Take whole duck.
Using a paring knife, make slits in the skin, all over the duck. DO NOT cut into the meat, just the skin.
Place whole duck in simmering pot, water to cover entire duck. Gently simmer duck for 30 minutes.
Remove duck, reserve water (and rendered duck fat) for making stock/separating fat for yummy cooking grease.
Let duck rest for 30 minutes, patting dry and getting remainder of fat off duck. Season generously with salt & pepper.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Roast duck for 30 minutes. Remove, let sit, carve.
Parboiling it removes a lot of the fat, which tends to splatter & smoke. You won't render all of it; there will still be plenty to keep the duck moist.
Sounds good, does it come out greasy?
I'll remember this the next time I cook a duck; my fist attempt didn't go so quickly.
Quote from: Charley Brown on September 23, 2010, 03:22:57 PM
Sounds good, does it come out greasy?
Nope, that's what the parboiling is for, to remove excess greasiness.
Yeah, I've always slow cooked it with a drainage rack in the bottom of the pan.
I should point out that "quick" still means at least 90 minutes... I guess I should have said "easy".
Quote from: Mistress Freeky, HRN on September 23, 2010, 03:23:29 PM
I'll remember this the next time I cook a duck; my fist attempt didn't go so quickly.
:lmnuendo:
Fucking YUM!!!
Spices? Herb? Suggestions? I find I tend to go a bit oriental with my duck just because I don't know any better. I never really cooked it a lot until recently!
I like mine simple with salt/pepper, and then use the sides to round out the flavor profile.
You can also make a pan sauce with the drippings -- flour for a 5-to-10-minute roux over low heat, then chopped garlic while raising the heat, a shot of wine, then add stock and reduce.
all I read was "quick roast duck" and I was filled with culinary rage.
if you are cooking your duck at over 275 degrees fahrenheit, YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG.
Quote from: Exit City Hustle on September 23, 2010, 05:42:51 PM
all I read was "quick roast duck" and I was filled with culinary rage.
if you are cooking your duck at over 275 degrees fahrenheit, YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG.
What tricks do you use to get rid of some of the grease?
you can still parboil it if you want, but if you slow-roast it for hours at a low heat most of the fat will render out anyway. Also, I usually go to the asian markets and buy the peking ducks instead of the long island ducks you get in american markets. they tend to have better flavor and are a little less fatty.
Thanks.
I bet that would work with pheasant as well.
Pheasant is a pretty lean bird, so you actually want to give it some extra fat before you roast it. Wrapping it with bacon is always a good idea, alternatively you can take a brand-new 100% cotton pillow cover, wash it once, and soak it in butter, then roast the pheasant inside of it, like a giant fat-soaked envelope. I do this with turkey and everyone raves about my turkey.
also....IMO, the real point of parboiling a duck isn't so much to render out the fat (as I said, this can be achieved just by slow-roasting it) but to help kick-start the breakdown of connective tissues, since duck is a naturally gristly bird. parboiling it before you roast it helps to tenderize it some, though again, if you do it for long enough at a low enough heat that shouldn't be necessary.
Quote from: Exit City Hustle on September 23, 2010, 10:51:36 PM
Pheasant is a pretty lean bird, so you actually want to give it some extra fat before you roast it. Wrapping it with bacon is always a good idea, alternatively you can take a brand-new 100% cotton pillow cover, wash it once, and soak it in butter, then roast the pheasant inside of it, like a giant fat-soaked envelope. I do this with turkey and everyone raves about my turkey.
Excellent idea for the turkey. I have only ever eaten wild pheasant, and they seemed real greasy to me, maybe they were cooked wrong.
I've only eaten them wild as well. Probably an issue of how it was cooked, but it could also have something to do with what they eat in different areas of the country. I know there are huge pheasant farms in western KS and NE, so you should be able to get a farm-raised bird for comparison easily enough.
Quote from: Exit City Hustle on September 23, 2010, 11:04:19 PM
I've only eaten them wild as well. Probably an issue of how it was cooked, but it could also have something to do with what they eat in different areas of the country. I know there are huge pheasant farms in western KS and NE, so you should be able to get a farm-raised bird for comparison easily enough.
You're right about the diet, the deer we used to shoot fed only on long stem timothy grass, never tasted gamey.
whereas I only eat wild venison in Maine if I'm really hungry. It's just not that good, probably because of the harder winters and a diet that's heavily supplemented by foraging on humanity's scraps.
Quote from: Exit City Hustle on September 24, 2010, 12:25:17 AM
whereas I only eat wild venison in Maine if I'm really hungry. It's just not that good, probably because of the harder winters and a diet that's heavily supplemented by foraging on humanity's scraps.
It was wild, but near Villa Grove, Co, there are TONS of fields of longstem timothy, it's their cash crop.
Man, I gotta get out that way to do some hunting one of these days.
Quote from: Exit City Hustle on September 24, 2010, 01:12:49 AM
Man, I gotta get out that way to do some hunting one of these days.
Even the antelope from there is good, and the elk meat melts in your mouth.
I've had the opportunity to eat some wild Colorado elk before, actually. I have to say that it was one of the best wild game meats I've ever eaten.
EVERY FUCKING POST MADE ME HUNGRIER!
Elk is pretty great in hamburgers.
Quote from: Exit City Hustle on September 24, 2010, 01:12:49 AM
Man, I gotta get out that way to do some hunting one of these days.
If you ever do, get a black powder license for the mule deer, the dumb fuckers walk up to you. Then the trick is gut it, skin it, bag it, all right away.
For elk zero in at no less than 250 yards. Expect to shoot over 400. 30.06 is not enough. I used 7MM Magnum.
I do like me an elk burger.
Quote from: Jenne on September 24, 2010, 04:57:44 PM
I do like me an elk burger.
The backstraps (tenderloin) are the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. Most of the rest goes for stew meat of jerky, some steaks.
This is the same recipe, btw, that LMNO gave me for (last year's?) duck, and it turned out awesome.
Oh shit, I just lapped myself.