Roasted Duck
Difficulty Level: Intermediate
-
Prep Time:15 Minutes
-
Cook Time:PT2H45M2 Hr 30 Min
-
Yield:4 Servings
Ingredients
- 1 (5-7 pound) duck
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ΒΌ cup soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 lemon, juiced (or orange)
- 1 (5-7 pound) duck
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 59.15ml soy sauce or tamari
- 25.56g honey
- 1 lemon, juiced (or orange)
Duck is similar to cooking other kinds of poultry but does require a few extra steps. Most importantly surrounding its glorious fat. Scoring the flesh helps the fat properly render (save this for later) and ensure a crisp skin!
Preparation
STEP 1
Preheat oven to 350°F.
STEP 2
Remove giblets and neck from duck cavity and discard or reserve for another use. Cut off excess fat from duck near openings. Pat the duck dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.
STEP 3
To ensure the duck’s fat properly renders and crisps it needs to be scored. With a pairing knife score a crosshatch pattern into the skin, but avoiding the meat. Alternatively, you can poke holes all over the skin with a skewer (this is nice to do for the back fat).
STEP 4
Tuck the wings under the breast and place duck, breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan. The rack is important to help provide the rendered fat somewhere to go.
STEP 5
Roast the duck in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Carefully pour any rendered fat into a heat safe bowl. Flip the duck breast side down and return to the oven for another 30 minutes. Continue roasting and flipping duck every 30 minutes until an internal meat thermometer reads 165°F in the thickest part of the leg, about 2-3 hours total.
STEP 6
Remove duck from oven and increase oven temperature to 450°F. Mix the soy sauce, honey and lemon juice together. With the duck breast side up brush it all over with your simple glaze. Return duck to the oven and roast until the skin is golden brown and crispy, about 10-15 minutes.
STEP 7
Allow duck to rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Options
Rendered duck fat can be strained and stored in the refrigerator to be used as a cooking fat another time. It’s especially delicious on potatoes! A perfect side dish for this recipe perhaps!
If the fat splattering during the cooking process is bothersome, add ½ cup of water to your roasting pan below the duck. Refill as needed to maintain a thin water layer to catch the fat and eliminate the splattering.