The following table is for unstuffed, unchilled duck. Add 20 to 30 minutes to the times listed if the duck is stuffed.
VEGETABLE SUGGESTIONS
Caneton aux petits pois, duckling with green peas, is one of the favorite French combinations, especially in the spring. Other vegetable suggestions are broccoli or Brussels sprouts, or braised lettuce, celery, celeriac, onions, or turnips. Among starchy vegetables, if you wish to serve one, are braised or pureéd chestnuts, potatoes mashed with celery root or turnips, or a purée of lentils or navy beans.
WINE SUGGESTIONS
Serve full red wine, such as Burgundy, Côtes du Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, or Bordeaux-St. Émilion. Or a chilled Alsatian Traminer.
CANETON RÔTI
[Roast Duckling]
For 5 to 6 people
Estimated roasting time: 1 hour and 20 to 40 minutes
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
A 5½-lb. ready-to-cook duckling
½ tsp salt
⅛ tsp pepper
A pinch of thyme or sage
A small sliced onion
Season the inside of the duck with salt, pepper, herbs, and the sliced onion. Secure the legs, wings, and neck skin to the body. Prick the skin around the thighs, back, and lower breast. Dry the duck thoroughly.
A shallow roasting pan just large enough to hold the duck easily
1 medium sliced carrot
1 medium sliced onion
Place the duck breast up in the roasting pan, strew the vegetables around it, and set it in the middle level of the oven for 15 minutes to brown lightly.
A bulb baster
Reduce oven to 350 degrees, and turn the duck on its side. Regulate heat so duck is always making cooking noises but fat is not burning. Remove accumulated fat occasionally (a bulb baster will suck it up easily). Basting is not necessary.
About 30 minutes later, or about halfway through, turn the duck on its other side.
½ tsp salt
Fifteen minutes before the end of the estimated roasting time, salt the duck and turn it breast up.
The duck is done to a medium rare if the juices from the fattest part of the thigh or drumstick run faintly rosy when the meat is pricked, and when the duck is lifted and drained, the last drops of juice from the vent are a pale rose. The duck is well done when the juices run pale yellow.
When done, discard trussing strings, and place the duck on a serving platter. Set in turned-off oven and leave the door open while preparing the sauce, which will take 3 to 4 minutes.
1½ to 2 cups brown duck stock, beef stock, or canned beef bouillon
Optional: 3 or 4 Tb port
Tilt the roasting pan and spoon out all but 1 tablespoon of fat. Add the stock or bouillon and boil rapidly, scraping up coagulated roasting juices, and crushing the vegetables, until liquid is reduced at least by half. Correct seasoning. Add optional wine and simmer a minute to evaporate its alcohol.
1 to 2 Tb softened butter
Off heat and just before serving, swirl the butter into the sauce and strain it into a sauceboat. Pour a bit of sauce over the duck, and serve.
(*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE
Roast duck may wait in the turned-off hot oven, its door ajar, for about 30 minutes before serving.
SPIT ROASTING
Duck does very well indeed on a rotary spit. Follow the directions for spit-roasted chicken but omit the bacon wrapping. No basting is necessary. Roasting time is the same as for oven roasting on the chart.
VARIATIONS
Caneton Rôti à l’Alsacienne
[Roast Duck with Sausage and Apple Stuffing]
Apples and duck are a fine combination, and sausages make it an even better one. The platter may be garnished with more apples and sausages if you wish, braised onions, and sautéed potatoes or potato crêpes. A chilled Alsatian Traminer would go well with it, or hard cider.
For 5 or 6 people
Estimated roasting time: 1 hour and 45 to 60 minutes
Sausage and apple stuffing
½ lb. pork link sausages
Sauté the sausages in a skillet until they are lightly browned. Drain them. Mash them roughly with a fork in a mixing bowl.
4 or 5 crisp eating apples
Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut the quarters into 2 or 3 lengthwise segments. Sauté them, a few at a time, in the hot sausage fat in the skillet. They should be very lightly browned, and almost tender, but still retain their shape.
1 Tb sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp sage
2 Tb cognac
Place them on a platter and sprinkle with the seasonings and cognac.
¼ cup port
¼ cup stock or canned beef bouillon
Pour the fat out of the skillet. Add the wine and stock or bouillon and boil rapidly until liquid has reduced to 2 or 3 tablespoons. Pour it over the cooked sausages.
When both apples and sausages have cooled, mix them delicately together. Stuff loosely into the duck. Sew or skewer the vent, truss the duck, and roast it according to the preceding master recipe.
Caneton à l’Orange
[Roast Duck with Orange Sauce]
One of the most well known of all the duck dishes, caneton à l’orange, is roast duck decorated with fresh orange segments and accompanied by an orange-flavored brown sauce. Its most important element is its sauce—a rich, strong, meaty, duck essence darkened with caramel, flavored with wine and orange peel, and given a light liaison of arrowroot. You can and should prepare the sauce well ahead of time so that when the duck is roasted, the dish is within 2 to 3 minutes of being done.
