not blackened, turn the breasts over and cook just 1 minute for rare or 2 to 5 minutes for medium-rare to medium. The meat should feel firm but still springy and an instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into the breast should register 120°F to 125°F for rare, 130°F to 135°F for medium-rare to medium. The temperature will continue to rise about 10° as they rest. Transfer them to the plate with the legs and let them sit on the back of the stove for 4 to 5 minutes before carving.
• 7. Finishing. Bring the sauce to a simmer and stir in the chopped sage, thyme, and balsamic vinegar. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Arrange the duck legs on a warmed platter or individual plates. Using a sharp thin knife, slice the breasts on a diagonal 3/8 inch thick and arrange the slices in a fan shape leaning against the legs. Pour the sauce over and around the duck.
• Resembling giant raisins, sweet and sour varieties of dried cherries from Yakima Valley in Washington are exciting and relatively new ingredients. Dried sweet cherries have a prunelike flavor, but the tart (sour or pie) cherries, which are usually processed with sugar, have a brilliant tangy flavor. When simmered with wine and duck stock, they make a balanced, savory, and full-flavored sauce that plays beautifully off the crispy citrus-rubbed duck in this recipe.

ROAST DUCK WITH PORT-GARLIC SAUCE

Steps:

• For sauce:.
• Cut off duck wing tips at joint. Combine neck, heart, gizzard and wing tips in large saucepan. Add onion, carrot and celery to pan. Add water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 1 hour. Strain stock into medium saucepan. Boil stock until reduced to 1 cup, about 15 minutes.
• Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add sliced garlic and saute until golden, about 2 minutes. Add Port and boil 5 minutes. Add reduced duck stock and boil until reduced to 1 cup, about 8 minutes. Mix remaining 1 tablespoon butter and flour in small bowl. Whisk into sauce and simmer until thickened, about 1 minute. Season sauce with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm before serving).
• For duck:.
• Preheat oven to 400ºF. Trim excess fat from cavity of duck. Using fork, pierce duck skin in several places. Place duck, breast side up, on rack in large roasting pan. Brush soy sauce over duck. Mix mustard and pressed garlic in small bowl. Brush mustard mixture over duck. Mix salt, pepper and thyme in another small bowl. Sprinkle spice-herb mixture over duck and in cavity. Roast duck 45 minutes. Turn duck and roast, breast side down, 30 minutes. Turn duck and roast, breast side up, until duck is deep golden brown and cooked through, about 15 minutes longer. Transfer duck to platter. Serve with sauce.