Here's an article from the San Francisco Chronicle about cooking Duck.
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Bringing duck home
A guide to cooking a bird that's both crisp and juicy
- Janet Fletcher, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Now in my 25th year as a food writer, I've decided it's time to face a phobia. I have no trepidation about butchering meat, cleaning squid or gutting fresh fish, but the prospect of roasting a whole duck fills me with dread. I envision my kitchen basted in grease, the smoke alarm screeching and dinner guests politely pushing my flabby-skinned, fatty duck around their plates.
Jim Reichardt, a fourth-generation duck farmer from Petaluma whose Liberty brand ducks are served in top Bay Area restaurants, says I have plenty of company. He suspects many Americans developed duck anxiety in the 1960s, when several New York farms formed a cooperative and began promoting Long Island duckling.
"They marketed the hell out of them," says Reichardt, "but they didn't teach people how to cook them. So a generation was turned off from cooking duck at home because there were so many bad experiences: houses full of smoke and burned duck and having to go out for pizza."
For many people, myself included, roast duck has been a restaurant meal. I love the lacquer-skinned whole ducks that come out of French and Chinese kitchens (such as those pictured at left), but they might as well have a sign around their necks saying, "Don't try this at home."
With fall in the air and my appetite for duck on the rise, I decided this fear had festered too long. So I called a college friend, Hank Wu, whose family has long supplied seafood to Bay Area Chinese restaurants. I figured that Wu could persuade a Chinese chef to part with some secrets.
A few days later, I met Wu at Clement Restaurant in San Francisco, whose proprietor, Wayne Tang, patiently talked me through the steps of making the bronzed roast ducks that hang by their necks in his Clement Street window. Tang, who was for 10 years the executive chef at Yank Sing, the popular San Francisco dim sum restaurant, now sells 80 to 90 roast ducks a day from his small storefront.
The ducks are seasoned in two steps. First comes a dry spice rub (five-spice powder, salt, sugar and MSG) inside and out. Thirty minutes later, the insides are seasoned with a wet spice paste (ginger, garlic, green onion and bean sauce) and the duck cavity is sewn shut with a needle. The whole ducks are immersed in boiling water to tighten the skin, then dipped in a bath of maltose and vinegar. The vinegar cleans the fat from the skin, says Tang, and allows the maltose to adhere. Finally, the ducks are air-dried with the aid of a fan for at least four hours (longer is better) before they're hung by their necks in a vertical pig roaster from Hong Kong for 45 minutes at 375º. As the duck cooks, the fat drips out the tail end.
Both Wu and Tang suggested that I was unlikely to replicate this method at home with results that would please me. Tang shared another tip from Chinese restaurant kitchens: Just before the duck is served -- especially if it has been roasted ahead and the skin has lost its crunch -- Chinese chefs often ladle hot oil over it. "It tastes like it just came out of the oven," Tang assured me.
I bought a fresh duck from a Clement Street market and headed home. But just rereading my notes exhausted me, and I could not picture myself ladling boiling oil over a slippery whole duck
But as I discovered in conversations with other Bay Area chefs, the experts agree about nothing.
"At home, I just cook it like a chicken," says Marsha McBride of Cafe Rouge in Berkeley.
"Don't cook it like a chicken," says Reichardt.
Score the skin, says Bay Wolf proprietor Michael Wild. Don't score the skin, says Bay Wolf chef Louis Le Gassic.
Roast it fast. Roast it slow. Prick the thighs. Don't prick the thighs. Use the convection fan. Convection dries it out. Brine it. Use a dry cure. Steam it first. Turn it. Baste it. Or don't.
Some chefs dismissed the whole idea.
"Never cook a whole duck at home," says Wild, whose Oakland restaurant is known for its duck specialties and its annual Double Duck dinners. "Take it apart. I never roast whole duck at home. I have really made a mess in my kitchen."
Several chefs concurred that the best way to roast a whole duck is not to. Remove the breasts and legs and cook them separately, they advise. The breasts are best when seared and sliced like a medium-rare steak, they say. The tougher legs need a long, slow braise.
Roasting the bird whole doesn't do justice to either part.
