Roasted Duck

Plated leg quarter of the duck with roasted carrots and potatoes on a plate with the duck in the background - square

This roasted duck recipe is caramelized and crispy on the outside yet tender and juicy on the inside. It’s a gloriously tasty dish that guarantees to be the star of your dinner table!

Course Dinner

Cuisine Poultry

Keyword roasted duck

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 4

Servings cups

Calories 375kcal

Author Elaine Benoit

Equipment

Ingredients

5 pound organic duck giblets removed, fat trimmed, washed and dried inside and out
1 orange cut into wedges
1 head of garlic top cut off
2 - 3 tablespoons kosher salt

Sauce

2 ounces Cointreau or triple sec
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons garlic paste or 2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons orange juice

Instructions

Make it

Preheat oven to 325
Pinch the skin of the duck and stick a knife into it without cutting into the meat, making shallow cuts an inch or two apart from each other. Make sure to do around the thigh and back as well
5 pound organic duck
Salt the inside of the duck and stuff the cavity with the head of garlic and as many orange wedges you can fit
1 orange, 2 - 3 tablespoons kosher salt, 1 head of garlic
Place duck in the pan breast side up and set timer to an hour
Using wooden spoons, carefully flip the duck onto the breast and place in the oven for another hour
Flip duck on its back again and set the timer for another hour
Time to make the sauce. Place the Cointreau, soy sauce, maple syrup, orange juice and garlic paste in a mixing bowl and whisk the ingredients together
2 ounces Cointreau, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 2 teaspoons garlic paste, 3 tablespoons orange juice
After the third hour, don't flip the duck anymore, but brush some sauce over the breast and set the duck in the oven for 1/2 hour
Brush more sauce over the breast and cook for another 1/2 hour
Take the duck out of the pan, remove the orange wedges and throw them away. Either use the garlic on some bread or if it has dried out, throw it away
Let the duck rest for 15 minutes before cutting into it
Plate a piece of duck with a vegetable and some potatoes or rice
Eat
Smile
Enjoy

Notes

Helpful tips

If you can, buy an organic duck. I get mine at Whole Foods. I love it because they source it from farms that don't use any antibiotics in the poultry.
It used to be that you were supposed to wash poultry before cooking it but now they say not to wash it. You should just drain it once you take it out of the package, then pat it dry, inside and out with paper towels.
Always wash citrus before you cook with it, juice it or use it for garnish in cocktails. Here's how: either use a vegetable wash or squirt unscented natural hand soap in your hand and rub the orange with the soap. Rinse well under cold water.
I always use a good roasting pan with the V rack insert, that way the heat can circulate around the duck.
I use a wooden skewer to hold the skin together while the duck is roasting. To make sure the skewer doesn't burn and catch fire, soak it for an hour before starting the recipe.
You need to cut slits in the skin because duck is a fatty bird and it helps to release the duck fat and allows the skin to crisp up.
Take a sharp small knife, lift the skin of the duck and cut slits in it without piercing the flesh of the duck. Cut slits on all sides of the duck about an inch apart, including the wings, legs and back.
Some people cut the skin in a diamond pattern but I find that the risk is greater to cut into the flesh accidentally. And as you can see, the skin on my duck is quite crispy and browned.
Each time you flip the duck to cook it evenly, use wooden spoons because you do not want to pierce the flesh while it is cooking.
After the bird is done, there will be excess fat in the bottom of the roasting pan. You can either toss it, or use it to sauté potatoes or vegetables like carrots as a side dish.

Nutrition