Crisp Roast Duck With Olives Food

CRISP ROAST DUCK WITH OLIVES

Steps:

• This recipe yields a succulent roast duck, every morsel of which is tender and tasty, and as a by-product, a good half pint of duck fat. No cook worth her salt would waste a scrap of this precious substance, which is kept in a pot in the fridge and used for frying and flavoring.
• Trim any flaps of fat on the duck, and pull out any lumps of fat tucked inside. Rinse and dry the duck, then prick lightly all over with a skewer (about 20-30 times), trying to pierce the skin but not the flesh underneath. Rub all over with salt and sprinkle some inside the cavity.
• Put on a rack and roast upside down for 3 hours at 250° F (200° F convection). Drain the fat into a bowl, set the duck the right way up and increase the heat to 350° F (325° F convection) for 45 minutes longer, till nicely browned. Leave to stand for 15 minutes, loosely covered with foil.
• Reduce the chicken stock with the tomato and herbs to a saucelike consistency, then strain into a clean pan. Simmer the olives in water for 2 minutes to temper the flavor, then strain and stir into the sauce.
• Cut the duck into pieces and serve with the sauce.

SLOW-ROASTED DUCK WITH OLIVE GRAVY AND GARLIC-FENNEL CONFIT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500°F.
• Season each duck inside and out with salt and pepper. Using knife, skewer, or sharp fork, prick skin of each bird all over 20 to 30 times, taking care not to let knife puncture flesh (it's helpful to hold knife nearly parallel to duck and then slide it in). Stuff each cavity with 1 neck; 1/2 of thyme and garlic; 8 shallot halves; and 1/4 of fennel. Using kitchen string, tie legs loosely together.
• Transfer ducks, breast sides up, to rack set in large roasting pan. Cover loosely with foil and roast 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 300°F and continue to roast, basting every 30 minutes and skimming fat from pan juices occasionally, 3 hours.
• Remove foil from ducks. Stir remaining fennel into pan juices and roast 30 minutes more. Stir olives into pan juices and roast until duck skin is dark golden and crisp and meat is tender, about 30 minutes more (total roasting time: about 4 1/4 hours). Transfer ducks to cutting board.
• Remove rack from roasting pan. With slotted spoon, remove fennel and olives from pan juices and place in blender. Pour pan juices into 1-quart glass measure. Skim fat off top and reserve for another use. Add juices to fennel and olives in blender, then add lemon zest and juice. Purée until smooth. Taste and add salt and pepper and additional lemon juice if desired.
• Remove confit vegetables from cavities and carve ducks. Arrange meat and vegetables on platter. Garnish with chopped fennel fronds. Serve sauce alongside.

SLOW-ROASTED DUCK WITH MASHED WHITE BEANS, SIZZLED HERBS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Cook the beans: Rinse beans and put them, along with the onion, bay leaves, cloves and garlic, in a large heavy-bottomed pot with a lid. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Add 2 teaspoons salt, reduce heat to low, and bring beans to a bare simmer. Cover, but leave lid ajar. Cook very slowly, adding water as needed, for about 1 1/2 hours, or until beans are soft. Taste broth and adjust seasoning. Remove onion, bay leaves, cloves and garlic, and discard. Let beans cool uncovered in the cooking liquid. (They may be cooked up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated.)
• As beans cook, prepare the duck legs: Lay them on a cutting board skin-side up, and use a skewer or the tip of a knife to prick the skin of each leg all over.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Season each leg generously on both sides with salt and pepper - don't go crazy, but don't be meek.
• Place legs in a roasting pan, in a single layer skin-side up. (Take care that the roasting pan is high-sided enough, as a fair amount of fat will be produced as legs cook.) Roast, uncovered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the meat is quite tender, nearly falling off the bone. At this point, check to see the skin is crisp and nicely browned.If not, raise oven temperature to 400 degrees, and roast for another 10 minutes, or perhaps more, until skin is crisped. Remove legs from roasting pan and keep warm. (An inch or more of liquid fat will have accumulated in the roasting pan. Let it cool a bit before pouring it into a jar for future use.)
• Bring beans to a boil in a pot over medium-high heat. Pull them off the heat, and drain in a colander, reserving liquid. Put three-quarters of the beans in a mixing bowl and use a potato masher to mash them. (Alternatively, you can purée the beans in a food processor.) Add bean broth as needed to loosen the mixture to the consistency of soft mashed potatoes. Stir in the reserved whole beans. Adjust the seasoning. Keep warm.
• Prepare sizzled herbs: Add 3 tablespoons olive oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add sage and rosemary until they're coated with oil. When all the sage leaves have wilted, keep stirring until the herbs begin to fry and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn heat to low, then swirl in the garlic and red-pepper flakes. Immediately add olives and warm through.
• To serve, pair one duck leg with a spoonful of mashed beans. Spoon some of the olive mixture over the duck and beans. If desired, dress crisp green arugula with just a few drops of lemon juice and a little salt, and serve alongside for a refreshing counterpoint to the rich, salty duck and beans.

