Slow-Roasted Duck
- Total Time
- 5 hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 15-pound duck, rinsed and dried
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 10sprigs thyme
- 10cloves garlic, skin on
- ¾pound (about 6) thin carrots, trimmed
- ¾pound turnips, peeled and cut into wedges
- ¾pound golden beets, peeled and cut into wedges
- 4shallots, skin on and halved
Preparation
- Step 1
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Season duck generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Put 1 or 2 pieces each of thyme, garlic, carrots, turnips, beets and shallots, in cavity. Truss duck; set in large casserole dish or medium roasting pan. Scatter rest of ingredients and neck around duck; season with salt and pepper. Cover loosely with foil.
- Step 2
Roast duck for 10 minutes, lower temperature to 300 degrees and roast for 3½ hours, basting vegetables and duck with pan juices and skimming off fat occasionally.
- Step 3
Remove foil. Take out vegetables and neck, and set aside; roast duck for 1 more hour (if vegetables are not tender, continue roasting until they are). Skin should be well browned and crisp; the meat, extremely tender. Transfer duck to cutting board. Skim fat off pan juices; add water to pan, if necessary, to make ½ cup. Bring juices to boil, adjust seasoning, and transfer to serving bowl. Reheat vegetables and neck in baking dish in oven. Carefully carve duck (meat may fall off bone), adding vegetables from cavity to those in pan. Serve with pan juices and vegetables.
Private Notes
Comments
Loved this recipe. I adjusted the cook time because my duck was smaller than 5 lbs. I put the duck on a shallow roasting pan for the 500 degree session until it was well browned (longer than 10 minutes). Then I transferred it to a dutch oven for the 300 degree session. At the end, I removed the lid and put it under the broiler to get a nice crispy skin--watching it along the way to avoid burning it. I deboned and sliced for presentation.
This recipe was fantastic! My Duck was a five pound Muscovy and it only required 3 hours of cooking at 300 degrees to achieve that amazing fall of the bone quality. Note - I cook all my fowl breast down so that the meat stays moist. Remembering to remove the giblets and vegetables first, I then flipped it over and broiled the skin for a few minutes to get it crisp. As the Duck was resting I deglazed the pan with apricot brandy, chicken stock and fresh thyme. It was enjoyed by all.
This recipe just didn't turn out well. Breast meat was over-cooked. I wouldn't make it again.
This recipe was a revelation. It turned out more moist, more tender and flavourful than the numerous other ways I’ve prepared a whole duck including high temp and spit roasting. Question for the community — would either scoring or poking holes in the skin produce a crispier result? Most recipes call for that. My assumption is that the slow cooking doesn’t require it and it might dry it out. Even after four hours in the oven I finished my duck under the broker. It takes a lot of time but worth it
The 10 minutes at 500 accomplished little. More time up front. I had to broil it at the end. No instructions about cross hatching or prickling the skin—or flipping it over, necessary I think. However, all in all a good way to make a tender tasty duck if you have the time.
Disappointed that my veggies weren’t cooked at all. Sautéed them after roasting the duck. Otherwise, tasty. Used Mark Bittman’s suggestion to brush soy sauce to brown the skin.