Duck season started a few weekends ago, which means two things; 1) Michael will be gone every weekend until duck season is over and 2) Our freezer will be full of ducks in no time. Since we still have a few ducks from last year I thought I would experiment and roast a duck. So, here goes.
I read online that ducks need to be cooked slow and low . . . but I also read that they need to be cooked fast and high. I decided to go with slow and slow (since I read that advice first and it was in the oven when I read the other advice - lol). Ducks are very fatty, so you need to pierce the skin all over the bird so the fat will run off. Honestly, this was the most difficult part of the whole process - I had to sharpen my knife then I sliced slits all over the bird.
Then just salt and pepper.
Put it on a roasting pan (you want the fat to drip off).
I cooked it at 350 for 3 hours. After each hour take it out and poke holes where the fat is not dripping off.
And it is done!
Michael sliced it up for us.
I was really worried that the duck was going to be gross or I was going to mess it up, so I made some heavy sides to go with it - rice, garlic mashed potatoes, and sourdough bread.
We had my mom over for dinner and the duck WAS GOOD! I was so impressed!! It was pretty easy to make (the cutting was the hardest part and that wasn't hard at all), but takes a long time - I had to leave work right after the kids left so I could start dinner. It was good too - Michael and mom liked it too!
How do you cook duck?
