Roasted Duck
It is so easy to make Roasted Duck at home! It's perfect for a special occasion but simple enough to make for a Sunday night dinner with your family.
Servings 4 servings
Calories 2375kcal
Equipment
- Roasting pan with a rack
- mixing bowl
- Small knife
- Basting brush
- Kitchen twine
Ingredients
- 5 to 5 ½ pound whole duck
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1 orange quartered
- 5 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Remove the giblets and neck from the duck cavity, if necessary, and discard. Trim off any excess fat from the duck cavity. Pat the duck dry with paper towels, and let stand, uncovered, at room temperature for 30 minutes. (This will help dry the skin for better crisping.)
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Using a sharp knife, score the skin on the breast side of the duck in a crosshatch pattern. (You don’t want to cut through the skin and into the meat so be light with the scoring.) Lightly prick the skin all over with the tip of a small knife so that melting fat doesn’t get trapped under the skin during baking.
- Sprinkle the salt and pepper inside and outside of the duck. Stuff the cavity with the orange and garlic. Tie the legs together with butcher’s twine. Fold the neck skin under and secure it with a toothpick. Place duck breast-side down on a rack inside of a roasting pan.
- Roast for 1 hour. Remove from oven and carefully turn the duck breast-side up. Prick skin again all over breast and around the legs and thighs area. Return to oven and roast for 1 hour more.
- While the duck is roasting for the second time, stir together the orange juice, honey, and butter in a small mixing bowl.
- After the second hour of roasting is finished, remove the duck from the oven. Increase oven temperature to 475°F.
- Brush the orange juice mixture over the top and sides of the duck. Return to the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Brush with the orange juice mixture again and roast until the skin is crispy, about 10 minutes.
- Remove the duck from the roasting rack and place on a cutting board. Let it rest 10 minutes before slicing.
Notes
- When you score the skin of the duck, it helps release some of the fat during the cooking process, leading to crispier skin. Pricking the skin help render the fat faster from the skin to make the skin crispy as well.
- Make sure to remove as much moisture from the duck as possible before you start seasoning it. The more dry your duck, the crispier the skin will be.
- Don’t skip resting the duck after it comes out of the oven. Resting the duck allows the juices to soak back into the meat so the duck is more moist. If you cut into the duck too soon, the juices will run out onto the cutting board and be less moist.
- Don’t tie the duck up with just anything, make sure to use kitchen twine to truss the duck, as it’s oven-safe. You shouldn’t skip tying the legs together as it creates a uniform shape that helps the duck cook evenly.
- Line the roasting pan with foil for easy cleanup, as a lot of fat will render off the duck. This is also why you should roast it on a rack, so the duck is not sitting in the rendered fat.
- Don’t discard the duck fat. You can save leftover duck fat in an airtight container in the fridge and use it just like you would use leftover bacon grease, such as using it for roasting potatoes or vegetables.
- Make sure you start the duck breast-side down. Placing it breast-side down ensures even browning and fat rendering.
Nutrition
Calories: 2375kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 66g | Fat: 226g | Saturated Fat: 77g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 29g | Monounsaturated Fat: 107g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 438mg | Sodium: 2103mg | Potassium: 1296mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 1137IU | Vitamin C: 39mg | Calcium: 90mg | Iron: 14mg