Duck Stew Recipe - French Garbure Stew with Duck | Hank Shaw (2024)

FAQs

How does Jamie Oliver cook a duck? ›

Place breast-side up in a roasting tray and stuff with the orange halves and the sprigs of rosemary and sage. Mix the Chinese five-spice with a good pinch of salt and pepper and rub all over the duck, inside and out. Turn the duck breast-side down and pop in the oven for an hour. Remove the tray from the oven.

Using a fork, prick the skin all over without piercing the meat; season with salt and pepper. Place duck on a rack set in a roasting pan and transfer to oven; roast for 40 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 degrees and continue roasting until juices run clear when thigh is pierced, about 30 minutes more.

But only some of these will remove the strong flavor many duck hunters find hard to overcome. What does work is soaking the meat before cooking. There are plenty of recipes or suggestions for soaking wild game to remove unpleasant taste. Some recipes call for wine, others for buttermilk or a marinade.

The boiling water helps pull the skin taut, making it easier to score in a crosshatch pattern. That, in turn, allows the fat to render out as everything roasts.

Heat a large cast-iron pan on low for 3 minutes. Lay the duck breasts in, skin side down, and gradually increase the heat to medium. Add the skin trimmings into the pan. Sear skin side down for 3 to 5 minutes or until most of the fat has rendered and the skin is golden brown, flipping the breast over occasionally.

Some soak duck breast in milk, wine, bourbon, salt water and probably a bunch of other stuff. For baking or crock pot cooking this does seem to keep the duck moist and tender through the process. As with most fresh meat, slow cooking demands a minimum of blood and thus the soaking helps in that regard.

Dry fry the duck skin side down over a medium heat for 4 minutes, flip over sprinkle over spices, drizzle over honey and pop in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes then rest. Heat a saucepan, add the madeira and veal jus, bring to the boil and reduce by half. Add a knob of butter and cherries, take off the heat.

Soaking waterfowl in a saltwater solution replaces blood with brine. The process also adds flavor and moisture. Once brined in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours, the meat will be paler in color, giving it less of a livery look and more the appearance of domestic meat.

The real trick here is to score the skin prior to cooking, which will let the fat render a little faster. Then, it's as simple as starting to cook that duck skin down – and probably for much longer than you'd think! Consider the skin and fat a protective barrier.

I always start by patting raw duck breasts dry before showering their skin and flesh with kosher salt. This salt cure penetrates the meat, creating a natural brine that boosts flavor, tenderness, and ease of cooking. Often, I like to add ground spices like cumin and coriander to the salt for an aromatic punch.

What is a good brine for duck meat? ›

The distinct game flavor of either birds or animals will be milder after soaking the meat overnight in the refrigerator in either a salt or vinegar solution. 2. Vinegar solution - 1 cup per quart of cold water. Use enough solution to cover the game completely.

To ensure even browning, turn duck twice during roasting. Use paper towels to lift bird from pan.

Roast on a rack.

For especially fatty duck, you'll benefit from starting the cooking process with the breast side down for the first 40 minutes or so, before flipping it breast side up for the rest of the roast, to ensure even browning and fat rendering all around.

After scoring, I season the duck with kosher salt, heavily on the fat side and just lightly on the flesh side. Much of the salt on the fat side melts off during cooking, so you need more than you'd expect to fully season that side. That's all the prep you need before you start cooking.

Transfer the duck to a medium roasting tray and roast for around 1 hour 20 minutes. Meanwhile, halve the bulb of garlic across the middle, then peel and roughly slice the carrots and onions.

Ducks are generally roasted uncovered and usually do not need to be basted with fats. Cook for 20–30 minutes to brown, then reduce heat to 190°C for the remainder of the cooking period. Allow 30–45 minutes per kilogram, according to age and size.

While the USDA recommends cooking duck to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165° F (74° C) to avoid the potential risk of salmonella poisoning, restaurants often serve duck medium-rare. Since duck has dark meat and tight muscle fibers, these muscles are often cooked much like beef for tender results.