Mahogany Duck Recipes

MIGHTY DUCK

Steps:

• Combine all brine ingredients in a plastic container with a lid. Place the lid on the container and shake to dissolve the salt.
• Remove the pop-up thermometer, liver, gizzards, and heart. Cut off the wings.
• Using kitchen shears, locate the spine at the base of the neck. Cut up the line of the backbone towards the neck cavity. Turn the duck and cut straight towards the rear cavity. Remove the backbone.
• Turn the duck over and cut straight down the middle of the breast bone, leaving 2 equal duck halves. To separate the legs from the breast, flip your halves over so the flesh side is facing up at you. Using a knife, make a crescent shape cut between the leg and the breast. Lay your knife flat against the skin and make 3 marks in one direction and then in the other, making an X. Make sure that you are cutting through the skin and not the meat.
• Line the inside of a plastic lexan or a pot with a zip-top bag. Place the duck quarters inside the bag, and pour the brine over the duck. Seal the bag, ensuring that all air is removed from the bag. Brine the duck for 2 to 2 1/2 hours in the refrigerator.
• Bring 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches of water to a boil in a large pot. Place a colander into the pot and line the sides of the colander with the duck. Do not stack the duck quarters on each other. Cover and turn the heat to medium low. Steam the duck for 45 minutes. Set oven to 475 degrees F. Place a large cast iron skillet into the oven.
• Remove duck pieces from steamer and place legs, skin side down, into the hot skillet. Place the skillet into the hot oven immediately and cook the leg quarters for 10 minutes. Add the breasts, skin side down, and cook for 7 more minutes or until the duck takes on a deep mahogany color and the skin is very crisp.
• Remove the duck from the skillet and rest under foil. Add the chard and the shallots to the skillet. Toss the chard in the fat until it barely wilts. Season with the sherry or balsamic vinegar.
• Serve the duck with the chard.

MAHOGANY DUCK

Steps:

• Arrange the ducks breast sides up several inches apart on a rack set over a large roasting pan and let them dry, uncovered and chilled for 3 days.
• Make the marinade:
• In a bowl combine the Scotch, the gingerroot, the garlic, the zest, the coriander seeds, the peppercorns, the soy sauce, the honey, and the brown sugar and let the marinade stand, covered and chilled, for 3 days. Stir the marinade and strain it through a fine sieve into a small bowl, pressing hard on the solids.
• Keep the ducks chilled, brush them with some of the marinade every 30 minutes for 2 1/2 hours, reserving the remaining marinade. Let the ducks dry at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stuff each duck cavity with 1 of the bread slices, 1 of the scallions, and 1 of the parsley sprigs, spoon the reserved marinade into the duck cavities, and prick the ducks, except for the breasts, lightly with a fork. Pour the beer into the roasting pan and roast the ducks on the rack in the lower third of a preheated 350°F. oven for 30 minutes. Tent the ducks with a piece of foil and roast them for 30 minutes more. Discard the foil and roast the ducks for 30 minutes more, or until a meat thermometer inserted in the fleshy part of a thigh registers 180°F. (The skin will be mahogany colored and very crisp.) Remove the stuffing ingredients with a spoon and discard them and the pan juices. Pour the juices from the cavities through a fine sieve into a small bowl, skim the fat, and reserve 1/4 cup of the juices. Arrange the ducks on a platter and keep them warm, covered loosely.
• Make the sauce:
• In a saucepan bring the stock to a boil, simmer it for 15 minutes, and stir in the reserved juices. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stir the arrowroot mixture, and add it to the pan. Cook the mixture over moderately low heat, stirring, being careful not to let it boil, until it is thickened, add salt and pepper to taste, and transfer the sauce to a heated sauceboat.

ROAST MUSCOVY DUCK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
• Cut off and reserve the wing tips and second wing joint of the duck. Leave the main wing bone intact. Remove the fat from inside the duck and rub it all over the duck.
• Sprinkle the duck, inside and out, with salt and pepper to taste. Brush the duck with the oil.
• Arrange the duck breast-side up in a roasting pan. Add the cutoff wing bones, gizzard and cavity fat. Bake 30 minutes and pour off the fat from the roasting pan. Return the duck to the oven and scatter the celery, onion, carrot, bay leaf, thyme and garlic around the duck. Bake 15 minutes longer if you wish the duck to be medium rare. Or bake it 30 minutes or longer if you wish your duck well done.
• Transfer the duck to a warm platter. Pour the fat from the roasting pan, leaving the vegetables in the pan. Place the pan on the stove and cook the vegetables briefly, stirring. Add the wine and let boil about one minute.
• Add the broth and accumulated cavity drippings from the duck and cook, stirring, about five minutes. Strain the broth and solids, pushing the solids with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.
• Heat the butter in a small saucepan, swirling it around until it takes on a nice hazelnut color. Do not burn. Pour the butter over the duck. Carve and serve with the hot pan sauce.

TEA-BRINED MAHOGANY DUCK

Steps:

• To make the brine, combine the water, tea leaves, ginger, and star anise in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let steep for 30 minutes. In a large nonreactive container, combine the steeped tea, soy sauce, and honey and stir until the honey is dissolved. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Add the bird(s) to the brine; refrigerate ducks for 4 hours, chicken for 6 hours. Keep the bird(s) submerged by placing a plate on top to weight down and at a temperature of not more than 40°F. Remove from the brine 1 hour before cooking. Rinse and pat dry.
• Prepare a medium-hot fire (400°F) in a wood-fired oven or cooker.
• To make the basting sauce, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir until the honey is dissolved.
• To roast in a box roaster, place the bird(s) breast side down on a wire roasting rack in a roasting pan or clay baker and baste with the basting sauce. Light the charwood once the bird(s) is in place. Roast, covered, with indirect heat for 1 hour. Being careful not to pierce the skin, turn over, baste, and roast for 30 to 45 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in a thigh registers 175° to 180°F.
• To roast in a wood-fired oven or ceramic cooker such as a Big Green Egg, place the bird(s) breast side down in a roasting pan and baste with the basting sauce. Roast for 1 hour. Being careful not to pierce the skin, turn over, baste, and roast for 30 to 45 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in a thigh registers 175° to 180°F.
• Let sit for 10 minutes before carving and serving.