Best 4 Slow Roasted Duck Recipes

SLOW-ROASTED DUCK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Season duck generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Put 1 or 2 pieces each of thyme, garlic, carrots, turnips, beets and shallots, in cavity. Truss duck; set in large casserole dish or medium roasting pan. Scatter rest of ingredients and neck around duck; season with salt and pepper. Cover loosely with foil.
• Roast duck for 10 minutes, lower temperature to 300 degrees and roast for 3 1/2 hours, basting vegetables and duck with pan juices and skimming off fat occasionally.
• Remove foil. Take out vegetables and neck, and set aside; roast duck for 1 more hour (if vegetables are not tender, continue roasting until they are). Skin should be well browned and crisp; the meat, extremely tender. Transfer duck to cutting board. Skim fat off pan juices; add water to pan, if necessary, to make 1/2 cup. Bring juices to boil, adjust seasoning, and transfer to serving bowl. Reheat vegetables and neck in baking dish in oven. Carefully carve duck (meat may fall off bone), adding vegetables from cavity to those in pan. Serve with pan juices and vegetables.

SLOW-ROASTED BALSAMIC-GLAZED DUCK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fit a large roasting pan with a rack. Place ducks on rack and prick duck skin all over with the tines of a fork, taking care not to pierce the flesh. Season ducks all over with sea salt; let stand 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, chop duck wings and neck; set aside. Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add duck wings and necks and cook, stirring, until browned. Separate and peel garlic cloves from 1 head of garlic; reduce heat to low and add fennel and garlic cloves. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are softened. Add stock and cook until reduced by half, about 40 minutes. Strain into a small saucepan; skim fat from surface. Set sauce aside.
• Halve remaining head of garlic and crush slightly. Divide lemon, thyme, and garlic evenly between duck cavities. Transfer duck to oven and roast, turning every 25 minutes, until duck begins to brown. Meanwhile, mix together vinegar and lemon juice. Once duck starts to brown, begin basting with vinegar mixture and cook until duck skin is dark brown and meat begins to come away from the breastbone, 2 to 3 hours total.
• Remove from heat and let duck stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, reheat sauce over medium heat until warmed through and reduced to desired consistency. Carve duck and serve with sauce.

SLOW-ROASTED DUCK WITH MASHED WHITE BEANS, SIZZLED HERBS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Cook the beans: Rinse beans and put them, along with the onion, bay leaves, cloves and garlic, in a large heavy-bottomed pot with a lid. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Add 2 teaspoons salt, reduce heat to low, and bring beans to a bare simmer. Cover, but leave lid ajar. Cook very slowly, adding water as needed, for about 1 1/2 hours, or until beans are soft. Taste broth and adjust seasoning. Remove onion, bay leaves, cloves and garlic, and discard. Let beans cool uncovered in the cooking liquid. (They may be cooked up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated.)
• As beans cook, prepare the duck legs: Lay them on a cutting board skin-side up, and use a skewer or the tip of a knife to prick the skin of each leg all over.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Season each leg generously on both sides with salt and pepper - don't go crazy, but don't be meek.
• Place legs in a roasting pan, in a single layer skin-side up. (Take care that the roasting pan is high-sided enough, as a fair amount of fat will be produced as legs cook.) Roast, uncovered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the meat is quite tender, nearly falling off the bone. At this point, check to see the skin is crisp and nicely browned.If not, raise oven temperature to 400 degrees, and roast for another 10 minutes, or perhaps more, until skin is crisped. Remove legs from roasting pan and keep warm. (An inch or more of liquid fat will have accumulated in the roasting pan. Let it cool a bit before pouring it into a jar for future use.)
• Bring beans to a boil in a pot over medium-high heat. Pull them off the heat, and drain in a colander, reserving liquid. Put three-quarters of the beans in a mixing bowl and use a potato masher to mash them. (Alternatively, you can purée the beans in a food processor.) Add bean broth as needed to loosen the mixture to the consistency of soft mashed potatoes. Stir in the reserved whole beans. Adjust the seasoning. Keep warm.
• Prepare sizzled herbs: Add 3 tablespoons olive oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add sage and rosemary until they're coated with oil. When all the sage leaves have wilted, keep stirring until the herbs begin to fry and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn heat to low, then swirl in the garlic and red-pepper flakes. Immediately add olives and warm through.
• To serve, pair one duck leg with a spoonful of mashed beans. Spoon some of the olive mixture over the duck and beans. If desired, dress crisp green arugula with just a few drops of lemon juice and a little salt, and serve alongside for a refreshing counterpoint to the rich, salty duck and beans.

SLOW-ROASTED DUCK WITH OLIVE GRAVY AND GARLIC-FENNEL CONFIT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500°F.
• Season each duck inside and out with salt and pepper. Using knife, skewer, or sharp fork, prick skin of each bird all over 20 to 30 times, taking care not to let knife puncture flesh (it's helpful to hold knife nearly parallel to duck and then slide it in). Stuff each cavity with 1 neck; 1/2 of thyme and garlic; 8 shallot halves; and 1/4 of fennel. Using kitchen string, tie legs loosely together.
• Transfer ducks, breast sides up, to rack set in large roasting pan. Cover loosely with foil and roast 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 300°F and continue to roast, basting every 30 minutes and skimming fat from pan juices occasionally, 3 hours.
• Remove foil from ducks. Stir remaining fennel into pan juices and roast 30 minutes more. Stir olives into pan juices and roast until duck skin is dark golden and crisp and meat is tender, about 30 minutes more (total roasting time: about 4 1/4 hours). Transfer ducks to cutting board.
• Remove rack from roasting pan. With slotted spoon, remove fennel and olives from pan juices and place in blender. Pour pan juices into 1-quart glass measure. Skim fat off top and reserve for another use. Add juices to fennel and olives in blender, then add lemon zest and juice. Purée until smooth. Taste and add salt and pepper and additional lemon juice if desired.
• Remove confit vegetables from cavities and carve ducks. Arrange meat and vegetables on platter. Garnish with chopped fennel fronds. Serve sauce alongside.