Delicious Roast Duck

In the weeks before the Yule celebrations, I asked my sons what they would like to have for dinner the night of the Solstice. We knew we were having turkey on Christmas Day, but decided we wanted something different for our own meal.

After a bit of discussion, we decided we were going to have a roast duck. Now duck, as you know, is a rather fatty meat, so you can't just stick it in the oven and forget it the way you can a chicken.EVen so, I was pleasantly surprised at what a delicious roast dinner could be made for not a lot of effort.

I think our duck turned out rather well.

 

Roast duck with duck-fat roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes

To start - preheat your oven to 200c/400f/about Gas Mark 6

The roasting tin

Roasting tray with cooling rack

Because a duck has a lot of fat underneath the skin, you need to be prepared for that before even putting it into the oven. It is recommended that you use a roasting tin with a rack to hold the duck up off the bottom of the pan. 

I don't happen to have a roasting rack, but I do have a wide roasting tray, and a metal cooling rack that just happens to fit perfectly inside. This was ideal for roasting our duck. (I've also used this method for cooking sausages in the oven)

 Preparing the duck

Skin has been pierced with skewer

The next step is to make sure most of the fat underneath the skin can get out. What you don't want is a lot of pressure building up from boiling hot fat under the skin.

To do this, simply poke lots and lots of holes in the skin over the entire surface of the duck. I use a metal skewer for this job, but a small knife would also work.

After this, sprinkle a bit of salt and some ground black pepper over the top, and put it in the oven. I don't cover the duck while roasting, but if I thought it was getting too brown could cover it over with foil.

Roasting time

Very handily, duck takes the same roasting time as other meats. 25 minutes per pound, or per 500 gram, plus 25 minutes. If you prefer duck meat a little rarer, make it 20 minutes per pound/gram plus 20 minutes.

Ozeri The Epicurean LED Kitchen Scale

Don't forget to check the weight! If it isn't printed on the packaging,  you can weight it on your kitchen scales.If you don't have a set of kitchen scales, get one. I find that when it comes to getting dry ingredients exact for recipes, a set of scales is much more accurate than measuring cups.

I have both a digital scale and a basic mechanical scale, but tend to use the digital scale more.

While the duck is cooking

Our duck weighed 2.1kg, or about 4.6 pounds, giving me a total roasting time of 125 minutes. (2 hours, give or take)

Because a lot of fat can come out of the duck, you will need to check it about every 30 minutes and drain any accumulated fat out of the tray. Otherwise it will get very hot and begin spitting all over your oven, and possibly on you when you open the door.

I drain the fat by picking the duck up using a large carving fork, then pouring the fat into a waiting bowl. Duck fat is ideal for roasting vegetables, so don't let it go to waste! Keep it in your fridge for roasting root vegetables.

I poured about 2 tablespoons of the fat onto my roasting tray with the quartered potatoes and a roughly cut up sweet potato. This then went into the oven to cook the final 45 minutes.

You'll know the duck is cooked when the juices run clear. After 1:45 minutes, check by pushing a skewer into the meaty portion of a leg or into the breast. If the juices are clear, then the duck is cooked. If they aren't clear, let it cook in the oven another 15 minutes and check it again.

The Giblets

Sometimes duck comes with the giblets tucked up inside the body cavity. No one is ever really quite sure what to do with these, since very few people actually like the liver, heart, and other bits.

I like to place these in a pan of simmering water and cook them for about 30 minutes. The resulting stock can be used to make a gravy, or can be added to a stuffing mix.

Most of the time, I cheat and get my stuffing out of a box. Just replace the required boiling water with boiling stock for a change of flavour. And while you're at it, dice up the cooked giblets and add those to the stuffing as well. This can either be cooked separately in a casserole dish, or can be stuffed into the duck's cavity.

To go with our roast duck dinner, I made roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes, and cooked carrots and green beans to go on the side.

A tart cranberry sauce or an orange sauce would go nicely on the side as well. 

What about leftovers?

This particular duck could easily feed a family of 4, with leftovers for a soup.

I'm feeding a family of 3, so have a bit more in leftovers. But I do love making a soup.

I made a very simple Asian-themed soup using the leftovers from our duck.

Duck Soup 

To start, place the duck carcass and any leftover meat into a large pot along with a quartered onion, a carrot (break it in half), and a couple smasked garlic cloves.  Add a couple bay leaves, a few peppercorns, and a large pinch of salt then cover it over with water.

Bring that up to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and allow it to simmer for as long as you can. The longer the better here to pull as much goodness and flavour out of the bones. I simmered this particular duck for about 5 hours. The resulting stock could have been a satisfying meal all on it's own.

