Best Slow Roasted Duck Recipes

SLOW ROASTED DUCK

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
• Season the ducks generously, putting some salt in the cavity as well. Make sure you save the fat and the giblets for the gravy.
• Coarsely grate half the ginger and rhubarb. Mix this in a bowl with half the sage and all the garlic and onion, and stuff the mixture inside the cavity of the ducks, ensuring there is an air cavity.
• Place the ducks on a tray on top of the chopped up giblets and roast in the oven for one hour. Turn the temperature down to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) and cook for another 1 1/2 hours until crisp and tender. The ducks are ready when the skin is crisp and the leg bones can be easily removed.
• During this time you will need to drain the fat maybe 3 times into a bowl, this will separate into a clear fat which you can keep for roasting.
• Once cooked allow the ducks to rest on a warmed plate while you make the sauce. Drain off any remaining fat from the roasting tray.
• Pull out all the stuffing and any juices from the inside of the duck and put in the roasting tray and warm this on a low heat.
• Add the Marsala and loosen all the sticky goodness from the bottom of the tray, and reduce. Add the stock and reduce to a good taste and consistency.
• Pass the sauce trough a coarse sieve.
• Remove the breasts from the ducks with a knife and, using your hands, remove the thighs. Arrange the breasts and thighs on a large serving plate.
• Finely slice the remaining ginger and fry off in a little hot oil (or you can use the duck fat) in a non-stick pan. As the ginger begins to color, add the rest of the rhubarb, finely sliced, and the rest of the sage. Fry until crisp. Sprinkle this over the duck and drizzle with the sauce.

SLOW ROASTED DUCK WITH ORANGE-SHERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 500 degrees. In a large bowl, toss onions with melted butter. Season duck inside and out with salt and pepper. Place rosemary sprigs inside duck's cavity and then tightly pack with buttered onion mixture.
• Place duck in medium-size roasting pan, and roast for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and cover pan loosely with foil. Roast for about 4 1/2 hours, draining fat every hour.
• Remove pan from oven and carefully discard as much fat as possible with a ladle. Add orange juice, sherry and soy sauce. Return pan to oven and roast uncovered for 30 minutes. Transfer duck to a platter and let cool slightly. Pour pan juices (about 4 cups) into a saucepan, discarding any pieces of skin. Skim off fat and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add carrots and reduce to 1 1/2 cups, strain and keep on the side. In same pan, sauté mushrooms with 2 tablespoons butter until brown. Add red peppers and briefly sauté, then add reduced sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm over low heat.
• Remove onions and rosemary from duck's cavity. Remove meat from bones. Place skin from duck breasts onto cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees until skin starts to foam, about 5 to 10 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 200 degrees and place meat in oven to keep warm until serving.
• Cover bottoms of individual plates with sauce and top with either pasta, shoestring fries, hash browns or unsalted potato chips. Place a generous amount of duck meat on top, then garnish with crispy skin, vegetables and chives.

