Someone gave me a duck, a whole duck - and I don't even really like duck. I asked my husband's "Uncle" Jimmy Chan, who instructed me to prick the breast with a meat fork and put it under the broiler for several minutes to drain the fat, then stuff it with apples, truss it, and roast it at a medium temperature (350 degrees or so).
But I love to play the field when it comes to new techniques. I surfed around and found a few lofty goals, and one recipe that suggested cooking the bird at a very high temperature - 500 degrees - for only 25 minutes. I was highly suspicious of the short time and burning heat. But it sounded easy.
So I took Uncle Jimmy's suggestion and combined it with Saveur's suggestion. I pricked the breast like crazy, brushed with melted butter, salted and peppered all over, stuffed some onion and ginger pieces and carrots inside and cooked the duck until crispy at 425 degrees - 35 or 40 minutes. I took the pan out, and poured off a whopping two cups of duck fat. I couldn't help it, I tore off a piece of skin... it was fatty crisp perfection. I sawed into the bird a bit and saw that it was pretty pink, still, and not very tender. Back to the oven it went, now devoid of its duck fat bath.
About 30 minutes later I removed my bird, now a very dark brown, and whipped up a rather boring gravy. The meat was amazing; tender, salty, delicious. It wasn't gamey or sharp tasting like many ducks I've tasted, nor was it tough or dry. It was perfect, and really very easy. If I get another duck, I'll do it again, no question. Except next time, I want a better sauce than my rather tasteless gravy. Any thoughts?
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