# What's your favourite duck recipe?



## nathan kreider (Jul 13, 2012)

Hey guys, Thursday night I am trying cooking duck for the first time, and it's also the first time I'm going to be eating it. The recipe is by Kylie Kwong, it's a Red Braised Duck Breast with Pickled Mushroom (I would link to the recipe, but there's no on line source as it is part of her "Chinese Cooking Class" cook book), and god am I excited. I've heard so many good things about duck, but I've never really had the chance to cook it, or eat it.

What's your favourite recipe for duck? And when was your first experience?


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

That is exciting Nathan, duck is awesome!  However, here is my take on this.  Duck has a very unique flavor and when tasting a wonderful item like this I think it's better to prepare it in a very simple way.  Asian-style duck is wonderful indeed, but the sauces and spices do tend to mask the flavors of the actual protein itself.  While I don't doubt it's a great recipe, I would encourage you to cook the duck breast with simple seasoning and really TASTE it if it's you first time.  You only get to taste it for the first time once.

Whatever you do, render the fat out and store it for later.  You do this by scoring the fat and placing it in a cold pan skin side down, unseasoned.  Put it on a very low heat and as soon as you see fat melting scoop it out with a spoon.  Continue this process nonstop for about 15min until most of the fat is rendered out and you've left a thin layer of fat on the duck itself which should be nice and crisp by now.  Don't let the rendered fat pool in the pan, it will burn.  Store the rendered fat in a freezer safe container and use it another day - it's great on potatoes!  Now your duck breast is ready to season and cook whichever way you like.  Don't over cook it though!


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## 1voyager1 (Nov 12, 2012)

I love duck!

Whenever I fix Christmas dinner, we eat duck!

My favorite is Orange Duck with a wild/brown rice, fruit and nut stuffing.

1 bird for every 2 to 3 people.

I cannot give you a recipe because I never use the same base recipe 2x in a row.

Plus, I always make adaptions to the base recipe I'm using at the time. 

Look on-line at a number of recipes and pick the ones that appeal the most to you.

 Then, pick one or put the parts that you like best in each together into one.


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## slayertplsko (Aug 19, 2010)

I have to second what Koukouvagia said. For your first duck, I would make it as simple as possible. And then there are dozens of wonderful traditional recipes from all over the world that you can try. But first I'll be patriotic and give you the traditional Slovak recipe for duck (or goose).

The most ideal vessel is Romertopf clay baker or other similar earthenware, but glass or metal will do. So you need a baking vessel with a lid and I'm sure you have one. I this you will braise/bake a whole duck. Season it with salt and pepper, whole caraway is also very traditional. Put the duck in the pot, add some water or dark beer, you may also add some sliced carrot and onion, and cover the pot and put it in the oven. The temperatures for braising aren't that critical, 180°C works fine. If you don't have earthenware, braise it first, covered, and when the meat is tender, uncover, turn the temperature up, and let it roast until the skin is crispy. When it's done, remove and reserve the rendered fat, you may add more beer and deglaze the pot to get some jus.

Now about the side dishes. There are several possibilities, but they usually include some braised cabbage and some carb. Here are two of them:

1, BRAISED RED CABBAGE AND POTATO FLATBREADS

For the cabbage, you'll need one red cabbage, lard, sugar, vinegar (wine, malt, cider...), seasonings, which except for salt and pepper may also include some allspice. You may also use one large onion. So heat the lard in a cooking pot, add the chopped onion and sauté it until golden brown, then add the shredded cabbage, some water or stock, seasonings, cover the pot and let it braise until tender. In the end, add the sugar with vinegar, so that it has a pleasant sweet-and-sour taste. Alternatively, you can also caramelize the sugar.

For the flatbreads, which are called _lokša_ in Slovak (plural _lokše_), boil some potatoes in their skins, then peel them, let them cool and grate them or mash them. Now weigh them and add 1/3 of their weight of regular flour, and salt to taste. Work the dough until all the flour is absorbed and then with your palms roll it into a large cigar, about 6cm thick. Cut into disks and roll each thinly on a floured surface (up to 20cm in diameter). Now heat a sauté pan over medium heat and when hot, toast each for about 3 minutes from each side, until nice dark brown spots appear. Immediately spread each with the rendered duck fat.

