Last week Georg was in Indiana for a whole week! I really missed him, so the day after he got home I decided to bake him a wonderful roast duck as a decadent homecoming meal.
I was pretty anxious about how it was going to turn out because I've never cooked duck before in any form. I also know duck is pretty fatty and I was worried that the fat would be gummy rather than crispy if I didn't cook it properly.
According to my recipe, in order for the duck skin to become really crispy, it has to be dry. To ensure this, the recipe said to remove the duck from its covering, rinse it, dry it well with paper towels, and then put it uncovered on a plate in the fridge for 24 hours to let the skin fully dry out.
This technique worked pretty well, and by the time I was ready to cook the duck, the skin was almost leathery. I made tiny holes in the duck skin all over like the recipe said, sprinkled some salt and pepper on the duck, and preheated the oven to 450 degrees.
I popped the little duck in the oven, and waited. I had a while to wait....it was supposed to cook for 1 hour and 50 minutes. After a few minutes, I heard a LOT of crackling inside the oven and soon I saw some smoke rising from under the electric burners on my oven. Oh no! The duck's fat was getting hot, liquefying, and popping all over the oven.
I was really afraid I'd start a grease fire but I wasn't really sure what to do about it. I didn't want to just quit cooking my duck and ruin the meal I'd been planning for a whole week! I thought about reducing the oven temperature, but I was afraid then that the skin wouldn't get as crispy as I had been daydreaming about! I decided to keep a watchful eye on it and see what happened.
The crackling noise got louder and louder, the smoke more and more detectable, and eventually the fire alarm went off. I just couldn't take the drama anymore so I ended up taking the duck out of the oven, letting it cool off a bit, and putting it back into a less hot oven, at around 375 degrees instead of 450. This helped a lot and I was able to keep cooking the duck without worrying so much.
I did wonder though, if the duck would need longer to cook and if the skin would get as crisp. I decided to cook the duck for 15 extra minutes to compensate for the temperature difference. When I opened the oven door at the time I'd planned, I was pleasantly surprised. The duck was crispy, golden brown, and beautiful. Success!
About an hour into the cooking time of the duck, I made the confit by cutting up about a pound of rhubarb, grating about a tablespoon of fresh ginger, and simmering these ingredients with some cider vinegar, hard pear cider, and sugar. The confit was super easy to make and smelled delicious. I was excited to see how it'd pair with the duck.
Georg and I were both really impressed by the dish once put together! The duck skin was impossibly crispy, the flesh beneath was juicy. As a foil to the rich, fattiness of the duck, the rhubarb and ginger confit really shone. Yes, I'd recommend this recipe, but make sure you've got a full can of oven cleaner on hand for the next day!
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