Slow Roast Duck Recipe - Slow Roasted Duck | Hank Shaw (2024)

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4.78 from 35 votes

By Hank Shaw

January 28, 2015 | Updated February 04, 2021

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This is an old school, slow roast duck recipe, the way your grandma might have made. If you have a store-bought duck or a really fat wild duck, this is the recipe for you.

Roasting a duck this way will give you crispy skin, much of the fat will render out, bathing the root vegetables underneath, and the whole bird will be cooked through.

Slow Roast Duck Recipe - Slow Roasted Duck | Hank Shaw (2)

This is how pretty much everyone made roast duck until relatively recently, when the glories of duck served medium or medium-rare began to be more well-known. Yes, you can absolutely serve duck — or goose — rare, or even raw, if it’s of good quality. Food-borne illnesses from waterfowl are very, very rare, unlike with chickens and turkeys.

So if you happen to have a wild duck, or a lean farmed duck — Indian runners and Muscovy ducks can sometimes be quite lean — you are better off using my other recipe for roast duck, which is geared specifically for lean, and wild birds.

This method, slow roast duck, is the way all of Europe has been doing it for millennia, so there’s some history here. I go into it in more detail in my cookbook Duck, Duck, Goose: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking Waterfowl, Both Farmed and Wild, an entire cookbook dedicated to waterfowl. Slow Roast Duck Recipe - Slow Roasted Duck | Hank Shaw (3)

The reason it works is fat. Fat is an insulator, and in a duck it’s all underneath the skin. You need to render that fat or the skin will never get crispy. And rendering fat from an obese duck takes time — so much time that your breast meat will be fully cooked by the time it’s ready (The legs and wings will be perfect, though).

I should tell you that I don’t love fully cooked breast meat; I prefer it medium-rare. It gets a bit livery and, at least to my mind, essentially becomes a vehicle for gravy.

You can do two things about this: You can slice off the breasts when they reach an internal temperature of about 135°F, then sear just the skin side in a pan before serving, or you can live with fully cooked breast meat and make a damn good gravy. (Follow the technique for the gravy in my poached turkey recipe, only subbing in duck or goose bits.)

Even fully cooked, the breast meat will still be moist because it’s been bathed in its own fat for an hour or more, so it’s not as if it will be inedible. And some people prefer it that way.

Slow Roast Duck Recipe - Slow Roasted Duck | Hank Shaw (4)

A few tips: Do not cover your duck when roasting because you want that crispy skin. If you cover it, the bird will steam.

And, you will know a roast duck is ready when the legs feel loose, the fat runs clear, and the skin is crispy.

Slow Roast Duck Recipe - Slow Roasted Duck | Hank Shaw (5)

With this recipe, err on cooking the bird longer, not shorter. As the cook, remember that the legs and wings will be the best parts. Distribute them accordingly.

My advice for when you make slow roast duck this way is to roast them over the top of lots of root vegetables, the more varied the better. And think about a gravy or a sauce to go with it. I have a large selection of wild game sauces here you can choose from. Other than the gravy I mentioned above, I might suggest the maple-bourbon gravy for starters…

4.78 from 35 votes

Slow Roast Duck

This recipe works with any sort of waterfowl. Domestic ducks typically serve two to four. As for wild birds, a mallard, canvasback, redhead, gadwall or pintail will serve two (if you have other things on the plate), a wild goose four and a wood duck, bluebill, wigeon, ringneck or teal one.

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Hank Shaw

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours

Ingredients

  • 1 domesticated duck or 2 very fat wild ducks (see above)
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 lemon, cut in half
  • 4 sprigs sage, rosemary, parsley or thyme

Instructions

  • Set your oven to 325°F. Using a needle or a sharp knife point, prick the skin of the duck all over -- but be sure to not pierce the meat itself, only the skin. This lets the fat render out and will help crisp the skin. Pay special attention to the back, the flanks, and the very front of the breast.

  • Rub the cut lemon all over the duck and stick it inside the cavity. Liberally salt the bird; use a little more salt than you think you need. Stuff the duck with the herbs. Let the bird sit out for about 30 minutes to come to room temperature, while the oven heats up.

  • When you are ready to roast, put the duck in an iron frying pan or other ovenproof pan and surround it with root vegetables. Set the pan in the oven. Small ducks (wood ducks, wigeon, teal, ruddies, etc.) only need 40 minutes in the oven. If you are roasting mallards or a typical, store-bought Pekin duck, you will want to increase the roasting time to 90 minutes. A goose may take as long as 2 hours. After the allotted time, take the pan out of the oven and set the ducks on a cutting board to rest. Spoon any fat that has accumulated over the vegetables and salt them well. If the veggies are ready to eat, remove them. If there is a lot of excess fat, spoon it off.

  • Now increase the heat to 450°F. When the oven hits this temperature, return the birds to the oven and roast them for up to 30 more minutes, or until the skin is crisp. The reason you take the bird out of the oven is because a) the resting time helps redistribute the juices in the bird midstream, and b) you are crisping skin without totally overcooking the duck by only returning it to the oven when it is hot.

