Cooking a whole duck HELP ME!!!!!?

Question

i have just moved in to my first house and me and my boyfriend will be spending our first christmas toghter. i want to make it really special but we are pretty broke so my mother kindly got us a duck but i have NO idea how to cook the thing except to defrost it. i have tried reading up on it but all the recipes are different. some say prick the skin some say dont, some say cook it in a roasting tin but to put it on a high wire rack so the fat doesnt touch it but other say let it sit the fat. pleaseeeeee help i would just love to here people tried and tested reciepes. any help would be great.

Answer 1

Just do it like a chicken. Duck has more fat on it - that is why some people prick the skin but it isn't too hard to do. Serve with a bitter sweet sauce like orange or cherry. Check out www.allrecipes.com for some ideas.

Answer 2

The only time I TRIED to roast a duck was so long ago, that all I remember is: A "friend" had shot it, & it started smelling gosh awful, & the bullets were still in! DO try the food network. I believe Emeril very recently had a thingee on roasting ducks--you can check into his episodes & find it. (Or you can type in "roast duck" & will probably get many useful pages.) I'd NEVER let it "sit in the fat!" I hope someone has a good recipe for you--at least you aren't looking for something until Christmas!
Meanwhile I just might, if time allows, go into FoodNetwork & see what I can find--I "think" I can add to my answer w/edit???

*** Hi! I opened Food Network, typed "Roast Duck" for the search, & there were 135 recipes! Meanwhile, you've gotten some great answers so...but in future, thie site is really good for not only recipes, but food handling, etc. & much more. Best of luck & Merry holidays!

Answer 3

Duck Meat, in itself, is NOT Sweet....it's kinda Greasy & Gamy (Gamy,having the flavor of game). It's the Orange sauce that will make it taste Sweet. I've cooked it before but, I enjoyed/used the "Orange Sauce" I would cook it (why NO Directions came with it?) same as a Chicken or Turkey. The ONLY Most Important thing is, "When placing it in the Roasting pan BE SURE to have a 'rack', holding the Duck up AT LEAST 1" from the bottom of the pan, UNDER the Duck so the Grease drains off the Duck into the R/P. DO NOT let it 'sit' in the Grease drippings while cooking! You CANNOT make Gravy from the Drippings because they are TOO Greasy! You'd probably be better off buying a "Gravy mix" in the Store, or make a Gravy from scratch and use some kind of flavored broth or seasoning. Good luck & Enjoy!!

Answer 4

I cook ducks airly regulary and have found Delia Smith's method foolproof! DO prick the skin and season liberaly with salt and pepper. DO put it on a rack in the roasting dish and syphon off the fat regularly durning cooking. Delia's recipe tells you how to cook it long and slow and it's beautiful - gas mark 8 (230 degrees c) for 30 mins, then gas mark 4 (180 degrees c) for 2 and a half hours. This is based on a 5-6lb duck. Enjoy!

P.S. keep the fat for roast potatoes - yummy.

Answer 5

Easy, No need to bother with racks etc, just prick it, put it in a roasting tin and bung it in the oven and roast until tender. Part way through the cooking take it out and pour away most of the excess fat and then finish cooking it. There will be enough fat and juices left to make gravy or a sauce of your choice.

Answer 6

Do prick the skin and roast it on a raised rack with a roasting pan underneath it. (Use the toasting rack from the grill). This is because it will drip gallons of fat. Baste it half hourly to keep the skin moist. Depending on how you like it (I like it cooked to tenderness) you need a medium heat (160C) for about 1 and a half hours. Then rest it for 20 mins before cutting up. That's just my way. I'm sure other people think differently.

Answer 7

Hi, sounds as if u r in a bit of a pickle here. I am no expert on cooking duck , but i know from eating chinese that ducks very fatty and so take heed of all the warnings of ur fellow folks on here. As i say am no expert, but sainsburys have a kinda recipe suggestions site... and they said the following recipe would be good for xmas... link shown below as cudnt paste.. .but if u type in any ingredients on this site u can see all the possible recipes for duck... or whatever...

Answer 8

when i cook a whole duck i prick the skin....do make sure it is fully defrosted, duck is a very fatty game bird so prickig the skin helps the fats run freely it also helps it crisp up...i also ruba little salt over the skin before its roasted.....add some merlot red wine to the juices when it roasts and baste it every so often :) cook it in foil until the last 45minutes take the foil away but make sure the leg ends r still covered so they dont burn up

Answer 9

Remove giblets if there are any, cover skin with hoi sin sauce from supermarket and roast as per usual roast, put it on the shelf of the oven directly and a tray underneath to catch the fat, there'll be lots of it, keep basting with hoi sin sauce, voila, lovely chinese duck serve with pancakes, spring onion & cucumber... yummy!

Answer 10

THE REASON YOU PRICK THE SKIN IS SO THE GREASE CAN ESCAPE, OTHERWISE IT WILL BE A BIT SOGGY. ONCE YOU HAVE PRICKED IT RUB SALT INTO IT ALLOVER, PUT IT ON A RACK SO IT IS NOT SITTING IN IT GREASE,IF YOU WANT A SWEET SAUCE, TO GO WITH IT, PUT HALF A JAR OF MARMALADE IN A PAN HEAT IT SLOWLY,ADD A COUPLE OF TABLESPOONS OF BRANDY AND A DROP OF WATER IF IT IS TOO THICK, GOOD LUCK.