Post by Takeda Sanjuichiro on Nov 13, 2005 22:20:29 GMT -5
This recipe is dead simple, but it takes some attention to cook right.
Tools needed:
Accurate meat thermometer
Roasting pan
Oven (duh)
Ingredients:
1 Duck, any size. Duckling tend to be a bit more tender, and more availible.
Kosher/Koshering Salt
Alternate Ingredients:
Rice straw, lots
Clay, 5-10 lbs. Stoneware/Earthenware best.
Take duck, remove all "innards" if you need to make sure you break and remove the neck stump, while it may be a source of good tasty meat, it is butt ugly on the platter, and tends to burn.
With a sharp knife (detecting a trend?) slice the excess skin away from the neck area, and the backside area. There should be just enough to form a "door" the duck I purchased had about the equivilent of a dress sock. Cut excess off, they will eventually burn and be garbage anyhow, and it will interfere with the draining.
Rinse with warm/hot water get as much of the blood and grease off and out of the thing as possible.
Stand it on end and let it drain and dry - 15 minutes or so, if nessisary pat inside with a paper towel.
Salt it liberally inside the cavity, let it stand 15 minutes
Shake out the excess salt. If it is bloody, rinse, dry and resalt. the object is to remove the garish blood pools that can form inside ducks. It will make the meat very gamey if it cooks like that. Do not worry the meat will be quite juicy without the blood.
When ready throw about a 1/2 tablespoon of salt into the bird for good measure.
I reccomend cooking it no higher than 270 degrees, duration varies with weight and design of pan. You will want to cook it until the meat's internal temperature gets to 170-175 degrees. Even with a 2 lb duck this can take 3 or more hours.
While roasting one must reguarly manuver the duck to free trapped juice and grease from the inner cavity of the duck. The duck should not be allowed to sit and simmer in its own fat. Remove all drippings, strain off the fat and baiste with juice only. If you have a narrow tip baister, wiggle it up under the skin of the breast and squirt it in. Throughout the cook time, you need to be checking it every 10-15 minutes. When the fat starts to run out, it will go quickly and come out in buckets.
Alternately one can wrap the duck in saltwater soaked (damp, not dripping) rice straw (I wondering if wild grass straw would work) then cover in a clay coating. Essesntially what this does is make a roasting pan and oven in one. The rice straw will act as an absorbent medium for the fat as will the inner layers of the clay. Make sure you have a vent hole and a hole for temperature checking of the thick meaty portion.
When it is done, let it cool to a serving temperature, then slice the skin, remove it, the slice off the meat trying to take the muscles intact. If you need to, reheat in a pan with a very slight amount of saved broth (no fat) cut into managable slices/chunks and serve.
-Takeda
Tools needed:
Accurate meat thermometer
Roasting pan
Oven (duh)
Ingredients:
1 Duck, any size. Duckling tend to be a bit more tender, and more availible.
Kosher/Koshering Salt
Alternate Ingredients:
Rice straw, lots
Clay, 5-10 lbs. Stoneware/Earthenware best.
Take duck, remove all "innards" if you need to make sure you break and remove the neck stump, while it may be a source of good tasty meat, it is butt ugly on the platter, and tends to burn.
With a sharp knife (detecting a trend?) slice the excess skin away from the neck area, and the backside area. There should be just enough to form a "door" the duck I purchased had about the equivilent of a dress sock. Cut excess off, they will eventually burn and be garbage anyhow, and it will interfere with the draining.
Rinse with warm/hot water get as much of the blood and grease off and out of the thing as possible.
Stand it on end and let it drain and dry - 15 minutes or so, if nessisary pat inside with a paper towel.
Salt it liberally inside the cavity, let it stand 15 minutes
Shake out the excess salt. If it is bloody, rinse, dry and resalt. the object is to remove the garish blood pools that can form inside ducks. It will make the meat very gamey if it cooks like that. Do not worry the meat will be quite juicy without the blood.
When ready throw about a 1/2 tablespoon of salt into the bird for good measure.
I reccomend cooking it no higher than 270 degrees, duration varies with weight and design of pan. You will want to cook it until the meat's internal temperature gets to 170-175 degrees. Even with a 2 lb duck this can take 3 or more hours.
While roasting one must reguarly manuver the duck to free trapped juice and grease from the inner cavity of the duck. The duck should not be allowed to sit and simmer in its own fat. Remove all drippings, strain off the fat and baiste with juice only. If you have a narrow tip baister, wiggle it up under the skin of the breast and squirt it in. Throughout the cook time, you need to be checking it every 10-15 minutes. When the fat starts to run out, it will go quickly and come out in buckets.
Alternately one can wrap the duck in saltwater soaked (damp, not dripping) rice straw (I wondering if wild grass straw would work) then cover in a clay coating. Essesntially what this does is make a roasting pan and oven in one. The rice straw will act as an absorbent medium for the fat as will the inner layers of the clay. Make sure you have a vent hole and a hole for temperature checking of the thick meaty portion.
When it is done, let it cool to a serving temperature, then slice the skin, remove it, the slice off the meat trying to take the muscles intact. If you need to, reheat in a pan with a very slight amount of saved broth (no fat) cut into managable slices/chunks and serve.
-Takeda