VEGETABLE AND WINE SUGGESTIONS
Nothing should interfere with the flavors of the duck, the sauce, and the oranges. Sautéed or shoestring potatoes, or homemade potato chips are your best choice. Serve a good red Bordeaux-Médoc, or a chilled white Burgundy—Meursault, Montrachet, or Corton-Charlemagne.
For 5 or 6 people
Note: Under the ingredients needed for the sauce are 2 cups of excellent duck stock. This should be prepared ahead of time, as it must simmer about 2 hours.
Blanching the orange peel
4 brightly colored navel oranges
Remove the orange part of the skin in strips with a vegetable peeler. Cut into julienne (small strips 1/16 inch wide and 1½ inches long). Simmer for 15 minutes in a quart of water. Drain. Pat dry in paper towels.
Roasting the duck
A 5 ½-lb. ready-to-cook duckling
½ tsp salt
Pinch of pepper
Season the duck cavity with salt and pepper, add a third of the prepared orange peel, and truss the duck. Roast it according to the master recipe.
The sauce base
A 4-cup saucepan
3 Tb granulated sugar
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 cups strong, brown duck stock (follow directions for brown chicken stock, using duck giblets instead of chicken giblets)
2 Tb arrowroot blended with 3 Tb port or Madeira
The rest of the blanched orange peel
While the duck is roasting, make a sweet-and-sour caramel coloring as follows: Boil the sugar and vinegar over moderately high heat for several minutes until the mixture has turned into a mahogany-brown syrup. Immediately remove from heat and pour in ½ cup of the duck stock. Simmer for a minute, stirring, to dissolve the caramel. Then add the rest of the stock, beat in the arrowroot mixture, and stir in the orange peel. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes or until the sauce is clear, limpid, and lightly thickened. Correct seasoning, and set aside.
The orange segments
The 4 oranges, skinned
Cut the 4 oranges into neat, skinless segments and place in a covered dish.
Final assembly
When the duck is done, discard trussing strings, and set it on a platter. Place it in the turned-off hot oven, leaving the door ajar.
½ cup port or Madeira
Remove as much fat as y
ou can from the roasting pan. Add the wine and boil it down rapidly, scraping up coagulated roasting juices and reducing the liquid to 2 or 3 tablespoons.
The prepared sauce base
2 or 3 Tb good orange liqueur
Drops of orange bitters or lemon juice
Strain the wine reduction into the sauce base and bring to the simmer. Stir in the orange liqueur by spoonfuls, tasting. The sauce should have a pleasant orange flavor but not be too sweet. Add drops of orange bitters or lemon juice as a corrective.
2 Tb softened butter
Just before serving, and off heat, swirl in the butter enrichment, and pour the sauce into a warmed sauce-boat.
Place a line of orange segments over the length of the duck and heap the rest at the two ends of the platter. Spoon a bit of sauce with peel over the duck, and serve.
VARIATIONS
Caneton aux Cerises
Caneton Montmorency
[Roast Duck with Cherries]
Cherries or peaches are also good as a garnish for roast duck. Roast the bird as directed in the master recipe. Make the caramel-colored and arrowroot-thickened sauce described for the preceding caneton à l’orange, omitting the orange peel and orange liqueur. The fruit is heated in the sauce as follows:
36 to 48 red or black pitted cherries (if frozen, thaw and drain)
A 4-cup enameled saucepan
1 Tb lemon juice
3 Tb port or cognac
2 to 3 Tb granulated sugar
Toss the cherries in the saucepan with the lemon juice, port or cognac, and sugar. Let them soak for at least 20 to 30 minutes.
After the duck has roasted, and the pan juices have been deglazed with wine and added to the sauce, pour the sauce into the cherries. Heat to below the simmer for 3 to 4 minutes to poach the cherries (if liquid simmers, the fruit may shrivel). Remove the cherries with a slotted spoon and distribute them over and around the duck.
2 Tb softened butter
Boil the sauce rapidly to reduce and thicken it slightly. Correct seasoning. Off heat, swirl in the enrichment butter. Pour the sauce into a warmed bowl, spoon a bit over the duck, and serve.
Caneton aux Pêches
[Roast Duck with Peaches]
3 large or 6 small, firm, ripe, freestone peaches (or drained canned peaches, minus the sugar below)
2 Tb lemon juice
2 to 3 Tb port or cognac
If using fresh peaches, peel and halve them not more than 30 minutes before serving so they will not discolor. Arrange the peaches in a fireproof dish and baste them with the liquids and sugar. Baste several times more before using.
2 to 3 Tb granulated sugar
After the duck has roasted and the pan juices have been deglazed with wine and added to the sauce, pour the sauce over the peaches. Proceed as for the preceding duck with cherries recipe.
CANETON POÊLÉ AUX NAVETS
[Casserole-roasted Duck with Turnips]
In casserole roasting, the duck is browned on all sides, then set to roast in a covered casserole. Cooked in its own steam, the duck’s flesh becomes wonderfully tender, and the layer of subcutaneous fat is even more effectively dissolved than by roasting. The turnips, which finish their cooking with the duck absorbing cooking juices, are particularly succulent. No other vegetable is necessary, but you could serve green peas or broccoli. A red Bordeaux, Beaujolais, or Côtes du Rhône would be the choice of wines.
