-
1
Prepare duck Heat oven to 300F.
-
2
Remove neck, heart, gizzards, and any excess fat from cavity and cut away excess skin from the neck area.
-
3
Rinse duck under cold water and dry thoroughly inside and out.
-
4
With a very sharp knife, score the skin over the breast in a crosshatch pattern.
-
5
Cut diagonally into the skin, making sure not to cut into the flesh.
-
6
Prick the skin with the tip of the knife all over, especially in the fattiest areas (this will ensure the best rendering for crisp skin).
-
7
Season with salt and pepper inside and out.
-
8
Tie legs together with kitchen twine and fold wing tips behind ducks back.
-
9
Roast Place duck breast side up on a V-shaped rack set in a deep roasting pan and roast 1 hour.
-
10
Remove duck and prick the skin over the breast and the fatty deposits around the thigh area with a sharp knife, then turn it over, so breast side is down, and roast for 1 hour more, spooning fat out of pan as needed.
-
11
Turn duck over again and prick skin in any spots that arent rendering as quickly as the others, then roast another hour.
-
12
Prick the skin, turn breast side down, and roast until almost all of the fat has rendered from under skin and duck is cooked through, about 1 hour more.
-
13
(Total roasting time should be about 4 hours.)
-
14
Meanwhile, make glaze Combine honey, pomegranate molasses, and orange juice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
-
15
Reduce to a simmer, and cook until thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes.
-
16
Glaze duck and crisp skin Once duck has finished cooking, increase oven temperature to 400F, turn duck breast side up, and roast 10 minutes.
-
17
Brush with some of the glaze, and continue to roast until the skin is golden brown and crisp, about 5 minutes more (keep a careful eye through this step because the sugar in the glaze can burn quickly).
-
18
Let the duck rest for 10 minutes.
-
19
Caramelize fruit Heat a skillet over medium-high heat.
-
20
Brush orange and lemon wedges with some of the remaining glaze and cook until caramelized, about 3 minutes per cut side.
-
21
Serve Transfer duck to a platter and surround with caramelized fruit (for squeezing over the duck).
-
22
Garnish with parsley, if desired.
-
23
Or carve (see instructions opposite) and then slice thinly; divide among plates, and serve with caramelized fruit.
-
24
Most duck sold in supermarkets is Pekin duck.
-
25
These ducks were brought to Long Island, New York, from China in the late 1800s, and as a result the area became renowned for duck production.
-
26
Today, the majority of ducks bred for meat are Pekin and are raised in the Midwest; duck labeled Long Islandstyle is the same variety.
-
27
Muscovy ducks are larger and have a stronger flavor than Pekin ducks, and their livers are often used to make fois gras.
-
28
Likewise, moulard duckswhich are a cross between Muscovy and Pekin ducksare often bred for fois gras.
-
29
Mallard ducks are a wild breed, but are occasionally raised on farms.
-
30
All of these breeds are much less common than the Pekin duck, and are usually available only at specialty shops.
-
31
Magret is a term used for the breast meat of a duck raised for fois grasusually a mallard or moulard duck.
-
32
In French, magret means the lean portion from a fat duck.
-
33
Magret is delicious when it is cooked so that the fat renders and the skin becomes crisp, but the meat remains medium rare.