My own experimentation over the last few weeks suggests that one reason for the proliferating methods is that all farmed ducks aren't alike. Reichardt's Liberty Ducks are a strain of Pekin different from the Pekin that most American growers raise. (Grimaud Farms in Stockton is unusual in raising Muscovy duck, a particularly lean breed.)
Liberty Ducks have much larger breasts, a feature that Reichardt sought in his breed because non-Asian chefs were asking for it. "I couldn't sell a duck that large in Chinatown," says Reichardt. "My theory is, the Chinese totally want the skin, and if it has some meat attached to it, OK."
His birds are also older at slaughter than conventional Pekins, says Reichardt -- 9 weeks versus the more typical 6 weeks -- and they have more room to move around than most growers provide. Consequently, they develop more flavor. Compared with a Chinatown Pekin duck, Liberty Duck has a rich, gamy taste akin to that of wild duck.
Those thick, meaty Liberty Duck breasts, when properly seared to medium-rare in a skillet (see recipe), really do taste like a juicy rib-eye steak. But leave the breasts on and roast a Liberty Duck whole until fully cooked throughout and the breasts taste livery. In contrast, a conventional Pekin, with its milder flavor, shines when roasted. If you can get the skin crisp -- and we'll get to that -- the breast meat on a roasted Pekin tastes like pork carnitas.
Despite the admonitions, I wasn't ready to give up on whole duck. Wielding directions from three chefs, I tried three different methods, all of them successful enough that I would fearlessly make them again.
Nancy Oakes' Slow-Roasted Duck: "I find that 2 1/2 to 3 hours at 325º really gives me a crisp duck, where all the fat is rendered and I haven't set off my smoke alarm or splattered my whole oven," says Oakes, chef at Boulevard in San Francisco. This slow method is not practical in her restaurant, but when cooking at home, Oakes lets the whole duck sit uncovered in the refrigerator overnight to dry and seal the skin. Then she uses a fork to pierce the skin, not the meat, all around the thigh to encourage the fat to drain. She seasons the duck with salt and pepper inside and out; stuffs the cavity with onions, herbs and an orange; and roasts the duck on a rack in a roasting pan. Turn the convection fan on, if you have one. "If, after 2 1/2 hours, it's not your dream duck, take it up to 375º or 400º," advises Oakes.
I did have to raise the heat at the end to enhance the browning, but the duck had given up most of its fat, the skin was crisp, and the low temperature minimized mess.
Bay Wolf's All-Day Duck: The duck is brined first for at least 24 hours, then steamed for an hour and roasted at 325º for an hour. Finally, the oven heat is raised to 400º for 15 minutes to crisp and brown the skin. Le Gassic uses only Liberty Ducks and doesn't prick them. He does not use a convection fan, convinced that it dries the duck out.
Thanks to the brining, the duck was well seasoned throughout. The steaming appears to help drain the fat. But the duck still looked anemic nearing the end of the first hour of roasting so, in a panic, I cranked the oven up to 425º and turned on the convection fan for about 20 minutes, which did the job. Next time, I would roast at a higher temperature from the start (see recipe).
Cindy Pawlcyn's Roast Duck: The chef-owner of Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen, Mustards Grill and the new Go Fish, all in Napa Valley, advocates a dry cure for duck. Her cure is elaborate -- lots of herbs and spices -- but the rest of the method couldn't be easier. She roasts the duck, turning it once, for two hours at 375º. If it isn't brown enough near the end (it wasn't), she raises the oven temperature to 425º for a final blast.
The Pawlcyn roasted cured duck was well seasoned. This method didn't vanquish every speck of fat, but enough of it, and the skin was crisp.
I'd have to roast a lot more duck to be convinced I had found the best method, but my preliminary conclusions are: Brining is worth it. Steaming followed by roasting produces a crisp-skinned, nearly fat-free duck. And I would save those costly Liberty Ducks for recipes that allow me to cook the breasts medium-rare.
In fact, having faced down my phobia and cleaned my oven, I did what some chefs urged from the start: I took a Liberty Duck apart, seared the breasts and braised the legs. Now that was good eating.
