No, this poor duck wasn’t a victim of the 200 kph winds of Typhoon Xangsane (Milenya locally), it was actually way dead and totally frozen prior to the storm. As it thawed due to the lack of electricity, it was obvious that we had to cook “donald” for dinner the other night… I have only cooked duck breasts or foie gras before, never a whole duck…somehow it just struck me as being incredibly messy (not as much as a goose though!) and would take too long… But Mrs. Marketman had a hankering for duck a few days ago so I purchased this Long Island grown duck and stuck it in the deep freeze…
After consulting a duck cookbook, it suggested that farmed North American ducks (as opposed to more muscular and less fatty wild ducks) needed to be cooked for a LONG time to render the fat, have tender meat and a crispy skin. To make, 
I removed the neck and gizzards of the duck, washed it and dried it with paper towels. I scored the skin and fat on the breasts by cutting shallow lines down the breasts without hitting the meat; you need to do this is two directions so that it looks like there are “diamond” patterns on the breasts. Next, salt and pepper the duck generously inside and out. Place donald in a roasting pan (breasts facing the sky) and stick it in the oven. Turn the oven on to 300 F (do not pre-heat the oven). The fat will render slowly as the oven heats up. Take the duck out after about an hour and turn it over. I added 1/2 cup or more of chicken broth to the bottom of the pan so the duck drippings don’t burn and the duck dries out too much. Stick it back in the oven for another hour. Take it out and turn it over so that the breast side is facing up. Stick it back in the oven and turn the heat up to 350 F.
Meanwhile, I found a jar of apricot preserves (I wanted to use plum but didn’t have any left) and I made a sauce with one bottle apricot preserves and about 1/2 cup of port, heated over a low flame until the consistency of a thin glaze. Now glaze the duck (after two and a half hours of cooking so far) and add more broth to the bottom of the pan and stick it back in the 350 F oven. Glaze it one or two more times and remove it at about 3 hours and 15 to 30 minutes of total cooking time. If you notice it burning up too fast, cover with foil for about 40-45 minutes of the total cooking time, keep adding broth if the bottom of the pan is burning up. Make a simple sauce using the leftover glaze heated up with the addition of the pan juices (less most of the fat of which there will be oodles) and a few tablespoons of water or broth; make sure the sauce hits a boil before turning it off.
I served this with some haricots verts with a vinaigrette dressing. The verdict? Utterly delicious. The meat was tender and extremely flavorful. The skin was 
incredibly good. Not crispy, because of the addition of the glaze (if you omit the glaze you are likely to get a crispier skin) but the caramelized apricot and port glaze was really very good. This served four people nicely and it is something that I will do again during the holidays. Our friends brought some sinful Royce macadamia nuts dipped in dark chocolate for our dessert. A great high-calorie ending to a spectacularly high-calorie meal… I think I have gained weight since the storm…
23 Responses
count on MarketMan to come up with a total stunner just because he needs to clean out the freezer! way cool!
That duck looks amazing. Kudos to you. I’m afraid to even cook duck breast, let alone an entire bird!
I don’t remember anyone in our family trying to cook duck. we usually think it’s better to eat them in restaurants, it seems like a lot of work .
“Donald”?! Cheezey! LOL!
Marketman– IBA ka talaga…. :)
Thanks so much for this. I love duck but am intimidated to cook it. It’s already a feat for me to have perfected roast chicken… This takes it to the next level. Much thanks.
that duck looks good. maybe orange marmalade would have worked with the glaze as well. where can you get good port in manila?
Marketman: Where did you buy your duck and were you happy with it?
I love duck, we’d cook it at the dorm in China; haven’t had a chance to cook one here in Manila. Finger licking good meat, and full of flavor. Our glaze of sorts was always a soy sauce or plum sauce with some garlic and ginger, we’d stuff the cavity with ginger to get rid of some of the malansa flavor. The meat would be much thinner than the ducks in the States, but it was always very tasty. Then dipped in a plum/ginger sauce and chopped green onions. Lots of rice or find rice pancakes for the pseudo-peking duck option.
