roast duck

[granny grump]

What is the best way to roast duck - I have never cooked it before and a young friend has asked me. Any tips please or fool proof recipes?

[jack daniels]

some good ones here

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/Food/Recipe/search .htm?category=recipe&searchtype=single&query=d uck&WT.mc_id=pai06017_se_76

[hammerman]

There will be a lot of fat so roast it on a trivet to stop it sitting in the fat. last one i did, i covered the skin with thinly sliced jaffa oranges and drizzled with honey.

[thugulike]

Put your extractor fan on full speed. Duck is fatty and can make a lot of smoke. Best to open the window before you get smoked out. You must have a trivet as hammerman said

[madmaggot]

Black cherry sauce is great with roast duck.

[granny grump]

Thank you all - that should certainly help her

[Brooksy]

One duck will feed 2 people (an huge Aylesbury will do 3) as they bain`t got a lot of meat on `em, but oodles of fat.
Set oven @ 400f /gas mk 6/210c. To get a crispy skin, rub plain flour, salt & pepper on skin & dot with bits of butter. After 20 mins, lower oven to 325f/ gm3/170c. Prick the skin (but not the flesh underneath) all over & give it another 20 mins. Take it out, prick it again & give it a further 20 mins. If it`s going too brown, lightly cover with foil. I`d use Gary Rhodes recommended Crosse & Blackwell packet Madeira wine gravy for quicknes if required. So, 1 hour, plus fiddling about & 10-15 minutes to "rest" before carving. Merry Xmas.

[Brooksy]

The only reason a roast duck would produce lots of smoke is that some people try to emulate the crispy version found in Chinese restaurants - ie they assume that to achieve the crispiness, the whole cooking time should be at a high temperature. Not so, Chinese restaurants have special lidded ovens (earlier in the year they were banned because they didn`t have the United States of Europe CE label on them. Ban lifted since).