Share your favorite duck recipe!

[Rabrrrrrr]

I've made duck a number of times, but pretty much always the same way - The Julia Child way, of steaming it a half hour (which does wonders to get the fat out), then putting some fruit (usually oranges) inside, baking it for a while, and maybe glazing with an orange sauce (or just straight orange juice) until crispy and done.

ButI have a duck ready to go tonight, and I want to try something different and new.

And lordy, lordy, how I love duck! YUMMY!

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

1. I've only done duck

once & that was out of Mastering the art. She's got another one where you bake the chicken then fry the breasts in a coating. That way the breasts & thighs aren't overcooked. I've been meaning to try it, but :shrug: so many recipes, so little time.

Have fun with your duck!

[mtnester]

2. In cassoulet...OMG the closest thing to heaven

oh my . . . with andoule sausage, bison bacon, duck cracklins, beans, tomatoes, confit, etc., a crusty load of warm french bread...

OK, now I have to go find somewhere to have lunch that will not disappoint me.

At work now with no access to my recipe, but there are some great ones on the Net. Cassoulet is a dish that has a lot of love in it (not a simple recipe at all) but just about the most delicious thing I have ever eaten.

[Warpy]

3. Tea and spice smoked duck

Pierce the skin and bake the duck as usual, just season the skin and cavity with salt and crushed Szechuan peppercorn before roasting. Remove the duck from the rack, but instead of letting it rest, do this:

Line a wok or large cast iron kettle (NOT Le Creuset, it'll ruin it) with heavy foil. In the bottom put

1/4c black tea leaves
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup raw rice
1 TBS Szechuan peppercorns
3 whole star anise
2 2 inch cinnamon sticks

Set the duck on a rack above the mixture (crossed cheap, unpainted wooden chopsticks work in a wok). Cover the entire top with aluminum foil to seal loosely and cover. Smoke for about 15 minutes, then turn off the heat and let the bird sit for the remainder of the resting time, 5-10 minutes. You might want to take the whole business outside to open it up and remove the duck. When the foil cools enough, you can just wad it all up and throw it away, combusted stuff and all. Put a very light glaze of sesame oil on the skin, and you're good to go. Just cut the duck into serving pieces and arrange on a platter.

This is Barbara Tropp's mixture from "The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking" but my method for doing duck. If you don't have an exhaust fan in your kitchen, consider doing the smoking outdoors on a grill or hot plate. Curls of smoke will escape and perfume everything if you don't.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

5. I LOVE that cookbook

Bless her heart - she did such a great job on that cookbook.

Some of the best noodle recipes I've ever found in any cookbook. There's one called something like Orchid's Cold Noodles. It's truly yummy.

And I just ate 10 bagel dogs for lunch.............

<burp>

[OldLeftieLawyer]

4. Nothing better

If I'm not having Drunken Duck Noodles at my favorite Thai restaurant (Duangrat), then this is a totally wonderful alternative. And it's not as complicated as it might seem.

http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/special/1999/asia/duck.html

The leftovers - if you have any - are splendid, too.

But, the truth is, I'm lazy, and I've gotten into the habit of picking up a roast duck and roast pork at a place known as Mark's Duck House. They do it so much better than I can.

[Tab]

6. You don't have time tonight unless you get this immediately and do it

but I've taken to brining duck, and putting herbs/spices in the brine (they get pulled into the duck during the sodium exchange).

Take water, add salt, spices, and some sugar, actually (I often use brown sugar), boil it (to dissolve the sugar), let it cool and chill it, and after it's chilled, you can brine the duck in it - anywhere from 45 mins to 2 hours depending on how big and whether it's just breasts, or the whole thing or whatever.

I'm still working on how to make the perfect duck. I've HAD the perfect duck once, and two close seconds. Most places the duck is dry, hence the focus on accompanying sauces. However once I was down in Bristol, TN on the TN/KY border, and we went to a supposedly excellent restaurant in a nearby town (I don't recall the name anymore) but I ordered the duck as I usually did in my quest for the perfect duck, and I had found it. It was duck breast (not the whole or half duck), so moist and flavorful, I literally closed my eyes as I took a bite - it was just sooooooo good. It was flavored somehow; I didn't quite know how at the time, but since I've figured out it was brined with spices, and so I've been working on matching it.

I've since eaten at two other places that came close in terms of moistness/texture of the breast, but none that matched that combination of flavor/texture/moistness.

So, I don't do it often, but every once in a while I'll see fresh duck in the store and decide to take a few hours and make it.

I do note that if you are interested, and this may be what the other restaurant had going on, is that almost all duck sold in this country for eating is the Pekin duck. There are other breeds of duck that you can get. I'd like to try a different breed at some point - just like with turkey, I tried a Heritage Breed one year, and the difference was incredible, I suspect other breeds of duck might be equally rewarding.

Good duck!! Umm, I mean, good luck!

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

7. I gave you a link for duck

on your other thread. Did you see it?

:hi:

[Tab]

8. My "other thread"?

Which one?

I did find this place, http://www.johndewarinc.com/holiday-birds.html

which is outside of Boston, about 2 hrs away. I guess they don't ship, but I go down about once a week anyway, so I could probably pick one up. Sounds like the Rouen is the kind to try (the preferred kind in Europe).

Did you have a link to any place that shipped them out?

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

9. yeah, darling, it was your thread about duck.

It's here someplace. Where did you put it? I gave you a link to ducks that rosengarten says are the best in the world. Never ordered one, but just thought you might like it since you were looking for something other than pekin.