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Duck guidelines
Always bring duck to room temperature before roasting.
Let duck rest before carving to settle the juices -- 10 minutes for a duck breast, 15 to 20 minutes for a whole duck.
Use only fresh duck. It's easy to find in the Bay Area, so there's no reason to settle for a frozen bird.
Save the clumps of fat you remove from the tail end of the duck before roasting. Render the fat in a skillet over low heat. Pour off the liquid fat, refrigerate, and use for frying potatoes, cabbage, turnips or turnip greens.
Don't be a slave to the recipe. If a whole duck is not browning enough, raise the oven temperature and turn on the convection fan; if it's browning too quickly, lower the temperature or turn off the convection fan.
-- Janet Fletcher
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Where to buy fresh duck
Liberty Duck is available at several Bay Area markets, including:
Bi-Rite Market, 3639 18th St. (near Guerrero), San Francisco; (415) 241-9760 (call ahead)
Cafe Rouge Meat Market, 1782 Fourth St. (near Hearst), Berkeley; (510) 525-2707
Fiesta Market, 550 Gravenstein Hwy. (at Covert Lane), Sebastopol; (707) 823-4916 (call ahead)
Pacific Market, 1465 Town and County Drive (at Pacific and Bryden streets), Santa Rosa; (707) 546-3663 (call ahead)
Sunshine Foods, 1115 Main St. (at Mitchell Street), St. Helena; (707) 963-7070
Vallerga's Market, 301 First St. (Silverado Trail), Napa; (707) 253-1666
Other resources for fresh duck include:
Andronico's, 1550 Shattuck Ave. (at Cedar), Berkeley; (510) 841-7942. Also 100 Center Blvd. (at Sir Francis Drake), San Anselmo; (415) 455-8186 (special order) and 1181 Locust St. (at Olympic), Walnut Creek; (925) 977-1966
Bristol Farms, 845 Market St. (in the Westfield San Francisco Centre, BART level), San Francisco; (415) 979-0106
Draeger's, 222 E. 4th Ave. (at Ellsworth), San Mateo; (650) 685-3700
Magnani Poultry, 1576 Hopkins St. (at Monterey), Berkeley; (510) 528-6370
Man Sang, 1116 Grant Ave. (at Pacific), San Francisco; (415) 982-5918
99 Ranch Market (multiple Bay Area locations)
Whole Foods, multiple Bay Area locations (call ahead).
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Nancy Oakes' Slow-Roasted Duck
Serves 4
The oven temperature remains low throughout, so there is little splattering and no smoke. A convection fan is required for best results.
INGREDIENTS:
1 fresh duck, about 5 pounds
Kosher or sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh thyme or other herb sprigs
Quartered lemon or 1/2 orange, halved
1/2 onion, halved
INSTRUCTIONS:
To prepare the duck: With a heavy cleaver, remove the duck head, neck and feet, if attached. Remove the wing tips. Save all parts for stock, if desired. Rinse the carcass well inside and out and pull out the clumps of fat just inside the cavity on both sides at the tail end. Season the duck well inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with fresh herbs, citrus and onion. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine so the duck holds its shape during roasting.
Preheat the oven to 325º and turn on the convection fan. Put the duck breast-side up on a rack in a heavy roasting pan deep enough to trap spattering fat but not so deep that it impedes browning. Roast until the skin is richly browned and crisp, about 3 hours. Let rest for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.
Per serving (without skin): 330 calories, 46 g protein, 0 carbohydrate, 15 fat (6 g saturated), 192 mg cholesterol, 184 mg sodium, 0 fiber.
The amount of duck fat rendered during cooking varies greatly. Factors include the breed of duck and preparation. Therefore, the skin and separable fat are not included in the analysis. If left on, they will contribute more calories and fat.
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Cindy Pawlcyn's Roast Duck
Serves 4
Napa Valley chef Cindy Pawlcyn prefers a dry cure for duck. She roasts the whole bird for two hours in a moderately hot oven. If it is still not as crisp and browned as you like, raise the heat for the final 15 minutes.