2, BRAISED SAUERKRAUT AND BREAD DUMPLINGS - a Czech version

Buy about 500g sauerkraut, strain the juice (reserve for another use), but don't wash the cabbage! Heat some lard, add one finely chopped onion or two, sauté until golden-brown and then add the cabbage with some stock or water, some caraway, one small finely grated potato (raw) and seasonings. Braise until tender, two hours is better than one. In the end, season with salt and pepper, if necessary, add sugar if you like and also some more lard if you think it needs it.

For the dumplings, which are called _knedlík_ in Czech (plural _knedlíky_), buy three or four kaiser rolls (or some other basic roll), dice them and let them dry out. Now you'll need to add to them about 200ml milk, an egg, salt to taste, and let them soften. Then add enough coarsely ground wheat flour with little bran to obtain a dough that has a consistency of a thick custard. First try a little bit in boiling water to see if you added enough flour. If it falls apart, add more. Now with wet hands (have a bowl of cold water at hand), make spheres about 7cm in diameter (like medium orange) and boil for 15 minutes or a bit more. Immediately when done, slice them and spread with the rendered duck fat so that they don't dry out. If you left them whole, they'd harden. They should look something like this:

http://www.recepty.cz/recept/babiccin-houskovy-knedlik-9907

They both make, I think, for a great introductory duck dish. Serve each guest on one plate a piece of the duck (like a leg or so), a ladleful of cabbage and two to three _lokše_ or three to four slices of _knedlík_. Looks something like this:

http://www.google.sk/imgres?um=1&hl...24&ved=1t:429,r:13,s:0,i:123&biw=1309&bih=816


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## scubadoo97 (Nov 7, 2011)

I don't do duck as often as I should since I like it. I recently purchased a 4+ lb duck. Deboned it whole but then wanted to do the breast separate so cut them off and scored the skin and cooked it skin down in a med pan until most all the fat was rendered. Maybe 10-12 min then finished on the flesh side for another 5-6 min until medium/rare. Finished the pan with balsamic vinegar and a little honey and reduced it

I ended up making sausage with the rest of of the duck


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## kippers (Aug 31, 2012)

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kippers


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Nov 26, 2012








I like any type of duck dish but Peking done on the grill with smoky crisp skin, pancakes and plum sauce ect hits the spot.


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Nathan : check out how they cut duck in this thread : Waiter with skills ?

Petals.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

> I like any type of duck dish but Peking done on the grill with smoky crisp skin, pancakes and plum sauce ect hits the spot.


Grilling duck can be very good is very good, and I certainly do it myself. I'm not being confrontational but really would like to understand what you mean when you use the term "Peking."

By definition, "Peking duck" is more than duck served with pancake, scallion and plum sauce garnish; involves specialized preparation, including releasing the skin from the meat, glazing, etc.; and is NOT grilled, nor cooked over direct heat in any way.

Most Peking duck specialty houses serve it "Three Way." While there are some variations, the way you most often see it in the US: First Way is the larger pieces of duck meat, covered with skin, and carved in a particular way, always served with pancake and scallions. After carving, the carcass is chopped up and used for the Second and Third ways. Second Way is duck soup (bones, very little meat); and Third Way is some sort of stir-fry salad (frequently bean sprouts) with slivers of duck meat. Another "Three Way" style, uses the skin and very little meat for the First way, while nearly all of the meat is reserved for the Third Way.

FWIW, in some parts of China (not to mention the San Gabriel Valley) a lot of people sprinkle the "first way" (duck meat and skin) with sugar, instead of using plum sauce. I understand that the sugar version is VERY popular in HK and Taiwan. We go to two different specialty Peking Duck restaurants, Duck House in Monterey Park does not place a special dish of sugar on the table with the duck, but Beijing Duck House in San Gabriel does.