​​CRISP ROAST DUCK

Steps:

• Bring a full kettle or medium pot of water to a boil (at least 2 quarts).
• Meanwhile, remove giblets and neck from the duck cavity and reserve for another use. Trim any excess fat from around the duck cavity and the neck. Place duck, breast side up, on a rack in the sink. Pour half of the boiling water all over the top of the duck to tighten the skin. Flip the bird and pour remaining boiling water over the back.
• Once the duck is cool enough to handle, using the tip of a very sharp paring knife, prick duck skin all over to help release the fat, especially where the skin is thickest, and be careful not to pierce the meat. It can be helpful to hold the knife nearly parallel to the bird. After piercing the skin, use the knife blade to score the duck breast in a crosshatch pattern (making deep cuts into the skin only, and not into the breast meat). Flip the bird and score the back as well (you don't need to prick the back). You may need to sharpen your knife along the way, as it's much easier to make clean cuts into the skin with a sharp knife. Using a clean kitchen towel or paper towels, thoroughly pat duck dry, including inside the cavity.
• Season the duck all over, including cavity, with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine garlic, chopped herbs, citrus zest and coriander, if using, and make a paste. Rub garlic paste all over duck, inside and out. Place duck, breast side up, on rack in a roasting pan, stuff cavity with herb sprigs, and refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
• When it's time to cook the bird, heat the oven to 450 degrees. Roast for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and carefully prick duck skin all over the top of the bird using a sharp paring knife. (You don't need to prick the back of the duck.) Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting until skin is golden brown and crispy, and the internal temperature at thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 1 hour to 1 hour 45 minutes longer. Using tongs, gently tip duck to drain any liquid from the cavity. Transfer bird to cutting board to rest for at least 10 minutes. Carve and serve.

BRAISED DUCK WITH OLIVES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Remove the duck's wings, giblets and neck; rinse inside and out and dry. Prick the skin of the breast and thighs with a fork. Lightly season the inside with salt and pepper; stuff with thyme and rosemary.
• Place duck, breast side down, in a large Dutch oven (preferably enamel-lined) over medium heat and brown on all sides, spooning off the fat as it renders.
• Bring stock and wine to a boil in a small pan; pour over the duck. Add the vegetables, bay leaves, lemon rind and several grindings of pepper. Cover; braise in oven until the leg meat is firm and the breast brown throughout, about 1 hour.
• Remove duck and cover loosely. Strain the stock, discard the vegetables and spoon off the fat. Boil stock until reduced to about 1 cup, about 10 minutes. Add the olives for the final 3 to 4 minutes. (You may thicken stock slightly with a roux of flour and butter.) Adjust seasonings.
• To serve, thinly slice the breast lengthwise. Separate legs from thighs. Pour on sauce.

CRISP ROAST DUCK

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F.
• If necessary, cut off wing tips with poultry shears or a sharp knife. Remove and discard excess fat from body cavity and neck, then rinse duck inside and out. Prick skin all over with a sharp fork. Fold neck skin under body, then put duck, breast side up, on a rack in a 13- by 9- by 3-inch roasting pan.
• Pour boiling-hot water over duck to tighten skin.
• Cool duck, then pour out any water from cavity into pan.
• Pat duck dry inside and out, reserving water in pan, then rub duck inside and out with kosher salt and pepper.
• Roast duck, breast side up, 45 minutes, then remove from oven.
• Turn duck over using 2 wooden spoons, and roast 45 minutes more.
• Turn duck over again (breast side up), tilting duck to drain any liquid from cavity into pan. Continue to roast duck until skin is brown and crisp, about 45 minutes more (total roasting time: about 2 1/4 hours).
• Tilt duck to drain any more liquid from cavity into pan. Transfer duck to a cutting board and let stand 15 minutes before carving. Discard liquid in roasting pan.

CRISPY ROAST DUCK

Steps:

• Remove the duck's giblets and wash them. Cut off any greenish parts from the livers and discard, then roughly chop the rest. Quarter the crops (the gullet), slicing any very red flesh away from the white sinew, which should be discarded. Put all bits and pieces into a large roasting tin.
• Cut off the parson's nose from each duck and add to the tin. Remove the wings: hold and pull on a wing, turning the skin back so you can see inside to where the wing is attached to the shoulder bone. Cut between the bones to release the wing, then cut around it from the skin side to remove it. Repeat with all wings and add them to the tin.
• Turn one of the ducks on to its breast. Cut down each side of the backbone, using a very sharp, sturdy kitchen knife and/or game scissors. Remove the backbone, then turn the duck the other way up and cut down each side of the breastbone, keeping the blade close to the bone so you don't cut away any breast meat. Put all the bones into the tin and repeat with the other ducks.
• Remove any lumps of fat from inside the duck and set aside. Cut off any flappy bits of skin and discard. Wash the duck halves then pat very dry. Prick the skin all over, especially the thick, fatty areas, then sprinkle with fine sea salt.
• Preheat the oven to 230C/Gas 8/fan oven 210C. Arrange the duck halves skin-side up on a rack set inside a large roasting tin. Roast for 11⁄4-11⁄2 hours, or until the skin is crisp and dark golden. You will need to drain off the fat that accumulates once or twice: pour it straight into the tin if you're going to roast potatoes, otherwise into a heatproof bowl.
• Leave the duck to rest for 10-15 minutes, serve with the gravy and veg (see 'Goes well with' recipes, right).