Once it's simmered long enough, take it off the heat and leave it to sit until it has cooled. If you have time, let it sit in the fridge overnight. The next day, if you wish, you can remove any solidified fat from the top. Just stick that in your bowl of reserved duck fat.

Strain the stock, and pull as much meat as possible off the bones. Discard the bones and cooked vegetables. Add the meat back to the stock and bring it back up to a simmer.

Add soya sauce, tasting after each addition until you get the right level of flavour that you want. I use a low sodium soya sauce so had to add quite a bit.

Add in some shredded cabbage, leek, kale, or other leafy green vegetables. Cook another few minutes.

Add in a packet of Chinese rice noodles. Stir and leave to simmer another few minutes.

Taste for seasoning, adding a bit more soya sauce and some black pepper if needed.

Serve hot in deep bowls.

Menu Plan for an Imbolc Feast

Imbolc is a time for celebrating the reawakening of the earth after winter's slumber. It is a time of potentialities and the foods which we eat to celebrate the Sabbat reflect this.

Foods which would be appropriate are those foods which would have been stored in the autumn to get you through those lean winter months. Most root vegetables and squashes are included here. Other appropriate foods would include seeds and all dairy products.

Seasonal foods in the UK include beetroot, celeriac, jerusalum artichoke, maincrop potatoes, purple sprouting broccoli, goose, venison, crab, mussels, and scallops.

Starters for an Imbolc Feast

Start your Imbolc feast with plates of wholegrain seeded bread and freshly made butter. For a nice touch, knead a spoonful or two of honey into the butter. This would go very nicely with a seeded bread.

I've never made my own butter, but this recipe looks so easy I'm going to try it myself for our Imbolc celebration.

Sunflower seed wholemeal bread

This simple recipe works well with any type of flour. I suggest a combination of half wholemeal and half white bread flour for the best texture.

• Serves: Makes 2 large loaves
• Prep Time: 30 minutes/1.5 hour proofing
• Total Time: 2.5 hours

Ingredients

• 1 liter water
• 4 tablespoons oil
• palmful salt
• handful sugar
• 1 dried yeast sachet
• wholemeal Bread flour
• large handful shelled sunflower seeds

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients except the flour and sunflower seeds in a large bowl.
2. Add enough flour to absorb the liquid and make a pliable dough.
3. Knead well, adding more flour as needed.
4. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise until doubled in size.
5. Punch down and knead again while adding the sunflower seeds gradually.
6. Form into loaves or rolls as desired.
7. Cover with a clean towel and leave to rise again until doubled in size.
8. To make a lighter loaf when using wholemeal flour, you can only let it raise once and add the sunflower seeds while kneaded it the first time through.
9. Bake at 375F/Gas mark 6-7 until bread is browned and makes a hollow sound when thumped on the bottom. About 30 minutes. 

Main Courses for Imbolc

Winter meats in season at this time include poultry, pork (including ham and sausages), rabbit, and venison.

Roast pork

Shellfish such as crab, mussels, and scallops are also in season. You could cook up a lovely roast dinner with all the trimmings.

You might enjoy venison casserole or baked chicken with sausages at your Imbolc feast. For a lighter option, you could make crab cakes or seared scallops with leeks and lemon chilli butter

 

Venison Casserole with Chestnuts

This hearty dish can be made the day before and cooked in a very low oven for several hours.

Venison and chestnut stew

I got this recipe from my mother-in-law. When I make it, I like to do it the day before if possible and will allow it to stew at a very low temperature in the oven (gas mark 1/275F) for several hours. I just have to remember to check that the fluid levels don't get too low so that it doesn't dry out. 

 

 

• Serves: 4 - 6
• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Total Time: 3 hours

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 Tbsp plain flour
• salt and pepper
• 1 pound venison diced (or substitute 1 pound braising steak diced)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 large onions finely sliced
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 10 fluid ounces ruby port
• 18 fluid ounces beef stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 4 ounces chestnuts 

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a frying pan.
2. Season flour with salt, pepper and cinnamon. Dust venison pieces with the flour and fry off a few pieces at time until well browned. Transfer to a large casserole dish.
3. Add the onions and garlic to frying pan and cook for 5 - 10 minutes.
4. Add remaining flour to the pan and stir, add the port and bring to a boil. Pour over the venison in the casserole, add the beef stock and remaining herbs and sugar.
5. Place a tight fitting lid on top and cook over a gentle heat for at least 1 hour. Or, place in the oven on a low heat for at least 1 hour.
6. After this, remove the lid, season to taste, and stir well. Add the chestnuts, replace the lid and cook, gently, for a further hour.
7. Braising steak can be substituted - just increase the cooking time by 45 minutes.
8. Serve with thick slices of bread, cooked rice, or potatoes.