  • Remove from oven and let the birds rest. Small ducks need 5 minutes resting time, large ducks 10 minutes, geese 15.

Nutrition

Calories: 780kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 75g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Cholesterol: 145mg | Sodium: 1866mg | Potassium: 442mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 411IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe? Tag me today!Mention @huntgathercook or tag #hankshaw!

Categorized as:
Ducks and Geese, Featured, Recipe, Wild Game

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About Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet’s largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

Read More About Me

Slow Roast Duck Recipe - Slow Roasted Duck | Hank Shaw (2024)

FAQs

How to cook duck so it's not tough? ›

We cook it on a medium low heat so that the fat can render out and also sear the skin. If you don't do this you'll find that the duck breast skin can become chewy and we don't want that. I prefer to use a cast iron skillet for cooking since I can pop it into the oven once the skin side is done cooking.

What is the best temperature to cook duck? ›

For the perfect roasted duck Ina Garten recommends boiling the whole bird in a broth of your choice for 45 minutes. This will help cook the bird evenly, then pat dry and move to a 500°F (260°C) oven to crisp up that skin and until the breast reaches an internal temperature of 135–140°F (57–60°C).

What should you soak your duck meat in before cooking it? ›

I do not cook a duck or goose without first soaking it overnight in brine. Those of us who have discovered how much better the Thanksgiving turkey tastes after a brine bath for 24 hours know that the bird will not only cook a little faster but it will also be more moist and flavorful than an unbrined bird.

How long do you roast a duck for? ›

Prick the skin around the duck legs. Season the duck all over with salt and pepper. Place the duck on a rack in a roasting tin and roast in the middle of the oven for 40 minutes per KG plus 10 minutes extra. When the duck is cooked cover with foil and rest for 10-20 minutes before serving.

How do you make duck meat tender? ›

I always start by patting raw duck breasts dry before showering their skin and flesh with kosher salt. This salt cure penetrates the meat, creating a natural brine that boosts flavor, tenderness, and ease of cooking.

Can you overcook duck? ›

NEVER cook duck meat past medium doneness. If it gets past medium it becomes tough. Medium rare, or even rare, is better.

Should duck be room temperature before cooking? ›

About 2 hours before you want to roast your ducks, take them out of the fridge and sit them breast-side up, on top of a wire rack sitting over a deep roasting tin, to come to room temperature; they really mustn't have any chill about them.

Should you wash a duck before roasting? ›

Remove duck from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before cooking to ensure uniformed cooking. Remove duck from packaging and take out the neck and giblets from the cavity. Rinse under cold running water both inside and out, then pat dry using paper towel to get a more crispy skin. Season.

Should you wash duck before cooking? ›

While washing meat and poultry to remove dirt, slime, fat or blood may have been appropriate decades ago when many slaughtered and prepared their own food, the modern food safety system doesn't require it. Meat and poultry are cleaned during processing, so further washing is not necessary.

Why pour boiling water over duck? ›

The boiling water helps pull the skin taut, making it easier to score in a crosshatch pattern. That, in turn, allows the fat to render out as everything roasts. The result is a perfectly cooked duck with pink, juicy meat and burnished, crunchy skin.

What spices are good for duck? ›

Combine the smoked paprika, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, five spice powder, dry mustard and some salt and pepper in a bowl. Using a sharp knife, score the skin of the duck so it has a 1/4-inch diamond pattern. Rub the spice mixture all over the duck.

Should you flip duck when roasting? ›

Roast on a rack.

For especially fatty duck, you'll benefit from starting the cooking process with the breast side down for the first 40 minutes or so, before flipping it breast side up for the rest of the roast, to ensure even browning and fat rendering all around.

What is the best duck for roasting? ›

Pekin Duck (or Long Island Duck)

Pekin duck meat is known for its mild, satisfying flavor that easily adapts to a number of cuisines. It has lighter flesh and milder flavor than either Moulard or Muscovy duck, and is considered perfect for whole roasting.

Why is my duck breast so tough? ›

When duck breast is seared at a higher temperature, the flesh quickly cooks before enough fat has rendered out, leaving you with a thick, flabby layer of fat over tough meat. When you use gentle heat, the fat has time to render off, while heat slowly transfers to the flesh through the buffer of the thick skin layer.

Why is my roasted duck tough? ›

But because duck breast is thinner than chicken or turkey breast, it cooks through even more quickly than they do, making it even more of a challenge to get the tougher legs and thighs to turn tender and succulent before the breast overcooks and dries out.

How to cook tough duck meat? ›

Here's the Secret to Tender and Crispy Duck
  1. Rinse the duck meat until clean and remove the innards. The innards of a duck, just like a chicken, can be the breeding source of bacteria if not immediately removed. ...
  2. Boil the duck meat for one hour. ...
  3. Boil the duck meat with various spices. ...
  4. Leave the boiled duck meat overnight.
May 13, 2020

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