Eileen, duck is easy to cook. I have a number of recipes that I like. The last time I roasted a duck I used one of the Contessa's recipe and it was wonderful. Crispy skin and tender melt in the mouth meat.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

2 (5 to 5 1/2 pounds each) ducks, innards and wing tips removed
6 quarts chicken broth
Kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Unwrap the ducks and allow them to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. With a fork, prick the skin without piercing the meat. This will allow the fat to drain off while the ducks cook.
Meanwhile, in a very large stock pot which can hold the 2 ducks, heat the chicken broth with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt until it boils. Add the ducks very carefully and bring the stock back to a boil. If there isn't enough stock to cover the ducks, add the hottest tap water to cover. If the ducks float to the top, place a plate on top to keep them immersed. When the stock comes back to a boil, lower the heat and simmer the ducks in the stock for 45 minutes.
When the ducks are finished simmering, skim off enough duck fat from the top of the stock to pour a film on the bottom of a 14 by 18 by 3-inch roasting pan. This will keep the ducks from sticking when they roast. Carefully take the ducks out of the stock, holding them over the pot to drain. Place them in the roasting pan, pat the skin dry with paper towels, and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt and the pepper. If you have time, allow the ducks to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow the skin to dry.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. (Be sure your oven is very clean or it will smoke!) Roast the ducks for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow them to rest, covered with aluminum foil, for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Adjusted from: The Wimodausis Club Cookbook: Third Edition 1934

1 duck, about 5 pounds
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup of white wine
5 oranges
1 tablespoon butter
2 1/2 cups rich chicken stock
1 lemon
1 ounce of Orange Liqueur

.
Melt one tablespoon of butter in a well heated frying pan. Brown the
duck well over all and then remove from the pan.

Remove most of the fat.

Add the sugar and cook until it becomes thick caramel. Add one cup of
wine and simmer until reduce by half. Add two cups of broth and cook
another 15 minutes. Place the duck into the casserole and add the juice
of two oranges, pepper, salt and two slices of orange with the rind on
it. Cook in a 325F oven until tender (1 1/2 to 2 hours).

Cut the rind off two oranges and one lemon and cut into very fine long
strips, cook in boiling water for five minutes and drain.

Half hour before serving, add the cooked rinds, uncover casserole and
continue cooking. About ten minutes before serving add the orange
liqueur.

I have, literally, several hundred duck recipes, including the original Canard a l'Orange from the S.S. France.

I much prefer wild duck over the greasyness of domestic duckling. And I much prefer preparing it in a savory manner, rather than a sweet one. But everyone's taste differs. Here, in all its complexity, is

Canard a l'Orange S.S. France

Remove and reserve the neck and wing tips of a 5-6 pound duck and reserve the giblets, except the liver. Truss the duck, dry it thoroughly, and prick it with a skewer around the fatty parts. Season the duck with salt and pepper and coat it with 2 tbls melted butter.

Put it on a rack in a shallow roasting pan and roast it in a hot oven (425) for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to moderate (350) and continue roasting the duck, turning it twice, for 1 1/2 hours, or until it is brown and crisp. Halfway through the cooking remove the duck and rack from the pan, pour off the fat, and return the duck on the rack to the oven.

Make a duck stock: In a skillet brown the reserved duck neck, wing tips, and giblets with 1 onion and 1 carrot, both diced, in 3 tbls oil. Add 5 cups brown veal stock (beef stock will sub), reduce the stock over high heat to 2 1/2 cups, and reserve it. In a saucepan cook the juice of 4 oranges, 1 tbls vinegar, and 1/3 cup sugar until the mixture forms a light caramel. Strain 2 cups of the reserved stock, thicken it with 2 tbls arrowroot dissolved in a little cold water, and add it to the caramel, stirring. Season the sauce with salt & pepper to taste and add 1/2 cup each of Curacao and Cognac.

Transfer the duck to a heated serving platter, pour off the fat in the pan, and add to the pan the remaining 1/2 cup of reserved stock, strained. Cook the stock, stirring until the brown bits that cling to the bottom and sides of the pan are well incorporated, strian it, and add it to the sauce.

Remove the zest of 2 thick-skinned oranges, reserving the oranges, and cut it into fine julienne. Put the julienne in a saucepan with water to cover and bring the water to a rolling boil. Drain the zest and add it to the sauce. Remove the remaining peel from the reserved oranges and cut them into sections free of membrane. Add the orange sections to the sauce and keep it warm.