SLOW-ROASTED DUCK WITH MASHED WHITE BEANS, SIZZLED HERBS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Cook the beans: Rinse beans and put them, along with the onion, bay leaves, cloves and garlic, in a large heavy-bottomed pot with a lid. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Add 2 teaspoons salt, reduce heat to low, and bring beans to a bare simmer. Cover, but leave lid ajar. Cook very slowly, adding water as needed, for about 1 1/2 hours, or until beans are soft. Taste broth and adjust seasoning. Remove onion, bay leaves, cloves and garlic, and discard. Let beans cool uncovered in the cooking liquid. (They may be cooked up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated.)
• As beans cook, prepare the duck legs: Lay them on a cutting board skin-side up, and use a skewer or the tip of a knife to prick the skin of each leg all over.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Season each leg generously on both sides with salt and pepper - don't go crazy, but don't be meek.
• Place legs in a roasting pan, in a single layer skin-side up. (Take care that the roasting pan is high-sided enough, as a fair amount of fat will be produced as legs cook.) Roast, uncovered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the meat is quite tender, nearly falling off the bone. At this point, check to see the skin is crisp and nicely browned.If not, raise oven temperature to 400 degrees, and roast for another 10 minutes, or perhaps more, until skin is crisped. Remove legs from roasting pan and keep warm. (An inch or more of liquid fat will have accumulated in the roasting pan. Let it cool a bit before pouring it into a jar for future use.)
• Bring beans to a boil in a pot over medium-high heat. Pull them off the heat, and drain in a colander, reserving liquid. Put three-quarters of the beans in a mixing bowl and use a potato masher to mash them. (Alternatively, you can purée the beans in a food processor.) Add bean broth as needed to loosen the mixture to the consistency of soft mashed potatoes. Stir in the reserved whole beans. Adjust the seasoning. Keep warm.
• Prepare sizzled herbs: Add 3 tablespoons olive oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add sage and rosemary until they're coated with oil. When all the sage leaves have wilted, keep stirring until the herbs begin to fry and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn heat to low, then swirl in the garlic and red-pepper flakes. Immediately add olives and warm through.
• To serve, pair one duck leg with a spoonful of mashed beans. Spoon some of the olive mixture over the duck and beans. If desired, dress crisp green arugula with just a few drops of lemon juice and a little salt, and serve alongside for a refreshing counterpoint to the rich, salty duck and beans.

SLOW-ROASTED DUCK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Season duck generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Put 1 or 2 pieces each of thyme, garlic, carrots, turnips, beets and shallots, in cavity. Truss duck; set in large casserole dish or medium roasting pan. Scatter rest of ingredients and neck around duck; season with salt and pepper. Cover loosely with foil.
• Roast duck for 10 minutes, lower temperature to 300 degrees and roast for 3 1/2 hours, basting vegetables and duck with pan juices and skimming off fat occasionally.
• Remove foil. Take out vegetables and neck, and set aside; roast duck for 1 more hour (if vegetables are not tender, continue roasting until they are). Skin should be well browned and crisp; the meat, extremely tender. Transfer duck to cutting board. Skim fat off pan juices; add water to pan, if necessary, to make 1/2 cup. Bring juices to boil, adjust seasoning, and transfer to serving bowl. Reheat vegetables and neck in baking dish in oven. Carefully carve duck (meat may fall off bone), adding vegetables from cavity to those in pan. Serve with pan juices and vegetables.

SLOW-ROASTED BALSAMIC-GLAZED DUCK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fit a large roasting pan with a rack. Place ducks on rack and prick duck skin all over with the tines of a fork, taking care not to pierce the flesh. Season ducks all over with sea salt; let stand 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, chop duck wings and neck; set aside. Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add duck wings and necks and cook, stirring, until browned. Separate and peel garlic cloves from 1 head of garlic; reduce heat to low and add fennel and garlic cloves. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are softened. Add stock and cook until reduced by half, about 40 minutes. Strain into a small saucepan; skim fat from surface. Set sauce aside.
• Halve remaining head of garlic and crush slightly. Divide lemon, thyme, and garlic evenly between duck cavities. Transfer duck to oven and roast, turning every 25 minutes, until duck begins to brown. Meanwhile, mix together vinegar and lemon juice. Once duck starts to brown, begin basting with vinegar mixture and cook until duck skin is dark brown and meat begins to come away from the breastbone, 2 to 3 hours total.
• Remove from heat and let duck stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, reheat sauce over medium heat until warmed through and reduced to desired consistency. Carve duck and serve with sauce.

