Juicy Stuffed Duck with Vegetables

Because of Covid19 rules we are not allowed to gather this weekend for Canadian Thanksgiving. So being just 3 of us at home I decided to roast a duck rather than a turkey. It's dark meat is very rich and even though it looks large for 3 people ducks don't usually yield a lot of meat.

Ingredients:

8 1/2 lb (3.28 kg) duck

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp rosemary

1 orange (or lemon)

1/2 cup red wine

1 tbsp honey

3 large potatoes, cut in 1 1/2" chunks

a bunch of small carrots (these are my heirloom garden carrots)

2 large garlic cloves, sliced

Stuffing:

4 oz package seasoned croutons

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/2 celery stalk, finely chopped

2 tsps minced garlic

1 tbsp butter

1 - 1 1/2 tsps dry sage

1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

1/2 tsp thyme

2/3 cup chicken broth

1 egg, beaten

Prepare the stuffing first. Sauté the onion and celery in butter until translucent then add the garlic and remove from heat. Add the croutons, seasonings and broth. You can also chop some celery leaves and add them here. When it has cooled stir in the egg and combine well. Set aside.

Fully defrost the duck, if frozen, and remove neck and giblets. Pat it dry and score through the breast skin, trying not to pierce the meat itself. In a small bowl mix the salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, parsley and rosemary together. Zest the orange and combine the zest with the seasonings. Cut the orange in half and rub one half inside and outside the duck. Sprinkle some of the seasonings inside then fill the cavity with the cooled stuffing. Place the orange half in the opening and skewer closed.

Take the other half orange and squeeze the juice all over the bird.

Then cover with the remaining seasoning mix. Put the second orange half in place below the first one and skewer through the skin flap and orange.

Place a rack in a roaster pan and preheat the oven to 400°F. Roast the duck breast side up for 30 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 375°F for another 30 minutes. Carefully turn the duck over, breast side down, and cook 1  hour. Still at 375°F return the duck to breast side up for 30 minutes. Combine the red wine and honey and start basting the duck along with the grease from the pan.

Add the potatoes and carrots to the pan, tossing them in the duck fat. Continue roasting at 375°F for 30 minutes, basting every 10 minutes.

Finally, gently toss the vegetables again and return the pan to the oven for the last 30 minutes. The internal temperature of the duck should read 170°F.

Total cooking time: 3 1/2 hours.

Loosely cover with foil for 20 minutes.

Scoop out the stuffing (it rivals my Mom's best stuffing!)

And slice the duck to serve.

Serves 4 (maybe 5) people.

Happy Thanksgiving, however you are able to celebrate!

Honey and Thyme Roast Duck

If you are looking for something a bit special this little duck is a perfect dinner for two! The simple ingredients of citrus and thyme add just enough flavour, while the honey adds the right amount of sweetness without overwhelming the taste of the duck itself.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb duck (yes, it's a little one)
1 lemon, quartered
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tbsps honey
sprigs of fresh thyme
sea salt and lemon pepper to taste
1 or 2 small onions, quartered

Quarter the lemon, squeeze one quarter over the duck then place them all in the cavity. Add the orange juice and tuck in a few sprigs of thyme. Salt and lemon pepper all over and place in a roasting dish along with the quartered onions.

Roast at 425 F for 25 minutes. Remove and baste with the pan juices, reduce heat to 375 F and return to the oven for another 40-45 minutes.

Next drizzle the honey over the top of the duck, sprinkle on more fresh thyme and roast an addtional 20-25 minutes.

Let your golden duck rest 10 minutes before carving.

Duck Pot Pie

Let's be honest, there usually isn't much leftover from a roast duck. But if you do find yourself with a cup or so of cooked duck give this a try. Or just cook up a couple of legs. It is unbelievably good!

1 - 1  1/2 cups chopped cooked duck

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup diced potato, pre-baked
1 cup diced carrots
1/4 cup frozen peas
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups broth (add leftover drippings or gravy and top up with broth to 2 cups)
1 tsp celery seed
2 tbsps flour
Salt and pepper to taste

1 - 8" unbaked pie shell
3-4 tbsps Panko crumbs
1/4 tsp thyme
1 tbsp melted butter


Pre-bake potato in microwave 3-4 minutes, cool until you can handle it, peel and dice.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet and add onion and carrot. Cook 5 minutes then add the garlic and potatoes, cook 1 minute then remove from heat and cover pan. When cooking the carrots make sure they are the tenderness you prefer, they won't cook much more in the pie. The doneness of a veggie is an ongoing battle in our house...I prefer them with a bit of a crunch while someone else likes them cooked until almost unrecognizable!

Mix broth, celery seed and flour together. I had 1/4 cup of leftover duck pan drippings so topped that up with 1 3/4 cups broth. It really makes the flavour! You can use veg, chicken or beef broth. Taste and add salt and pepper only if needed depending on the content of your drippings and broth.

Add the broth to the vegetables and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium and cook 3-4 minutes to thicken.

