Still enjoying my duck lust

[supernova]

Wait! That didn't sound right... :think:

I finally was able to find frozen duck at the store a couple of weeks ago. I'm defrosting it now and will cook it tomorrow.

Here's the recipe I'm going to use, and I have to go out tomorrow and find 5-spice powder. I have everything else:

Tyler Florence's Chinatown Steamed and Roasted Duck

1 whole (4 to 5 pound) duck
1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
5 big slices fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves
1/2 bunch green onions
1 tangerine,peel cut in big strips
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce

Duck is notoriously a fatty bird, to diminish the fat and produce a crispy skin, begin by trimming the excess fat from the neck and body. Rinse the duck, inside and out, and pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. Combine the Chinese five-spice, sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Rub the spice mixture all over the duck, inside and out. Salt and five-spice powder makes a fragrant dry marinade, which draws some of the moisture from the duck so that the spices penetrate. Stuff the duck cavity with the aromatics: the ginger, garlic, green onions, and tangerine peel. Fold the wing tips back under the duck and tie the legs together with kitchen string. Poke the duck breast a few times, piercing the skin.

Place a roasting pan on the stovetop over 2 burners and fill with 2-inches of water, turn the heat to medium. Set a V-rack insert inside the pan and lay the duck on the rack, breast-side up. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Steam the duck for 45 minutes, checking the water level periodically. Steaming the duck first melts away some of the fat and shrinks the skin.
In a small saucepan combine the vinegar, honey, and soy sauce over low heat. Cook and stir for 5 minutes until thick. The duck will be lacquered with the sweet glaze, which caramelizes during roasting, making the skin crisp and brown.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Take the foil off the duck, remove the rack with the duck, and pour out the water and all the fat that has rendered out (this is great to use in other dishes like fried rice.) Put the rack with the duck back inside the roasting pan. Baste the duck with the vinegar mixture, until all the skin is completely coated in the glaze. Stick the whole thing in the oven. Roast the duck for 1 hour, basting periodically with any remaining glaze to set in a deep mahogany color. Tent the breast with some foil if it gets too dark. The legs will wiggle easily when it's done. Carve and serve.

[mike_c]

1. pour off and save all the fat....

Even if you don't use it to make something like confit, it is marvelous cooking fat. I've been known to cook a duck just to get the rendered fat!

oh, on edit-- render the fat you trim off too-- just heat it to 350 degrees or so in a skillet and filter out any solids after the fat melts. If you use an iron skillet, it adds to the skillet's seasoning, too!

[supernova]

2. Thank's I'll remember that

It's still defrosting right now though....

The outside is thawed, but I can't quite reach in to pull out the innards packet.

[eleny]

3. This sounds great

And not hard to do. I read through the whole recipe and want to try it. The steaming is very straight forward. Then you pop the whole thing into the oven after glazing.

[Shakespeare]

4. That sounds WONDERFUL! What kind of dishes to go with?

With those asian spices, I'm not sure what I'd fix to go with; perhaps some just barely-sauteed haricots verts with a little ginger and garlic?

In your ongoing duck lust, have you made duck confit? That's one I've got on my to-make list in the near future (so recipes and hints are always welcome).

[supernova]

5. I've never tried confit

What is it 'xactly?

I'd be sure to try it though.

[mike_c]

8. confit is essentially just slices of roast duck "preserved" in duck fat...

...in the refrigerator, of course. Here's a recipe from Culinary Cafe-- it's pretty generic:

http://www.culinarycafe.com/Ethnic_Dishes/Duck_Confit.html

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

* 2 (5 pound) ducks
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 2 tablespoons black peppercorns, cracked
* 6 cups rendered duck or pork fat
* 12 garlic cloves, peeled
* 12 fresh thyme sprigs

Remove ducks' legs and breasts, saving remaining bones and wings for brown duck stock. Leaving bones and skin attached, chop breasts into halves. With a cleaver, remove tips of drumsticks to use in stock.

Sprinkle all over with salt and pepper, and set aside at room temperature 45 minutes. Then place duck pieces in a Dutch oven with rendered fat, garlic and thyme. Cook over low heat, uncovered, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. To test for doneness, pierce with a sharp fork. It should just fall off fork when shaken.

Transfer duck pieces to a medium baking dish and add the fat. Let cool to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 24 hours or as long as 4 weeks. Before serving, lift duck pieces out of fat. Remove and discard skin and any excess fat by warming slightly on a rack in the oven. Serve duck hot or cold.

[supernova]

6. This cooking technique works really well

Though I don't think I had the stove top quite high enough. There was still quite a bit of fat on the breast when I put it in the oven. I think next time I'll:

1) Set the duck breast side down.

2) Set the stove top up to abut Med-Hi. And be careful about the water level. You don't want it splattering out on the eyes since it's greasy water. I had a little bit if that I think b/c I had a little too much water in there.

That's something I've gotten out of a watching a lot of cooking shows recently: change cooking methods half way through to acheive the effect you want. Is this a recent development in cookery or have professionals always done that?

[Stinky The Clown]

7. " ......... or have professionals always done that?"

I don't know about 'always', but these methods have been around for probably several hundred years, at least.

Just as one example that you probably know about but just didn't consider: braising. First you sear the meat in the pan on the stovetop. Then you add liquid and probably some veggies and pop it in the oven.

The searing is, in effect, frying. The step after adding the liquid is, in effect, boiling.