Slow Roast Duck
User Reviews
4.8
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Prep Time
30 mins
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Cook Time
1 hr 30 mins
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Total Time
2 hrs
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Servings
4 servings
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Calories
780 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
American
Slow Roast Duck
Description
Preparing the duck involves piercing the skin without piercing the meat to allow fat to escape during roasting. Rubbing the duck with cut lemon and stuffing it with sage, rosemary, parsley, and thyme infuses the meat with aromatic herbs and citrus brightness. Salting generously seasons the bird and aids in crisping the skin.
The roasting time varies by duck size or type, with smaller wild ducks requiring less time and larger Pekin ducks or geese needing longer. Cooking in an ovenproof pan sometimes surrounded by root vegetables can enhance flavor and provide a complete roast. The slow roasting method helps achieve tender meat beneath a golden, crisp skin.
This method is best served as a main course with roasted vegetables or a complementary side dish. Monitoring roasting time according to bird size ensures optimal doneness and texture.
Ingredients
- 1 duck see above, domesticated; or 2 very fat wild ducks
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 lemon cut in half
- 4 prigs sage
- 4 prigs rosemary
- 4 prigs parsley
- 4 prigs thyme
Instructions
- Set your oven to 325°F. Using a needle or a sharp knife point, prick the skin of the duck all over -- but be sure to not pierce the meat itself, only the skin. This lets the fat render out and will help crisp the skin. Pay special attention to the back, the flanks, and the very front of the breast.
- Rub the cut lemon all over the duck and stick it inside the cavity. Liberally salt the bird; use a little more salt than you think you need. Stuff the duck with the herbs. Let the bird sit out for about 30 minutes to come to room temperature, while the oven heats up.
- When you are ready to roast, put the duck in an iron frying pan or other ovenproof pan and surround it with root vegetables. Set the pan in the oven. Small ducks (wood ducks, wigeon, teal, ruddies, etc.) only need 40 minutes in the oven. If you are roasting mallards or a typical, store-bought Pekin duck, you will want to increase the roasting time to 90 minutes. A goose may take as long as 2 hours. After the allotted time, take the pan out of the oven and set the ducks on a cutting board to rest. Spoon any fat that has accumulated over the vegetables and salt them well. If the veggies are ready to eat, remove them. If there is a lot of excess fat, spoon it off.
- Now increase the heat to 450°F. When the oven hits this temperature, return the birds to the oven and roast them for up to 30 more minutes, or until the skin is crisp. The reason you take the bird out of the oven is because a) the resting time helps redistribute the juices in the bird midstream, and b) you are crisping skin without totally overcooking the duck by only returning it to the oven when it is hot.
- Remove from oven and let the birds rest. Small ducks need 5 minutes resting time, large ducks 10 minutes, geese 15.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 4servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 780 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 780kcal | 39% |
| Carbohydrates | 3g | 1% |
| Protein | 22g | 44% |
| Fat | 75g | 115% |
| Saturated Fat | 25g | 125% |
| Cholesterol | 145mg | 48% |
| Sodium | 1866mg | 78% |
| Potassium | 442mg | 9% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 1g | 2% |
| Vitamin A | 411IU | 8% |
| Vitamin C | 21mg | 23% |
| Calcium | 30mg | 3% |
| Iron | 5mg | 28% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.8
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