Peel 2 more oranges and cut them into sections free of membrane. Arrange the sections in the shape of a fan on a closely meshed wire cake rack, lightly oiled and set over wax paper. In a heavy skillet cook 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tbls water until the mixture caramelizes. Quickly spoon the caramel over the orange slices and carfully lay the fan on the breast of the duck---the caramel will make the fan adhere. Pour a little of the sauce over the duck and serve the remainder in a sauceboat.

Soon as I feel up to typing again I'll post some simpler recipes.

WOW THANKS!!!! I seen Inas method an was leary but now i know Ann has a goo result I just may try it.thanks Now what o you serve with it Raspberry Sauce???

You're welcome Eileen. I made the mistake of showing Moe the picture so I'll have to make Ina's recipe again soon.

Ann

I would just make a veloute sauce out of the chicken stock they were poached in. After 45 minutes I would call it a fortified stock, which should have essences of duck flavor.

Meanwhile, here are a couple more possibilities.

Breast of Duck in Brandy Sauce w/Wild Rice

1/4 lb butter
1/2 cup Cognac or brandy
1/2 cup dry Sherry
2 tbls grape jelly
4 boned duck breasts (8 filets)
1 cup wild rice, rinsed well
2 cups water
1 tsp salt
Arrowroot or cornstarch and water to form a thick paste

In a heavy skillet melt butter. Add cognac, Sherry and jelly. Bring to a boil. Add duck breasts. Cover, reduce to low heat. Simmer 30 minutes or until tender.

Boil the rice in salted water, covered, until fluffy and tender. Place duck breasts on hot wild rice. Thicken the sauce remaining in the pan with the starch mixture.

Duck With Lime

Clean 2 small ducks, pat them dry with paper towels, and stuff the cavities with chunks of apple, unpeeled. Close the cavities with skewers or wooden picks and put the ducks on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Sprinklw them with salt & pepper to taste and roast them, uncovered, in a moderate oven (350) for 1 hour. Drain off all the duck fat.

Combine 1 cup apple juice, 1/2 cup pineapple juice, 1/4 cup fresh lime juice, 1 onion, coarsely chopped, and salt & peper to taste and pour the mixture over the ducks. Continue to roast them, basting them frequently with the lime mixture, for 1 hour more.

Remove the apple chunks from the duck cavities and discard them. Transfer the birds to a heated platter and garnish with wedges of lime. Thicken the pan juices with a little cornstarch mixed with water, strain the sauce, and serve in a sauceboat.

Finally, another one a bit more complex. But the results are worthwhile. You can really wow guests with this one.

Chinese Lacquered Duck w/Coffee Madarin Glaze

2 ducks about 5 lbs each
2 cups honey
2 tbls butter
1/2 cup strong coffee
1 tsp arrowroot
4 cups coarse salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup coffee liqueur

Rub ducks with salt. Place on rack over shallow pan and refrigerate uncovered 24 hours.

Rinse ducks under cold running water. Cujt off any excess fat and discard.

Preheat oven to 45o. In a stockpot bring 1 gallon water to boil over high heat. Stir in the honey. Immerse 1 of the ducks in the mixsture for 4 minutes. Remove and drain well. Repeat with second duck. Set ducks on wire rack in a roasting pan.

Roast ducs 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 and roat 1 hour longer, until duck skin resembles black lacquer.

Meanwhile, in nonreactive saucepan, cook sugar over moderate heat, stirring until it becomes a light brown caramel. Immediately stir in butter. When it melts stir in the juice, coffee, and liqueur. Simmer until sugar dissovles completely, then stir in arrowroot and simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes.

Remove breasts and legs from carcass, leaving skin intact. Slice leg meat off bones and place on warm plates. Slice breasts crosswise and fan the slices on plates. Drizzle with the sauce and serve immediately.

Eileen, I actually like the duck without a sauce. I love the crispy skin.

And if you use Ina Garten's recipe I wouldn't use the broth it was cooked in because you would need to skim all the wonderful duck fat off of it first. I just refrigerated the cooking liquid and when it is cold I removed the duck fat and saved it.

You could make any sauce that appeals to you. An orange sauce, or an asian plum sauce, cranberry, raspberry, etc.

Ann

Thanks...if I serve a sauce I will put it on the side for those who may not enjoy sauce...thanks for all the great tips