INGREDIENTS:
1 fresh duck, about 5 pounds
Dry cure:
1/4 teaspoon whole coriander seed
1/4 teaspoon cardamom seed (from about 4 pods)
1 whole clove
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh mint
1 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh basil 1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch hot chile flakes
INSTRUCTIONS:
To prepare the duck: With a heavy cleaver, remove the duck head, neck and feet, if attached. Remove the wing tips. Save all parts for stock, if desired. Rinse the carcass well inside and out and pull out the clumps of fat just inside the cavity on both sides at the tail end.
To prepare the dry cure: In a mortar, pound the coriander, cardamom and clove to a powder. Chop the bay leaf fine with the mint and basil. In a small bowl, combine all the dry cure ingredients and mix well. Season the duck inside and out with the cure, patting it on the skin so it adheres. Put the duck on a flat rack and set the rack on a tray so that air circulates all around. Refrigerate uncovered for 24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 375º. Tie the duck legs together with kitchen twine so the duck holds its shape during roasting. Roast the duck breast-side down on a rack in a heavy roasting pan for 1 hour, then turn the duck breast-side up and continue roasting until the skin is well browned and crisp, about 1 hour. If necessary, raise the oven temperature to 425º or 450º during the final 15 minutes to enhance the browning and crisping. Let rest for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.
Per serving (without skin): 335 calories, 46 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate, 15 g fat (6 g saturated), 192 mg cholesterol, 1,783 mg sodium, 0 fiber.
The amount of duck fat rendered during cooking varies greatly. Factors include the breed of duck and preparation. Therefore, the skin and separable fat are not included in the analysis. If left on, they will contribute more calories and fat.
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Bay Wolf's All-Day Duck
Serves 4
This doesn't really take all day unless you count the brining time. Bay Wolf recommends roasting the duck at 325º, but in my testing, it was not sufficiently browned or crisp in an hour. If you want to keep the oven temperature low to avoid splattering, you will need to roast the duck longer. Alternatively, as described below, roast at a higher temperature with the convection fan on. Either way, the steaming/roasting method produces a crisp duck with little remaining fat. Bay Wolf uses Liberty Duck exclusively, but I preferred using the smaller, milder-tasting ducks from Chinese markets. Start this dish the morning of the day before you plan to cook it.
INGREDIENTS:
1 fresh duck, about 5 pounds
1 1/2 gallons water
1 1/2 cups kosher salt
3/4 cup sugar
Several sprigs fresh thyme
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 dozen whole black peppercorns, coarsely crushed
6 juniper berries, coarsely crushed
INSTRUCTIONS:
To prepare the duck: With a heavy cleaver, remove the duck head, neck and feet, if attached. Remove the wing tips. Save all parts for stock, if desired. Rinse the carcass well inside and out and pull out the clumps of fat just inside the cavity on both sides at the tail end.
In a pot just large enough to hold the duck, combine the water, salt and sugar. Stir until the salt and sugar dissolve and the water becomes clear again. Stir in thyme sprigs, garlic, peppercorns and juniper berries. Add the duck and make sure it is submerged; weight with a plate if necessary. Cover and refrigerate 24 to 36 hours. Remove the duck from the brine and let excess water drip off. Put the thyme sprigs and garlic from brine in the cavity, then tie the legs together with kitchen twine so the duck holds its shape during steaming and roasting.
If you do not have a steamer large enough to accommodate the duck, set a flat rack in a roasting pan, perching the rack on overturned custard cups or ramekins to keep it above the level of the water. Put 1 inch of water in the roasting pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Put the duck on the rack, seal the roasting pan tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil, making sure little or no steam can escape, lower heat to keep the water at a steady but not vigorous boil, and steam 1 hour.
Carefully remove the foil -- the steam will be hot -- and set the duck aside. Preheat the oven to 400º and turn on the convection fan, if you have one. Prick the bird with a small knife in several places, especially where you can feel fat deposits. Roast the duck on a rack, breast-side up, until the skin is well browned and crisp, about 1 hour. Let rest for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.
Note: The calories and other nutrients absorbed from brines vary and are difficult to estimate. Variables include the type of food, marinating time and amount of surface area. Therefore, this recipe contains no analysis.