For 5 to 6 people.
Estimated roasting time: 1 hour and 20 to 40 minutes
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
A 5½-lb. ready-to-cook duckling
½ tsp salt
⅛ tsp pepper
A heavy, oval casserole just large enough to hold the duck easily
3 Tb rendered fresh pork fat or cooking oil
Season the inside of the duck with salt and pepper, truss it, prick the skin around the thighs, back, and lower part of the breast. Dry it thoroughly. Brown it slowly on all sides in hot fat in the casserole—as for browning a chicken.
½ tsp salt
A medium herb bouquet: 4 parsley sprigs, ½ bay leaf, and ¼ tsp thyme tied in washed cheesecloth
Pour out the browning fat. Salt the duck and place it breast up in the casserole. Add the herb bouquet, cover the hot casserole, and place it in the middle level of the preheated oven. Roast for 50 to 60 minutes, regulating heat so the duck is always making quiet cooking noises. Basting is not necessary.
2 lbs. firm, crisp, white or yellow turnips
While the duck is cooking, prepare the turnips: Peel them and cut into large olive shapes about 1¾ inches long, or into ¾-inch dice. Drop into boiling, salted water, and boil slowly for 5 minutes. Drain.
A bulb baster
After the duck has roasted for 50 to 60 minutes, or 30 to 40 minutes before the end of its estimated cooking time, degrease casserole with bulb baster. Arrange the turnips around the duck, cover the casserole, and return it to the oven. Baste turnips occasionally with the juices in the casserole.
The duck is done when its juices run a pale rose for medium rare, or a clear yellow for well done.
2 to 3 Tb minced parsley
Drain the duck, discard trussing strings, and place it on a hot platter. Remove the turnips with a slotted spoon, arrange them around the duck, and decorate with parsley. Degrease the cooking juices, correct seasoning, pour into a warmed sauceboat, and serve.
(*) AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE
The duck, turnips, and degreased cooking juices can be returned to the hot casserole. Set the cover askew, and keep it warm for 30 minutes in the turned-off hot oven, or over barely simmering water.
VARIATIONS
Canard Braisé avec Choucroute — à la Badoise
[Duck Braised in Sauerkraut]
Canard Braisé aux Choux Rouges
[Duck Braised in Red Cabbage]
These two classic combinations are both done in the same way: after the sauerkraut or cabbage is about two thirds braised, the browned duck is added to cook in the casserole, and all ingredients benefit from their mutual exchange of flavors. Parsley potatoes or braised chestnuts and a chilled Alsatian Traminer go well with this.
For 5 or 6 people
Ingredients for 2 lbs. of braised sauerkraut, or braised red cabbage
A casserole large enough to include the duck as well
Follow the recipe for braised sauerkraut or braised red cabbage, and cook for 3½ hours.
A 5½-lb. ready-to-cook duckling
Season, truss, prick, and dry the duck. Brown it in hot fat as described in the preceding recipe. Salt it and bury it in the casserole with the sauerkraut or cabbage. Cover, and braise for about 1½ hours more, or until the duck is done.
Parsley sprigs
When done, remove the duck to a hot platter and discard trussing strings. Lift out the sauerkraut or cabbage, draining its juices back into the casserole, and arrange it about the duck. Decorate with parsley.
Degrease the cooking juices. Set casserole over high heat and boil rapidly until the liquid has reduced and its flavor is concentrated. Strain into a sauceboat, pour a spoonful over the duck, and serve.
CANETON BRAISÉ AUX MARRONS
[Braised Duck with Chestnut and Sausage Stuffing]
Follow the recipe for braised goose with chestnut and sausage stuffing. Use the timetable for roast duck adding 30 minutes more because of the stuffing.
CANARD EN CROÛTE
[Boned, Stuffed Duck Baked in a Crust]
This recipe is on this page
GOOSE
Oie
Goose, like duck, can only be considered gastronomically interesting when it is under 6 months old, and that is probably the only kind you will find in American markets. It usually comes frozen, and should be defrosted either in the refrigerator or in a pan with cold, running water. It is prepared for cooking like duck.
GOOSE FAT
Goose fat is extremely good as a sauté or basting medium, or as a flavoring for braised cabbage or sauer
kraut. Once rendered, it will keep for weeks in the refrigerator. To render the fat, pull out all the loose fat from inside the goose. Chop it up into ½-inch pieces. Simmer it in a covered saucepan with 1 cup of water for 20 minutes to draw the fat out of the tissues. Then uncover the pan and boil the liquid slowly to evaporate the water. As the moisture evaporates, the fat will make spluttering noises. As soon as these have stopped, the fat is rendered, the liquid will be a pale yellow, and the fat particles will have browned very lightly. Strain the liquid into a jar.
Frittons
Grattons
[Goose Cracklings]
The browned fat particles may be turned into a spread for croûtons, toast, or crackers. Pound them in a mortar or put them through the meat grinder. Warm them briefly in a skillet and stir in salt, pepper, and allspice to taste. Pack them into a jar. When cold, pour a ⅛-inch layer of hot goose fat over them to seal them. They will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator.