The main bird for the New Year's table. Festive Duck Dishes

5 Tips for Cooking Duck:

1. Excerpt. We are used to hearing a lot about aging beef. But the duck also improves a lot from aging! Buy a duck a couple of days before serving, rub it with salt on all sides, including the inside (if the recipe requires pepper or other dry spices, it is better to rub the duck with them on the second day). Wrap the duck in parchment paper and place it on the coldest shelf in the refrigerator. The parchment can be changed once a day. In 24–48 hours, duck meat will become much softer, and the finished dish will be tastier and more aromatic.
2. Fat. Duck fat is a gem, don't throw it away. The hard fat around the tail and neck can be chopped up and melted for later frying onions, potatoes or chicken. The source of the rendered fat is roasted duck or roasted duck breasts. It is advisable to drain the hot fat as soon as it is melted - then it will be clean, not overcooked.
3. Leather. Crispy duck skin is a delicacy, even served separately in Asia. In order for the skin to be fried to a crunch during baking, it must be carefully separated from the meat. It also helps to douse the raw duck with plenty of boiling water.
4. Cutting. To cut the finished duck into neat, even pieces so that each has a little skin on - this art in China has been learned by chefs for years. How can we help ourselves without Chinese science? Of course, use very, very sharp carving and chef's knives. First, you will cut the joints and divide the duck into parts, the second - cut the pulp. In this case, the duck should lie on the board, which, in turn, lies on a wet napkin, so that the board stays in one place, without crawling on the table.
5. Rest. Like any meat, before cutting, the finished duck should "rest" under a sheet of foil so that the juices are evenly distributed in it and do not flow out senselessly when cutting.

Duck dishes

Duck roll

Serves 10, cooking: 3 h 20 min.

What do you need:

• 1 large duck weighing at least 2.5 kg
• 1 chicken weighing 1.8-2 kg
• 1 large quail or 2 smaller
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• 200 g raw smoked bacon slices
• 6-8 cloves of garlic
• salt, freshly ground black pepper

What to do:

1. Cut off 2 phalanges of the wings of the whole bird (for a quail, you can cut off the whole wings).
2. Remove all bones from the duck, chicken and quail - the bones of the legs and the first phalanges of the wings can not be removed from the duck. Be careful not to damage the duck's skin. Season the whole bird with salt and pepper.
3. Crush, peel and chop the garlic. Place the duck on a work surface on your skin. Sprinkle with half the garlic and half the bacon.
4. Lay the chicken on top, skin side down, also sprinkle with garlic and cover with bacon. Then the quail. Place the peeled eggs in the center.
5. Carefully roll up the entire structure so that it resembles a whole bird. Tie the legs together. Then tie the wings. Now bandage the bird so that the seam comes together and the filling is closed.
6. Preheat the oven to 110–120 ° C. Place the bird, seam side up, in a parchment-lined dish. Bake until the core temperature reaches 68–70 ° C. Transfer the bird to a dish, cover with foil and leave in a warm place for 20 minutes. Then cut across and serve immediately, sprinkling with juices from the baking.

Peking duck

Serves 6, cooking: 2 h + 24 h

What do you need:

• 1 duck weighing 2.5 kg
• 50 ml each rice wine and soy sauce
• 50 g barley syrup or liquid honey
• 1 tbsp. l. dark sesame oil
• 1 tbsp. l. ginger powder
• salt, freshly ground black pepper

For pancakes:

• 150 g flour
• 3 medium C1 eggs
• vegetable oil
• salt

For filing:

• 1 large long cucumber
• 4-5 green onions
• 150 g hoisin sauce

What to do:

1. From the duck, remove all the fat you can from the tail and neck area. Use a fork to prick the skin as often as possible. Pour boiling water over a full kettle from all sides. The duck skin will turn white and stretch. Let the water drain. Dry the duck, grate with wine and salt. Place in a colander, breast side down and, without covering, put in the refrigerator for 12 hours. The skin of the duck should dry out. Spread the duck with 1 tbsp. l. honey and return to the colander breast-side up for 12 hours.
2. Place the duck breast side down on the wire shelf in the baking sheet. Pour 1 cup of cold water into a baking sheet. Cover the entire structure with foil. Place in an oven preheated to 180 ° C for 40 minutes.
3. Combine soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger powder and freshly ground pepper. Remove the duck from the oven, drain the liquid from the baking sheet. Spread the fragrant mixture on the duck on all sides. Return to oven, breast-side up, 30 minutes.
4. Increase the oven temperature to 250–260 ° C. Spread the remaining honey on the duck mixed with the remaining soy sauce and return to the oven for 10 minutes. The skin should turn golden brown. Transfer the duck to a board, cover with foil, not too tightly, and leave for 20 minutes.
5. For pancakes in a blender combine 280 ml of water, salt and flour, beat until smooth. Without turning off the engine, beat in the eggs one at a time and pour in 3 tbsp. l. oils. Turn off the engine, let the dough stand for 1 hour. Bake thin pancakes without adding oil. The pancakes should be very pale.
6. Cut the cucumber into thin long strips. Cut the onion obliquely into 3 cm pieces. Place the cucumbers and onions on a plate, place the hoisin sauce next to it. Cut the bones off the duck so that most of the pieces have skin. Place on a preheated dish. You need to take a pancake, grease it with hoisin sauce, put a little duck, onion and cucumber, roll up with your hands and eat.