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Bay Wolf's Seared Duck Breasts with Spice Rub
Serves 4
Note that you need to start this recipe one day ahead so that the spice rub can permeate the meat. The meaty, full-flavored Liberty Duck breasts are worth seeking out for this recipe.
INGREDIENTS:
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
8 juniper berries
2 cloves
4 boneless duck breasts, about 8 ounces each, preferably Liberty Duck
INSTRUCTIONS:
To prepare the rub: In a mortar or spice grinder, grind the salt, peppercorns, juniper berries and cloves to a powder. Massage this spice rub onto both sides of the duck breasts. Put the breasts on a flat rack and set the rack on a tray so that air circulates all around the breasts. Refrigerate uncovered for 24 to 48 hours.
Heat a large, heavy skillet over moderate heat. When hot, add the duck breasts, skin side down. Cook the breasts, pouring off fat as it accumulates, until the skin is well browned and crisp, about 12 minutes, reducing the heat if necessary so the skin crisps without burning. Turn the duck breasts and cook on the flesh side for 6 minutes, turning the breasts with tongs to sear all the exposed flesh. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes, then slice on the diagonal. Serve immediately.
Per serving (without skin): 190 calories, 26 g protein, 0 carbohydrate, 8 g fat (3 g saturated), 108 mg cholesterol, 1,170 mg sodium, 0 g fiber.
The amount of duck fat rendered during cooking varies greatly. Factors include the breed of duck and preparation. Therefore, the skin and separable fat are not included in the analysis. If left on, they will contribute more calories and fat.
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Manka's 'Shut Up' Duck Legs
Serves 4
Manka's Inn chef Daniel DeLong prepared this dish for Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles when they ate at the restaurant last November on a visit to Point Reyes. "Camilla doesn't particularly care for duck, and she wanted the recipe," reports DeLong. Billed as Duck Fit for a Prince to diners, the dish is called "Shut Up" Duck behind the scenes because a hush falls over the dining room when it's served.
INGREDIENTS:
4 duck legs, 8 to 10 ounces each, visible fat removed
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
Several grinds of black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion cut into 1/2-inch dice
6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed with the side of a knife
3/4 cup red wine
1/3 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1 1/2 cups duck stock, or more as needed (available in the freezer case in many markets)
INSTRUCTIONS:
To prepare the duck: Season the duck legs on both sides with the salt and pepper. Put the legs on a flat rack and set the rack on a tray so that air circulates all around the legs. Refrigerate uncovered for 24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350º.
Heat a 14-inch ovenproof skillet over moderate heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat. Add the duck legs, skin-side down. Cook until the skin is well browned and most of the fat has rendered; 15 to 20 minutes, pouring off the fat as it accumulates.
Set the duck legs aside on a plate. Add the onions to the skillet and cook, stirring, until they are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two to release its fragrance. Add the wine, raise the heat to high, and simmer until all the wine has evaporated. Add the orange juice and simmer until it is reduced by half. Stir in the mustard, thyme and 1 1/2 cups stock, whisking until the mustard dissolves and the stock is simmering. Return the duck to the skillet, skin-side up. Cover with a round of parchment paper and a lid. Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook until the duck legs are tender when prodded with a fork, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours.
Set the duck legs aside and pour the sauce into a measuring cup. Let the sauce settle for 10 to 15 minutes, then skim off fat. Return the sauce to the skillet and keep warm. If there is not enough sauce, add a little duck stock.
Preheat the broiler. To crisp the duck skin before serving, set the legs on a broiler rack about 8 inches from the element. Broil, watching constantly, until the skin is crisp. To serve, spoon a little sauce onto each plate and top with a duck leg.
Per serving (without skin): 205 calories, 21 g protein, 8 g carbohydrate, 7 g fat (3 g saturated), 79 mg cholesterol, 684 mg sodium, 0 fiber.
The amount of duck fat rendered during cooking varies greatly. Factors include the breed of duck and preparation. Therefore, the skin and separable fat are not included in the analysis. If left on, they will contribute more calories and fat.
E-mail Janet Fletcher at jfletcher@sfchronicle.com.
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