Whole Duck

We had a whole duck sitting in our freezer for a few months. I had never worked with duck so I wasn't quite sure how to tackle it but wanted to get the most out of the whole bird. I did some research, compiling bits of information from several different sources. It was quite easy but took some planning because I didn't know what to expect and there were several steps involved.

Like I said, I really wanted to get the most out of the whole bird. I cut the duck into parts, and cooked each one so they were at their best. I roasted the legs until crisp, cooked the boneless duck breast in a skillet until medium-rare, turned the carcass into a classic demi-glace sauce, rendered the excess skin and fat and made gizzard confit.

Below was how I prepped the duck and the following posts are the preparations of the separate components:

Make Ahead: Cut up the ducks, make the stock and sauce, and render the fat the day before serving. The thighs can be steamed up to 1 1/2 hours before roasting.

1. Prepare the ducks and stock the day before serving. Using a large heavy knife, cut off the wings and reserve. Reserve the giblets (but not the livers, which you can save for another use or discard). Chop the necks and wings into 2 to 3-inch pieces. Set the wings, and necks aside for the stock. Pull out the clumps of fat inside the duck body cavity on either side of the tail, cover, and refrigerate. Wrap the giblets up in saran wrap and refrigerate for the confit.

2. Using a sharp, thin knife, cut off the leg quarters (thigh and drumstick together) at the thigh joints. Trim off away excess skin from the perimeters of the duck pieces and reserve the skin pieces.

3. Make an incision down each side of the breast bone. With the knife tip pointing towards the rib bones, cut away the breast meat (with the skin still attached), pulling the meat away from the ribs as you cut. Cut off the breast section at the wing joint and the bottom of the rib cage. Pull the skin off the duck breasts and reserve. You will have two boneless breasts and two leg quaraters. Season the duck with the salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

4. To make the stock, using a heavy cleaver, chop the duck carcasses into manageable pieces to fit your stock pot, and use with the neck, and wings. Roast at 450 on a bed of celery, onions, and carrots for about 45 minutes. Add entire contents into stock pot, cover with water, bring to a boil then simmer for five hours, skimming any scum on the surface. Strain the carcass and vegetables from stock and discard. Refrigerate to remove layer of fat.

5. To make the sauce, place the duck stock in a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until the stock is reduced to about 1 quart, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Transfer to a medium saucepan and boil until dark brown and thick enough to coat a wooden spoon (about 1 1/2 cups), about 30 minutes. (The sauce can be prepared up to 1 day ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated. Reheat before serving.)

6. To render the duck fat, cut the reserved skin into thin strips and coarsely chop the reserved fat from the body cavity. Render according to the instructions in my post below.