Five people can obliterate a single roasted duck, but somehow there are ALWAYS leftovers. In the case of the roast duck with sour cherry glaze, we ate heartily, but afterwards managed to salvage over a cup worth of shredded duck meat leftovers… The following day, I decided to fry up the leftover duck meat and use it to accent a salad with greens and fruit. It was a surprise hit!
I heated up a cast iron pan, added some of the leftover sauce/fat from the duck, the shredded duck and some of the gravy and pan-fried until it was nice and caramelized. The pieces were a bit chewy and crisp at the same time and were slightly salty, sweet and sour… There was only about half a cup when it was all cooked but it was enough for a small salad for four people.
To some mixed lettuce greens made up of iceberg, romaine, baby arugula, I added one sliced red anjou pear, the fried duck, and some pomegranate arils from the last pomegranate that has been in the fridge for weeks… A simple vinaigrette, salt and pepper was the perfect dressing. Each mouthful had some lightness from the greens, bursts of intense flavor from the duck, and sweetness from the pear and sweet/sour pomegranate juice. A great way to stretch leftovers…
The fried duck bits also worked well as a topping for sliced french bread spread with some butter and topped with a sliced pear… So the next time you have a roasted duck, remember to save those last few bits of meat for another use the next day!
15 Responses
Looks gorgeous!! nice color and it seems like the flavor profile was spot on :D
did you make duck broth with the bones, MM? i imagine the broth and bits would have made a delicious arroz caldo.
Millet: there is a small family operated Chinese restaurant here that my hubby and his friends frequent at least once a week during “boys’ night out” and they always have the Duck Noodle Soup. ….very delicious and comfort food for them and now I replicated it a thome. The carcass I simmer with waster and leftover duck jiuces left from the roasting, added some mirepioux, star anise , a few cloves and a short stick of cinnamon. What you have is something close to Pho broth without the fuss!!!!
Then…. have VIetnamese rice sticks (like fat bihon) blanched ….for the toppings: sauteed oyster mushrooms, napa cabbage, carrots (matchsticks), sliced scallions, shredded duck meat, tofu puffs, ….for teh condiments: hisin on the side, hot sauce, too, and lime wedges and patis.
It is a meal in itself! Be prepared for people to ask you for seconds…excellent comfort food in this winter weather…..
@Betty Q – sounds yummy! Good use for duck carcass, I’ll keep in mind next time we have roast ducks! Thanks1
The salad looks really good , but I am particularly drawn to the bits with pear and apple slice- must be the presence of carbs! Ha ha. Yesterday I had some friends over for brunch and on the menu was a hash of duck confit with onions, potatoes and sweet potatoes with madeira and cream. Topped with a nice sunny side up fried egg- I imagine you can make some hash with your leftover duck as well- another delicious idea for duck leftovers, albeit, an unhealthy one!
I’ve also tried smoked duck at home, actually they come packaged and I just grilled for 20 mins to remove some fat. Yum.
Lately, gas griller/dome type pan-oven(used on the burner top) had been popular here, I wonder if that’s better or healthier than a turbo, the flames literally reach the food somehow… It’s like cooking your food directly in the burner’s flames except that the food is enclosed in a dome shaped big pan with a tube in the middle to circulate heat…Any idea anyone?
Talk about unusual salad mixes. Over the holidays, a niece served us this wonderful salad with a surprise mix of ingredients: mixed salad greens, mainly red leaf lettuce, cucumbers, slightly ripe mango, cubed, crab legs ( artificial,made to look like crabs but is actually fish and some additives), shelled and quartered roasted chestnuts
and topped by nori strips. The dressing had Japanese miso, mirin, wasabi and a hint of horseradish in light Japanese mayo as base. It was a nice mix of flavors.
MM, bettyQ, would you like to try it and see what you think? I liked it.
Hey, Doc!…am soooo happy you and your hubby are both OK!
Your niece’s salad sounds wonderful. I just bought 5 Dungeness crabs this morning! …will do your salad for lunch tom….I have everything on hand including the chestnuts and even the mango! Have you tried the packaged chestnuts ready to eat? I always have that in the pantry for snacks.
Where can you find pomegranates in Manila? I’ve been to Market! Market! and have called up all branches of Rustan’s Fresh and SM Hypermarket.
Can’t seem to find it anywhere. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Hi bettyQ: Thanks.
Yes indeed, use the Dungeness crab. I am not a great fan of artificial crab, but hey, I can tolerate them in small quantities and especially when Dungeness crabs aren’t available. My niece generally uses the packaged chestnuts, but I chanced upon a vendor roasting chestnuts at the Lung Center market and that’s what I brought her and was then inspired to make the salad for me to try. The mayo base would work for me in the winter, but I would prefer a lighter dressing, say french dressing vinaigrette in the summer. I’d even try it with soy sauce instead of salt for seasoning as Diane of White on Rice Couple does.
Can’t hardly wait for summer now that I was forced to come back earlier than planned.
Bryan, pomegranates are sporadically available. Sometimes the fruit vendor at the basement of rockwell has them, sometimes Frutesca from Market!Market! has them and other times S&R has them. The ones in these photos came in someone’s suitcase before the holidays…
never pa ako nakain ng duck, nung nasa tinajin kami, di ko rin naisip na tikman sya,ngayon nakita ko sa picture mo yung roasted duck,isa na sya sa mga listahan na pinagsisihan ko di ko nagawa sa china, ang kumain ng peking duck… huhuhuhuhuhuhu
pwedeba sya palitan ng chicken instead of duck? hehehehhe
My kids and I love Chinese Roasted Duck (Goose also), man! can my kids devour one of those. We usually have ’em Tuesdays (they’re on sale at 99 Ranch Market) at least once a month.
I’m not that fond of vegetables but this picture is really enticing. Thanks MM for sharing it.