Stuffed Duckling Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lay the boned chicken skin-side down on a platter and season liberally with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning. Lay the boned duck skin-side down on top of the chicken and season liberally with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning. Cover and refrigerate.
• Lay the boned turkey skin-side down on a flat surface. Cover with a layer of cold Sausage and Oyster Dressing and push the dressing into the leg and wing cavities so they will look as if they still have bones in them.
• Lay the duck on top of the turkey skin-side down and cover it with a layer of cold dressing. Lay the chicken on top of the duck skin-side down and cover it with a layer of cold dressing.
• With the help of an assistant, bring the edges of the turkey skin up and fasten them together with toothpicks. Use the kitchen string to lace around the toothpicks to help hold the stuffed turkey together. Carefully place the turducken, breast up in a large roasting pan.
• Roast covered for 4 hours or until the turducken is golden brown. Continue to roast uncovered for 1 hour or until a meat thermometer inserted through the thigh registers 180 degrees F. and a thermometer inserted through the stuffing registers 165 degrees F. Check the turducken every few hours to baste and remove excess liquid. There will be enough pan juices for a gallon of gravy. Carve and serve.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Sprinkle the inside of ducks with salt; prick skin lightly several times, being careful not to cut into the meat. Rub skin grated orange zest and sprinkle with seasoned salt; set aside. Combine the first 15 stuffing ingredients; spoon into ducks. If desired, secure legs with baker's twine., Place with breast side up on a rack in a large shallow roasting pan; pour enough water below rack to thinly cover bottom of pan. Bake, uncovered, until a thermometer reads 180° in the thickest part of the thigh and 165° for stuffing, 2 to 2-1/2 hours, rotating pan halfway through and tenting with foil if needed to prevent overbrowning. , For gravy, combine 3 tablespoons pan drippings, flour, salt and pepper in a saucepan; stir until smooth. Heat until bubbly, stirring constantly. Gradually add broth. Bring to a boil; cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add marmalade; stir until smooth.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Use a sharp knife to slice into each duck breast half at thickest part to create a pocket the entire length of breast, being sure not to poke through the other end (If you'd like, score the skin as shown in the photo. Scoring renders the fat more thoroughly and keeps the skin from warping and sticking in the pan). In a bowl, mix together the garlic, fennel seeds, rosemary, Parmesan and olive oil until paste-like. Use your fingers to push herb mixture into each duck breast, filling pocket as much as possible. Sprinkle breasts with salt and pepper.
• Heat heavy, large, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add duck breasts skin side down and cook until nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Turn meat and transfer skillet to oven; roast 10 to 15 minutes for medium-rare. (An instant-read thermometer inserted into meat should read about 125 degrees.)
• Remove duck to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Carve on the bias into 1/2-inch pieces; serve with pan juices.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Season the ducks with salt and pepper, then rub with thyme leaves. Stuff half the apple in the cavities of the ducks. Pierce the skin with a fork and dot the skin with butter.
• Place the ducks, on a rack in a roasting pan. Pour the water and wine into the pan.
• Roast in oven for 1 1/2 hours or until an instant read thermometer placed in the thigh registers 180 degrees F. Baste occasionally, adding water if needed. During the last 20 minutes of cooking, place rest of the apples in the pan. When the ducks are fully cooked, remove them from the oven and let them rest for 15 minutes before carving. Mix the pan apples with the sour cream and serve with the carved meat.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 220°C.
• Stuffing:.
• Melt the butter in a saucepan. When the foaming subsides, add the chopped onion. Saute on a gentle heat for around 10 minutes. Cook until translucent, avoid browning.
• Take pan off heat and add all remaining ingredients.
• Mix well with your hands to incorporate the egg. If the mixture seems a little too dry, add a touch of water. If too moist, add some more breadcrumbs. It should hold its shape easily.
• Duck:.
• Cut neck off duckling, and put aside for future use in gravy (below).
• Put the stuffing inside the cavity of the duck. Close up the flaps of the cavity, securing them with toothpicks.
• Cover the duck with melted butter, and season generously with salt and pepper.
• Place the duck breast-side down (to make all the juices run into the breast, making for a more succulent final result) on a rack. Then place rack & duck in a roasting tray.
• Add a little water to the bottom of the roasting tray to prevent burning.
• Place tray in oven. Cook at 220°C for 15 minutes.
• After the 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 180C, and cook for a further 30 minutes.
• After the 30 minutes, turn duck breast-side up and continue cooking for another 60-70 minutes (still on 180°C), checking on occasion that it does not burn/is not browning too much.
• Note: While duck is cooking, make your gravy and apple sauce.
• If duck is getting too brown/dark, reduce heat to 160°C, or cover the extremities of the duck with aluminum foil.
• At the end of the cooking time, remove duck from oven. Place in a warm spot (perhaps atop an unused part of the stove) and cover with aluminum foil until serving time.
• Gravy:.
• Chop neck from (above) duckling into pieces with a meat cleaver.
