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Edited on Tue Dec-28-10 02:59 PM by mike_c
OK, I'm channeling my inner redneck here, but see-- I bought this five pound frozen duckling to make christmas dinner for my SO, who coincidentally chose christmas to dump me and leave. The hearth stayed cold that day, as you might expect, and the duck remained in the refrigerator.
Yesterday, I cooked it. Long and slow roast, the usual way. I'd intended to serve it with roasted yams and sauted brussels sprouts, but during the last part of the roast I thought of this instead. The basic idea is to tuck roasted duck meat and crispy skin into a buttered biscuit, then pour duck gravy over the lot. Served with a simple, classic caesar salad, this was a wonderful meal-- and I have a magnificent duck carcass in the 'fridge to make soup with, later.
Depending upon how meaty your duck is, you might get three or four biscuits out of one roast duck, but I really consider this dinner for two. Save any leftover meat for soup.
Roast duck biscuits
5-6 lb duckling, thawed
Montreal steak seasoning
1 mandarin orange, quartered
1 small red onion, quartered
2 cups chicken stock
2 Tbsp white wine
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 300 F. Rinse and dry the duck, reserving giblets and the neck. Carefully slice the skin all over into 1 inch diamonds to allow the fat to drain during roasting. Prick the skin additionally with the tip of a sharp knife to assist fat drainage. Cut off and reserve excess skin and fat.
Rub the duck inside and out with plenty of Montreal steak seasoning. Stuff the onion and orange quarters into the cavity and truss the legs. Fold the wings to keep them from flopping around later. Transfer the duck to a rack in a roasting pan and roast breast side up for one hour at 300 F.
Meanwhile, start the duck stock for gravy. Brown the reserved neck, extra skin pieces, and giblets (except the liver, which I reserve for eating) in a sauce pan with a tiny bit of fat or oil. Deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine, then add the chicken stock, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 2-3 hours while the duck roasts, adding additional liquid as necessary.
Carefully turn the duck breast side down and roast for another hour at 300 F. Then turn it breast side up again for another 1-2 hours, until the fat is all rendered and the skin is thin and crispy. Expect this to take at LEAST three hours, probably a bit more.
Strain the solids from the simmering stock and reserve the liquid for gravy. If it is excessively fatty, separate the excess fat and reserve it for other purposes.
The glaze.
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup molassas
1/4 cup orange juice
3 Tbsp ponzu sauce (japanese soy/citrus)
1 Tbsp hot chili sauce, such as sriracha or tong ot toi
Reduce glaze ingredients over medium heat by at least half, to produce a thick, sticky, sweet-salty-spicy glaze. Set the glaze aside.
When the duck is done, i.e. when the skin is defatted, crispy, and golden brown, remove the duck from the oven and increase the heat to 400 F. Pour off the fat that has accumulated in the roasting pan to keep it from mixing with the glaze (I assume you want to keep that lovely golden duck rendered duck fat just as much as I do). Return the duck to the 400 F oven for 10-15 minutes to really crisp the skin, then remove it and brush the skin all over with the glaze. Roast the glazed duck for 5-10 more minutes to set the glaze into a wonderful, flavorful varnish. Remove the roast duck and let it rest while you make the gravy and bake the biscuits.
Biscuits
You might have your grandma's best biscuit recipe, and in some cases, you might have the fortitude to make them, but I gave up making biscuits as soon as the frozen ones at the supermarket exceeded the best efforts of at least half the biscuit makers I know. Coincidentally, the oven is now at precisely the right temperature to bake a few frozen biscuits, so pop 'em in now and set the timer.
Duck gravy
While the biscuits are baking, make a roux with the flour and any glaze flavored duck fat you can pour from the roasting pan. Add additional reserved duck fat if necessary. When the roux is nice and brown, add the reserved duck/chicken stock and whisk over low heat until smooth. Simmer for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Adjust viscosity if necessary. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve by slicing and buttering the biscuits, then slipping a few pieces of sliced duck meat and crispy glazed skin into each. Top the biscuits with a ladle of duck gravy. As I said, I served this with a simple, classic Caesar salad and a glass of cold chardonnay. If you must eat alone, you might as well eat well.
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