Cooking duck for

[TheJimi]

Right, I've stupidly volunteered to cook christmas dinner for my parents.

Only one of us likes turkey, so duck has been chosen for the main.

I'm looking for some ideas and inspiration. What works and what doesn't?

Edited by TheJimi on Thursday 12th December 10:53

[HarryFlatters]

Don't do a whole bird, do confit duck legs. It can all be done in advance and all you'll need to do on the day is to crisp the skin in a hot oven for 20 minutes.

I made this last year, it was spectacularly tasty.

NomNomNom

[Tanguero]

Not a lot of meat on a duck so make sure you cook enough! 1 duck between 2 people is about right.

[Pferdestarke]

Goose??

[TheJimi]

Hmm. Haven't actually tried goose. What's it like in comparison to turkey?

So far, the confit idea is the most appealing.

[HarryFlatters]

TheJimi said:

Hmm. Haven't actually tried goose. What's it like in comparison to turkey?

Much richer and fattier, crispier skin, more flavour, easier to cook but not as much meat per bird. Not that you'll need much meat, because of the richness.

[richwig83]

There should be 2 to a duck..... you and the duck!

[CAPP0]

I'm doing duck too - I have a recipe for roast duck with clementines which I'm going to try. There are several variants on the web if you search. Just seen one which includes port, so I might veer towards that!

[Tanguero]

richwig83 said:

There should be 2 to a duck..... you and the duck!

I did mean that you put one duck between 2 people and let them fight for it!

[Pete Franklin]

Like others have said confit the wings and legs and roast the crown rare is my prefered method. This leaves the back bone and giblets to make a sauce. Depending on size, one duck is a bit mean between 4

[evoivboy]

this
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/st...

[simoid]

A "duck for"... is that like a "hammer for"?

[Mobile Chicane]

For duck (or indeed any poultry) get some poultry scissors, like these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stellar-IS13-Sabatier-Poul...

They're invaluable for snipping off wing tips / snipping out spines etc.

[TheJimi]

simoid said:

A "duck for"... is that like a "hammer for"?

I had "for Christmas dinner" in mind but my fingers were faster than my brain!

I'm not trying to duck the issue...

[simoid]

Water off a duck's back.

[TheJimi]

Guys, thanks for the help & advice!

Update here - http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...