Roasted Duck With Apples
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Entree
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1 duck (approximately 6 lbs)
  • 2-3 apples
  • 1 small onion
  • 4-6 garlic cloves
  • salt, pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Duck has a lot more fat than other poultry, like chicken or turkey. To create a really crisp skinned duck, we will need to render as much of the fat out of the duck as possible.
  3. Prick the duck all over the breast and in all the fat pockets with a wooden skewer, a fork or a paring knife. Try to poke just through the fat, not all the way to the meat. Pricking the fat will help the fat to escape better as it is cooking.
  4. Trim off all the excess skin and fat on the duck. Pat the duck dry with paper towels. Season the duck with salt and pepper all over the surface of the duck and also inside the inner cavity.
  5. Cut the apples, onion and garlic cloves into sections and place them into the cavity of the duck. You can also add herbs, cranberries, lemon or orange and also dry fruit, such as prunes, apricots, raisins, etc. As the duck is roasting, all these aromatic fruits, vegetables and herbs will give an incredible flavor to the meat. The apples are especially delicious. The combination of roasting duck with the apples, onions and garlic is an aroma that will make your mouth water while you wait patiently for the duck to cook through.
  6. Tuck the wing tips behind the back of the duck and tie the drumsticks together with kitchen twine.
  7. Place the duck in a roasting pan on top of a rack. Pour enough water to cover the bottom of the roasting pan. Cover the roasting pan with aluminum foil, or if you happen to have a roasting pan with a cover, use it. The water will prevent the duck fat from burning on the bottom of the pan and also will create a steaming effect while the duck is being roasted covered. This is another way to draw out the fat from under the skin of the duck.
  8. Roast the duck, covered, for about 45 minutes.
  9. Uncover, increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and roast for another 30 minutes.
  10. Increase the heat to 475-500 degrees Fahrenheit and roast for another 10-15 minutes, just until the skin is golden and crisp and the duck registers 175-180 degrees Fahrenheit in the thickest part of the thigh.
  11. Skim off the gorgeous duck fat from the roasting pan and save it to use for frying potatoes. Duck fat is incredibly flavorful.
  12. Let the duck rest for 10-15 minutes before carving it. Discard the aromatics that you used to stuff the cavity of the duck. Their main job was to flavor the meat of the duck. Usually, they will need a bit more time to be cooked to a proper temperature and by that time, the duck meat will be very dry and overcooked.
Recipe by Olga's Flavor Factory at https://www.olgasflavorfactory.com/autumn-favorites/duck/