Cassoulet with duck and sausages

Serves 8, cooking: 1.5 h + 8 h

What do you need:

• 8 duck legs (legs) with bone and skin
• 200 g smoked brisket
• 400 g sausages for frying
• 1 L duck, chicken or vegetable stock or water
• 500 g large white beans
• 5-7 celery stalks
• 1 large carrot
• 1 large onion
• 400 g chopped tomatoes in their own juice
• 4-5 sprigs of thyme
• 2 tbsp. l. sweet paprika
• salt, freshly ground black pepper

What to do:

1. Rub the duck legs with salt, pepper and a little paprika. Separate fat that can be separated. Cover with plastic wrap, marinate at room temperature for 2 hours (or in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours).
2. Soak beans in cold water for 8-10 hours. Then rinse, cover with fresh cold water, bring to a boil, salt, remove foam, cook for 40 minutes. Drain the water, place the beans in a roasting pan or deep baking dish.
3. Preheat oven to 160 ° C. Peel and finely dice the onions, carrots and celery. Cut the brisket into large cubes. Fry the brisket and legs over high heat in a large skillet until golden brown. Place the duck and brisket over the beans.
4. In the pan where the meat was fried, put the duck fat and vegetables, fry over high heat, 5 minutes. Pour in the paprika, pour in the tomatoes and liquid, salt and pepper, bring to a boil and transfer to the beans. Mix gently.
5. Pour in broth / water, add thyme sprigs. Cover with a lid or foil, place the broiler in the oven for 30 minutes. Add the sausages (they need to be chopped on all sides with the tip of a knife), bake until tender, about 15 minutes. Serve the cassoulet very hot.

Duck baked with cabbage

Sauerkraut can be replaced with fresh sauerkraut by adding lemon juice.

Serves 6, cooking: 2 h

What do you need:

• 1 whole duck approx.2.5 kg
• 1 kg sauerkraut
• 300 g pitted prunes
• 4 large onions
• 2 tbsp. l. brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• salt, freshly ground pepper mixture

What to do:

1. From the duck, remove excess fat around the tail and neck, chop finely and set aside. Chop the duck with a fork on all sides, rub (including from the inside) with a mixture of salt, pepper from the mill and allspice.
2. Peel and chop the onion thinly. Melt the fat you extracted from the duck in a skillet over low heat. Fry the onion and salt in this fat, 10 minutes.
3. Rinse the cabbage in plenty of cold water, drain the water (leave a little), put the cabbage in a deep baking dish. Cut the prunes in half and combine the onions and prunes with the cabbage. Sprinkle with sugar.
4. Preheat oven to 140 ° C. Place the grate in the dish with the cabbage, put the duck breast down on the grate, cover the structure with foil. Place in the bottom third of the oven, bake for 45 minutes.
5. Remove the foil, stir the cabbage, turn the duck breast side up, bake for another 30–40 minutes, until the duck is cooked to the desired degree. Serve very hot.

Duck breasts in orange sauce

Serves 6, cooking: 35 min.

What do you need:

• 6 duck breast fillets on skin
• zest and juice of 4 oranges
• 1 medium onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 cm fresh ginger root
• 100 ml white wine
• 2 tbsp. l. honey
• 3 tbsp. l. Sahara
• 1 tsp apple pectin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• salt, freshly ground black pepper

What to do:

1. For the orange sauce, peel and chop the onion, garlic and ginger. Combine orange juice and zest, wine, ginger, garlic and onion in a saucepan, bring to a boil, add honey, cook over high heat for 10 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to low. Mix sugar with pectin, turmeric and salt, "fan" spread over the surface of the sauce, stir with a whisk, simmer, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Cool, stir and let it brew.
3. Dry duck breasts with paper towels and place skin side up on a board. Using a sharp, thin knife, carefully cut the skin, without cutting through the meat, crosswise, in increments of about 1.5 cm. Rub the fillets with salt and pepper on both sides.
4. Preheat oven to 160 ° C. Shake the marinade off the breasts, pat dry with paper towels. Place skin side down in a skillet and place over medium heat.
5. Scoop out the fat melted from the breasts immediately with a spoon (you can then fry very tasty potatoes on it). Cook for 7 minutes. Turn the breasts over and place in the oven for 7-12 minutes, depending on the size of the breasts and the desired doneness. Remove to preheated plates, cover with foil and rest for 5-7 minutes. Serve the breasts hot with sauce.

Duck with baked apples

Serves 6, cooking: 1 h 50 min.

What do you need:

• 1 duck approx. 2.2 kg
• 6 sour apples
• 1 head of garlic
• powdered sugar
• 2 carnation buds
• 1 star anise star
• salt, freshly ground black pepper

What to do:

1. Salt and pepper the inside and outside of the duck, remove excess fat around the tail and neck. Cut off the neck and the tips of the wings.
2. Disassemble the garlic into cloves, peel, put the duck in the belly. Put cloves and star anise into 1 peeled apple and also place the duck in the belly.
3. Place the duck on a metal baking sheet and bake at 160 ° C for about 1 hour. Drizzle occasionally with the fat released during baking.
4. Increase the temperature to 190 ° C. Cut the remaining apples into 4-6 pieces, removing the core. Place apples on a clean baking sheet in one layer, sprinkle with powdered sugar and bake with the duck for about 15 minutes.
5. Take out the duck, transfer to a dish, place apples around. Let the duck rest before serving, 10-15 minutes.