Finally, a duck recipe from you Marketman!YAY!!!! I’ve been really wishing for one. I like to cook duck but I want to have a variety of recipes. Yours looks so good, I have to try this.
Millet, fried neurons and Crissy, the duck turned out to be REALLY EASY to do. Gigi, when you want to take it UP A NOTCH, go with a roast duck…your dinner guests will be impressed… anonymous paul, yes orange marmalade might work and I buy my Port from Bacchus at Shangrila, they have a range of reasonably priced to more expensive. wysgal, I bought the duck at Cash & Carry for roughly PHP800 and it fed 4, or PHP200 a person. I bit on the pricey side, but not compared to eating it at a fancy restaurant… Mila, yes, duck with plum sauce is excellent…that’s why I had originally planned to glaze it with a plum jam but I had run out… Tulip, I think I have featured a duck confit before, but I am not certain…I know I have eaten it several times…
The duck looks really delicious! I’ve tried cooking duck by boiling it in Boquet Garni among other ingredients. Afterwhich, I let the duck and the broth cool overnight. Then, I bake the duck the following day. I usually serve the duck with potato gratin or vegetable gratin. Its really delicious!
I am interested in trying your duck recipe. Now, I was wondering if you know how to make the plum sauce they serve in Yung Kee restaurant in Hong Kong. The taste of the sauce is pretty distinct and i really like it. It sort of tastes like plum with red champoy. Of course, I am hoping that you are familiar with that restaurant. However,in the alternative, maybe, you have your own recipe for the plum sauce.
Thanks for the information about ducks being available in cash & carry. I want a cheaper alternative to the ducks being sold at Santis.
J, I have been to Yung Kee before, but unfortunately have no idea how they make their plum sauce. The plum glaze that I have used before uses a lot of plum jam (damson if you can find them) and port… it is delicious but not the sauce you have had at Yung Kee
MM, duck? well diet’s out the window then.
fine looking roast you got there. and you say the skin was good in spite of it not being crispy? wow. i love crispy duck skin though. ..actually, crispy skin anything is pretty good– lechon, roast pork, chinese crispy chicken.. ok now i’m hungry.
Anyone know which establishment serves the best chinese crispy chicken in town? you know, the shiny kind, served with kropeck..
Wow it looks so yummy! Just like you, I was a bit apprehensive about cooking the whole duck but over a year ago I did watch a tv show with Australian celebrity chef Kylie Wong making a roast duck and it seemed so easy. So I did try it myself and followed her recipe to the letter. The result was amazing. Since then, I’ve been making roast duck at least once every couple of months.
Donald looks so yummy, will try daffy this coming Christmas using this glaze instead of the not-so-French duck a l’Orange I have been making. Thanks for this post, MM.
looks yummylicious!! but am scared to eat duck eversince i was told of the calories it would add to what i already have in excess.. being a gall-bladder less person does have it’s downsides when it comes to eating rich and calorie-high dishes.. haaay!!
There’s a roof flying towards us, duck!!!
I really wish all of you from Luzon the strength and resilience to overcome the wrath of Milenyo. God Bless.
Gosh. I love Yung Kee but particularly for their century eggs with sublime collapsed yolk centers…. Goodness.
i was just thinking, if they can fry whole turkeys…..
anonymous paul, they actually DO fry WHOLE turkeys in some places…I have never eaten one, however.
Hi MM, I’ve only eaten duck once. It’s strips of crispy duck with plum sauce and jullience celery wrapped in rice pancakes. Really nice. Do you know any other recipe for duck, one that is not roasted or fried? My friend bought duck breasts from the butcher shop and I like to try some other way to cook it.
I have never tried cooking a whole duck. . . breast is good enough for me or confit. . .
my mom cooks duck by stewing it over soy sauce and some other spices that I’m not sure of. It’s like eating adobo. Not exactly my favorite way of eating duck. prefer mine “peking” =)