BDL


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Chef Emma Cerulli here in Montreal uses two recipes for her duck and maybe you might like these. Recipes can also be found in "Urban Expressions".

*Maple-Citrus Glaze for the Duck*

1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

2 teaspoons orange zest

1 cup of fresh duck stock or chicken stock

¼ cup real maple syrup

Pinch of cinnamon

Pinch of nutmeg

1 star anise

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

Salt and pepper to taste.

-In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients and cook over medium heat until boiling. Reduce the mixture by 1/3 let cool and use.

*Classic Stuffing with Roasted Chestnuts*

1 stick unsalted butter

¼ cup olive oil

12 cups cubed crusty bread - 1' inch cubed

1 large Spanish onion, diced

1 cup carrot, diced

1 cup celery, diced

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup fresh sage, finely chopped

3 tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped

1 ½ cups halved, peeled, roasted chestnuts, chopped

½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

2 eggs

1 cup duck stock or Chicken stock or turkey

¾ cup water

-Preheat oven to 350. On a baking sheet, fitted with parchment paper, toast bread until lightly browned. Transfer bread to a large bowl.

Turn oven up to 400.

In a large pot, heat butter and oil over medium heat until sizzling. Cook onions , celery, carrots , garlic, sage and thyme, stirring occasionally until softened, about 15 minutes. Add cooked vegetables to bread along with chestnuts and parley.

Whisk eggs with stock and water. Mix into the bread mixture. Use some of this mixture to stuff the cavity of your turkey, duck or chicken before roasting. Transfer the rest of the mixture to a greased baking dish, cover with foil and bake at 400F , covered for 30 minutes, then uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until top is browned and crispy.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

*Duck Trio*, a half duck seasoned with garam masala, the drumstick is prepared confit, the thigh is smoked over Earl Grey tea, and the breast is grilled, accompanied with a lightly curried pineapple sauce and served with a grilled pineapple, christophene, and toasted coconut slaw, duck fat potatoes Anna, and crispy duck cracklings


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## kippers (Aug 31, 2012)

boar_d_laze said:


> Grilling duck can be very good is very good, and I certainly do it myself. I'm not being confrontational but really would like to understand what you mean when you use the term "Peking."
> 
> By definition, "Peking duck" is more than duck served with pancake, scallion and plum sauce garnish; involves specialized preparation, including releasing the skin from the meat, glazing, etc.; and is NOT grilled, nor cooked over direct heat in any way.
> 
> ...


 No probs, to give you a little insight I come from Liverpool which has the oldest China town in Europe, there is one massive duck farm in the UK that supplies 75 of the UK chinese restaurants and supermarkets with their famous Pekin duckhttp://cherryvalley.co.uk/our-ducks/pekin-ducks , its bread for low fat and easy release skin.

Until you eat in Liquns in Bejing (the best in China) you will not understand.Note he grills the duck over an open fire, the pancakes are filled with both meat and skin.


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## duckfat (Aug 7, 2008)

I'm not sure I could ever pick one favorite Duck recipe but one I always remembered was actually one I never had. Through a series of unfortunate airline mishaps (including an emergency landing at LAX) we wound up in with an unplanned visit to SFO for Chinese New years in '99. There was a place just inside of the Dragons Gate with crispy Ducks hanging in the window. My mouth still waters just thinking about it. IIR I read years later that they separated to skin from the Duck with an air hose before slow roasting to get the skin so crispy.

Dave


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## nathan kreider (Jul 13, 2012)

Thanks for the replies guys. The duck I cooked was absolutely delicious (Going against plain recommendations for my first time) in the Red Braised Master Stock. My only problem is I think I may have over-cooked the duck as it was kind of chewy, next time I give it a go (sometimes in the next few weeks) I'll be sure to do just a plain duck recipe. Thank you guys.


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## marrieann (Nov 23, 2012)

> I like any type of duck dish but Peking done on the grill with smoky crisp skin, pancakes and plum sauce ect hits the spot.


Me too, but my favorite ones is Duck with sauerkraut.


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