Sometimes, it’s just me and Charlie for holiday gatherings. Sometimes it’s by choice and sometimes it’s by circumstance. But, sometimes I still want to make something special, even if it’s just the two of us. I’d never made a Roasted Duck before, so why not! Roasted Duck is an alternative to traditional holiday fare, such as Easter; it’s simple and serves four – the perfect main dish for a small gathering.
I followed the directions that came with the duck I purchased. This duck also included a packet of orange glaze, so I didn’t even have to make a separate glaze! How easy is that in a “toot sweet” life?
Here are a couple of tips when roasting a duck:
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The hardest part about this recipe was draining the grease. Ducks are extremely “fatty” and create a lot of grease while roasting. In order to NOT smoke up your kitchen and set off your smoke detectors, it is highly recommended that you drain the grease from the pan BEFORE you add the glaze.
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I happened to have extra aluminum pans that were the perfect size for this duck. So, while roasting the duck in a traditional pan on a rack, when the duck was ready to come out of the oven for glazing, I transferred the duck to one aluminum pan, poured the grease off into the other aluminum pan and then returned the duck to the original pan with the rack.
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You can save the grease for other uses (I’ve heard it’s great on oven fries, although I can’t attest to that from personal experience), or discard the grease. I let it congeal in the pan and discarded it.
Here’s the recipe:
PrintA Majestic Roasted Duck for Special Occassions
Looking for an alternative to a traditional holiday main dish? Try Roasted Duck for your next small holiday gathering.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 55 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Poultry
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Duck (5 to 7 pounds) – defrosted
- Salt
- Glaze (provided in duck package)
Instructions
- Defrost duck in refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Place rack in a roasting pan and set aside.
- Remove duck from packaging material and set aside package of glaze.
- Remove neck, giblets from duck’s cavity and discard.
- Trim excess fat from duck.
- Rinse duck inside and out under cold running water and drain.
- Place duck, breast side up, on top of rack in roasting pan and pat dry.
- With a sharp fork, score duck by carefully running fork over duck’s skin (don’t allow fork to score meat, just skin).
- Pour about 2 teaspoons of salt into the palm of your hand; insert hand in duck cavity and spread salt around with your hand.
- Sprinkle another teaspoon of salt on duck’s exterior.
- Tie the legs together with kitchen twine.
- Place duck in oven and roast for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, lower temperature to 350 degrees and roast for another hour and 15 minutes.
- Remove duck from oven, remove duck from roasting pan (set aside) and pour accumulated grease into another glass or metal container.
- Return duck to roasting pan and pour on glaze from package.
- Place duck back in oven and cook another 15 minutes.
- Remove duck from oven and transfer to a cutting board to rest for 10 minutes.
- Carve and serve.
Notes
(1) If you use a meat thermometer, insert into thickest part of duck’s leg. It should read 175 degrees when duck is ready. Some ducks come with their own “pop up” indicator. (2) Duck is very fatty and produces a high amount of grease. (3) Be careful not to overcook duck. Check at the 45 minute mark and again at the 1 hour mark and adjust the rest of your cooking schedule accordingly.
Tootles,
Related Posts:
(other holiday recipes)
- Baked Sweet Potatoes with Warm Maple Drizzle and Toasted Pecans
- Cornbread Stuffing
- Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Creamy Pumpkin Soup
- Mashed Purple Potatoes
- Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Roasted Turkey
- Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Stuffing
- Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Turkey Gravy
- Pumpkin Patch Pals Pumpkin Pie
- Roasted Turkey
- Sour Apple Cranberry Sauce
- Turkey Gravy
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