SLOW-ROASTED DUCK WITH OLIVE GRAVY AND GARLIC-FENNEL CONFIT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500°F.
• Season each duck inside and out with salt and pepper. Using knife, skewer, or sharp fork, prick skin of each bird all over 20 to 30 times, taking care not to let knife puncture flesh (it's helpful to hold knife nearly parallel to duck and then slide it in). Stuff each cavity with 1 neck; 1/2 of thyme and garlic; 8 shallot halves; and 1/4 of fennel. Using kitchen string, tie legs loosely together.
• Transfer ducks, breast sides up, to rack set in large roasting pan. Cover loosely with foil and roast 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 300°F and continue to roast, basting every 30 minutes and skimming fat from pan juices occasionally, 3 hours.
• Remove foil from ducks. Stir remaining fennel into pan juices and roast 30 minutes more. Stir olives into pan juices and roast until duck skin is dark golden and crisp and meat is tender, about 30 minutes more (total roasting time: about 4 1/4 hours). Transfer ducks to cutting board.
• Remove rack from roasting pan. With slotted spoon, remove fennel and olives from pan juices and place in blender. Pour pan juices into 1-quart glass measure. Skim fat off top and reserve for another use. Add juices to fennel and olives in blender, then add lemon zest and juice. Purée until smooth. Taste and add salt and pepper and additional lemon juice if desired.
• Remove confit vegetables from cavities and carve ducks. Arrange meat and vegetables on platter. Garnish with chopped fennel fronds. Serve sauce alongside.

SLOW-ROASTED DUCK WITH PEPPERED PINEAPPLE CHUTNEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
• Rinse duck, pat it dry and pull any excess fat away from cavity. Using a skewer or sharp fork, prick skin all over, piercing it horizontally to penetrate into the layer of fat, not the flesh. Halve two lemons, and place them in cavity along with anise, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Put duck on a V-shaped roasting rack placed in a roasting pan. Place it in oven, and pour about an inch of water in pan. Roast for 8 hours.
• Raise the oven temperature to 425 degrees, and roast about 20 minutes longer, just until the skin is crisp and brown.
• While duck is roasting, place pineapple in a heavy saucepan. Add the juice and grated rind of the remaining lemon, along with the onion, vinegar, sugar and crushed peppercorns. Bring to a boil, and cook over medium-high heat for 20 to 25 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture is thick. Adjust the amount of sugar to taste. The chutney should be somewhat tart. It can be made either shortly before the duck has finished roasting or earlier in the day and refrigerated, then rewarmed for serving.
• Remove chutney from heat, and transfer to a serving dish.
• Remove duck from oven. Cut it in sections, and arrange on a platter. Serve with warm chutney.

SLOW-ROASTED DUCK CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Cover the shallots in boiling water, leave for 10 mins then peel. Preheat oven to 170c or 150c fan oven.
• Fry the bacon/pancetta in a hot casserole dish until lightly browned then remove to a holding dish.
• Add a little butter and oil and cook the shallots until light brown, then remove to holding dish.
• Place duck legs in casserole and brown both sides then add to holding dish.
• To the fats in the casserole, add the flour and cook for 1 min. Gradually add the wine, stock, rosemary, bouquet garni and garlic. Beware, it will spit a little.
• Now return the bacon/panetta, shallots and duck to casserole. Add the redcurrant jelly, some of the orange juice and the mushrooms and simmer gently for 3-4 mins. Cover the casserole and place in the oven for two hours.
• Season to taste and add more orange juice or redcurrant jelly if you wish. Serve with mash.

SLOW-ROASTED BALSAMIC-GLAZED DUCK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fit a large roasting pan with a rack. Place ducks on rack and prick duck skin all over with the tines of a fork, taking care not to pierce the flesh. Season ducks all over with sea salt; let stand 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, chop duck wings and neck; set aside. Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add duck wings and necks and cook, stirring, until browned. Separate and peel garlic cloves from 1 head of garlic; reduce heat to low and add fennel and garlic cloves. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are softened. Add stock and cook until reduced by half, about 40 minutes. Strain into a small saucepan; skim fat from surface. Set sauce aside.
• Halve remaining head of garlic and crush slightly. Divide lemon, thyme, and garlic evenly between duck cavities. Transfer duck to oven and roast, turning every 25 minutes, until duck begins to brown. Meanwhile, mix together vinegar and lemon juice. Once duck starts to brown, begin basting with vinegar mixture and cook until duck skin is dark brown and meat begins to come away from the breastbone, 2 to 3 hours total.
• Remove from heat and let duck stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, reheat sauce over medium heat until warmed through and reduced to desired consistency. Carve duck and serve with sauce.