How to Cook a Duck
Cooking a whole duck at home might not sound that difficult. Getting perfect results every time however, might be. Cherry Valley duck can make an excellent alternative to a traditional roast in the home, and if you get the cooking right it will be delicious.
We’ve come up with a few tips to help you along the way.
Make sure your duck is completely defrosted (e.g. if you have bought it frozen from the supermarket defrost it overnight at room temperature). Once defrosted, pat dry the duck as this will help crisp the skin when cooking.
Duck recipe
- Preheat the oven to 190C (Gas Mark 5).
- Place breast uppermost on a trivet in a roasting tin. If you have not got one of these you can use a cooling rack in the bottom of the roasting tin or you can remove the wings and place them in the bottom of the roasting dish and place the duck on top.
- Season with salt and pepper. For best results use sea salt and freshly milled black pepper
- Roast for 55 minutes to 65 minutes per kilo and increase the temperature to 200C (Gas Mark 6) for the last 10 minutes or until golden brown and crispy
- After removing from the oven, leave the duck in a warm place for 20 minutes to rest – this gives the meat a nice tender texture
- If you like a golden brown skin you should baste the duck regularly during cooking with the cooking juices.
- To test the duckling is fully cooked, pierce the thigh with a knife and the juices should run clear.
Useful tips
- You could use the cooking juices from the duck to make perfect roast potatoes. A useful tip is to drain off the juices and the fat left in the trivet from the cooked duck and put them into a refrigerator to cool down. Over time the cooling this will separate the duck fat from the juices. Separate the fat and juices - the fat can be rubbed over potatoes before roasting to give a great crisp taste and the juices can be used for making a delicious gravy.
- If you’ve got a sweet tooth try brushing the duck with honey before sprinkling with salt and pepper and roasting. You may have to reduce the cooking temperate of the oven during the last 30 minutes of cooking to avoid the duck browning too much, but taste results are fantastic.