Spoon filling into uncooked pie shell.

Mix Panko, melted butter and thyme together and sprinkle on top of the pie. I just wanted a light top but if you want more just double the crumb mix.

Bake at 350F for 35 minutes.

Cool on rack 5 or so minutes before cutting.

We might have duck more often now ; )

Sweet Chili and Pineapple Glazed Duck with Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes

Duck is not something our family eats often.
But when we do, it's a treat.  

4-5 lbs whole duck
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne

2/3 cup sweet chili sauce (found in Asian food store)
3 tbsps finely chopped pineapple (fresh or canned)
3 tbsps balsamic vinegar

Rinse duck in cold water and salt the cavity. Toss in the crushed garlic and tie the legs together with kitchen string. Score through the fat on the breast side and pierce other fatty areas with a fork. Mix cumin, paprika and cayenne together and rub over the outside of the bird. Refrigerate a few hours.

Set the duck on the rack of a broiler pan, breast side up to start. Using a broiler pan is essential as alot of fat will drip down into the bottom part of the pan. Put the duck in the oven at 350 F for 1 hour.

Remove from oven and pour out the fat. Save the fat, don't throw it away! You'll see why later.

Turn the duck, breast side down, and return to the oven for 30 minutes. 

Mix chili sauce, pineapple and balsamic together.

Again, remove duck from oven, pour out even more fat, brush or spoon the glaze all over the duck and put it back into the oven, breast side up, for 45 minutes.

Looking good now!

Ok....last time....glaze again, and again breast side up for 30-45 minutes.
Let it rest 15 minutes before carving.

Now, about that duck fat. I was able to save about 1 1/4 cups.

I poured it into an ice cube tray and froze them for later use, like this:

Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes

1  1/2 lbs potatoes, cubed
1/4 cup duck fat
salt to taste

Toss together and roast at 425 F 30 minutes, toss and 30 minutes more.

I read somewhere that duck fat is one of the healthiest animal fats.  Now I'm no expert on that, but I do know what tastes good. And these Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes taste good!

Other uses for duck fat....roasted vegetables, sautéed mushrooms, yorkshire pudding.

Braised Whole Duck Mirepoix

Mirepoix....my new word.  I have used chopped veggies as a base for flavour many times, just didn't know what it was called until now.  So here's my Braised Whole Duck Mirepoix that I made last week for Father's Day. It was a real hit !

Ingredients:

1 - 3 lb duck

Mirepoix:

2 tbsps olive oil
2 onions, diced
2 carrots, diced
4 garlic buds, chopped
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cups chicken stock

Bouquet garni (sort of) :

1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp saffron
1/2 lime
cheesecloth and string

1 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp celery seed

Start by dicing the vegetables for the mirepoix and set aside. It traditionally uses celery, but I chose to use celery seed later in the recipe instead. 

Cut a square of cheesecloth or use a coffee filter and add the ingredients for the bouquet garni.  I know it's not the usual ingredients for a bouquet garni, but the other name I thought of sounded funny....little pouch of flavour. Anyways, tie it all up with string and set aside.

Let's go.  Heat the olive oil in a pan, medium heat, and lightly brown the duck on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove to a plate.

To the same pan add the mirepoix, raise the heat to medium high, and brown 5 minutes.

Add the red wine (I used cabernet sauvignon) and the balsamic.  Scrape the brown bits off the pan and simmer until reduced to a syrup, another 5 minutes or so.
Add the chicken stock and place the duck on top. Turn it over to coat, leave it breast-side up and sprinkle with ginger and celery seed. Tuck the bouquet garni in the pan, cover and simmer 1  1/2 hours.

Remove the duck to a roasting pan. I know...not very pretty.

Strain the juices and reduce in a saucepan.

This will take 20 minutes.
Brush the duck with the reduction and roast in a 400F oven for 10 minutes.  Cool 5-10 minutes before slicing into this beautiful dark duck.

BBQ Lime Duck (or Chicken)

Isn't this beautiful?  This is how it started...

BBQ LIME DUCK

1 whole duck (approx. 4-5 lbs)
1/4 cup soya sauce
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
1 tbsp. plum sauce
1 lime, juice and zest
1/4 tsp chili flakes (optional)

Mix everything together, yes even the chili flakes (not optional in our house)

Marinade the duck in the sauce for 6-24 hours (but before marinading reserve 1/4 cup marinade for basting)
I didn't have an extra-large ziplok bag to marinade the duck in, so I used a large waxed cereal liner bag and a clip.  (These things are handy for alot of things, like marinading and breading.)

Heat up your BBQ to 400F (or oven), and using indirect heat, bbq the bird. Discard the marinade that's in the bag and place the duck on the rack with a pan below the bbq to catch the grease.  There's going to be alot of it!

You should cook the duck for about 20 mins per lb. Baste for the last 20 mins. Rest 15-20 mins before cutting. This one took 1 hr & 40 mins.