• Put the pieces of neck and oil in a saucepan over the heat and allow some of the duck fat to render.
• Add roughly chopped vegetables, herbs, bay leaf, peppercorns, and salt and fry for 20 minutes on medium heat, stirring regularly.
• After the vegetables and duck neck have achieved a good brown color, add enough water (or stock) to barely cover the contents of pot.
• Bring slowly to the boil, skimming any scum (bubbly impurities that gather at the surface) that appears.
• When gravy has come to the boil, reduce to a gentle simmer, and continue to skim scum from time to time. Keep on gentle simmer for as long as possible for the best flavor, adding a touch more water or stock from time to time if needed.
• When the duck (above) gets close to being cooked, strain the gravy through a fine sieve to remove the vegetables, herbs, etc. Push down hard using the back of a spoon so as to extract as much juice as possible. Discard vegetables (or feed to your chickens/compost heap!).
• In a clean pan, bring the strained gravy to the boil, stirring occasionally.
• When gravy has reduced by a third, thicken with cornflour dissolved first in a small amount of cold water (3-4 tablespoons). Make sure to quickly stir gravy once cornflour is added to ensure good dispersion of cornflour & smooth gravy consistency.
• Season the gravy with salt and pepper according to your personal tastes.
• You could also add some of the pan juices from the roast duck once it has finished cooking - just stir in well.
• Apple Sauce:.
• In spaces where duck and gravy are cooking & able to be left alone for a bit, prepare apple sauce.
• Peel and core the apples. Roughly chop them.
• Place apples in saucepan with all other ingredients (except lemon juice).
• Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer, cooking until the apples collapse (should take around 30 minutes). Stir frequently to prevent burning/sticking.
• When cooking has finished, take off heat and add lemon juice. Stir.
• Serving:.
• Place gravy in a sauce boat.
• Place apple sauce in a bowl/boat.
• Carve the duck.
• Enjoy!
• This dish is excellent when served with additional accompaniments like roasted new potatoes, pumpkin, minted peas, blanched green beans, honeyed carrots, etc.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Put the duck on a rack set over a roasting tin and prick the skin all over with a skewer. Season well. Halve one of the oranges and squeeze some of the juice into the duck cavity and the tin, then stuff the cavity with both of the halves. Pour 100ml water into the tin and roast for 20 mins per 500g (about 50 mins). Turn the oven up to 220C/200C fan/ gas 7 and roast for another 20 mins until the duck skin is crispy and golden.
• Put a small pan of water on to boil. Using a peeler, pare the zest from the remaining orange. Scrape any pith off the zest using a small, sharp knife. Add the zest to the water and gently boil for 8-10 mins, then drain, slice thinly into strips and set aside. In the same pan, dissolve the brown sugar with the balsamic vinegar. Cut the pared orange in half, juice it and pour the juice into the pan. Add the Grand Marnier and 1 tsp butter. Bubble until it has reduced by half and is dark and syrupy. Remove from the heat and stir in the orange zest.
• Once the duck is cooked, wrap it in foil to keep warm and put it on a board to rest. Spoon off the fat from the roasting tin and discard. Pour any remaining duck juices into a wide, shallow saucepan. Tip in the stock and bring to the boil. Add the wine and simmer for 2-3 mins, then add half the orange sauce and stir well. In a small bowl, mix the cornflour with 2 tsp cold water, then stir into the gravy. Season, add 1 tsp butter and whisk together. Pour into a warm gravy jug.
• To serve, brush the remaining sticky orange glaze over the duck, then put the duck on a board and garnish with the watercress. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add 1 tsp butter. Once the butter has melted, tip in the spinach and cook for 1-2 mins until it has wilted. Season and tip into a warm serving dish.

Steps:

• Rinse duck and pat dry. Remove neck and giblets and save for another purpose. Remove excess fat from cavity and tail area and trim off a bit of flappy neck skin. Prick duck skin all over with tip of sharp paring knife, making sure not to penetrate meat.
• Mix together salt and 5-spice powder. Season interior of duck with 1 tablespoon salt mixture; use remainder to generously season exterior (you may have a little left over). Combine orange zest with grated ginger and garlic, then smear mixture inside cavity. Place orange wedges in cavity. Tie legs together. Secure neck flap with wooden skewer or toothpicks. Place duck on rack in roasting pan breast-side-up and refrigerate overnight, uncovered.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, bring duck to room temperature and make the glaze: Bring orange juice, honey, sugar and soy sauce to a simmer. Add sliced ginger and star anise, then reduce mixture until you have a medium-thick syrup, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Roast duck for 2 hours, carefully pouring off fat and turning duck over every 30 minutes. Paint with glaze and roast another 30 minutes (2 1/2 hours in all). Tent with foil if glaze begins to get too dark. Duck is done when temperature at thickest part of leg reads 165 degrees. Paint duck once more, keep warm and let rest 20 minutes. Use poultry shears to cut into quarters (remove backbone first) or carve in the traditional way, removing legs from carcass and slicing breast. Serve with mashed butternut squash if desired.