 

 Side Dishes

Swede, or rutabaga

Any roasted root vegetable would be good, especially alongside the venison stew. 

If you've tried and don't like the taste of turnips (delicious in a stew by the way) I suggest trying it's gentle cousin, the swede, also called a  rutabaga. 

This hearty root vegetable can be roasted, turned into chips, or boiled then mashed. 

Swede Mash

• Serves: 4
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 large swede
• salt
• pinch nutmeg (optional)
• butter
• milk

 Instructions

1. Peel and cut the swede into 1/2 inch cubes.
2. Cover with water and add a large pinch of salt.
3. Boil at a rolling boil for about 15 minutes, until a fork passes easily through a cube.
4. Drain, add a dollop of butter and a small amount of milk.
5. Mash.
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. (Optional) add a sprinkling of grated nutmeg

Purple Sprouting Broccoli with Chilli and Garlic

A favourite vegetable in our family is purple sprouting broccoli. This gorgeous relative of the standard head

of broccoli (calabrese) you're used to seeing can be eaten leaves, stem, and all. I only wish the purple colour in the heads would stick around with cooking.

• Serves: 4
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 300g purple sprouting broccoli
• 75g smoked streaky bacon
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 dried chilli, chopped finely

Instructions

1. Blanch 300g of PSB for five minutes in plenty of boiling salted water. While it is cooking fry about 75g of smoked streaky bacon (sliced into lardons) in 3 tablespoons of olive oil until almost brown. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for another 2 minutes. Then add the PSB and braise with the bacon mixture for another 5 minutes.
2. Season this dish carefully because of the use of salty bacon and chilli.

This recipe was originally found at Riverford Organic

Finish your Feast with a Hearty Pudding

Finish up the Imbolc feast with one of these milk based puddings. Imbolc translates into either "In the womb" or "Ewe's milk" depending on which source you look at. Either way, this Sabbat refers to the time when sheep are coming close to the lambing season and their udders are filling with milk. We can honour this by eating milk-based foods.

Bread and Butter Pudding

Bread and butter pudding

• Serves: 4
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 2 hours

Ingredients

• 60 gm softened butter
• 12 slices firm white bread
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 675 ml milk
• 70 gm sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 medium eggs

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas3. Grease 20cm square glass ovenproof serving dish. Spread butter on bread slices. Arrange 4 slices of bread in dish in one layer, overlapping slightly; sprinkle with 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Repeast, making 2 more layers.
2. Using a whire whisk or fork, mix the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl until well blended. Pour mixture over bread slices. Let it stand 10 minutes.
3. Bake 55 - 60 minutes, until knife inserted in center of pudding comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 30 minutes.
4. Serve warm or refrigerate to serve cold later.
5. Serve with warm custard.

Serve Soft Cheese at Imbolc

If you're not fond of sweet desserts, you could serve a selection of cheeses with savoury biscuits.

 Sheep (or ewe's) milk cheeses would be especially appropriate.

Sheep's Milk Cheeses

What Will You Be Serving at Your Imbolc Feast?

 

 

Roasted vegetables

Roast potatoes

I like roasted vegetables to go alongside a roast dinner, but really they can be enjoyed with most any meal. Almost any vegetables can be roasted, so experiment a bit. Roasting brings out the natural sugars within the vegetables. You might just find that a veggie you don't much like when it's prepared by steaming or boiling tastes pretty good when roasted.

There is something about a perfectly roasted potato or parsnip, or just about any other vegetable you can think of. Lightly browned outside, crispy under your fork, and fluffy inside. Steam bringing the scent of the vegetable straight to your nose.

Roasted vegetables are incredibly easy to cook as well. All you need is an oven, a roasting tray, some oil or fat, and vegetables.

The Best Roasting Pan 

Most trays promoted for roasting vegetables have a teflon non-stick coating which is really not suitable. I have 2 or 3 formerly teflon-coated trays in the drawer that I keep around for setting casseroles on when baking. The coating itself flaked off long ago and I took a scrubber to the rest of it.

The non-stick coating found on most non-stick pans just cannot stand up to repeated use at high temperatures. Before you know it, the coating is flaking off into your dish water and your food. You're far better served investing in a baking tray that will stand up to repeated use.

The baking trays I use are similar to this, though a different brand. However, according to people who have used this particular tray it can easily withstand the higher temperatures generated when roasting vegetables. My best trays have been in use for over a decade and are still in good condition.

This is a sturdy, well-built tray that will be used in your kitchen for many years.

Nordic Ware Naturals Bakers Half Sheet

The Best Fat

If you're vegetarian or wanting to keep your fat intake low for whatever reason, then a good olive oil will work well. Skip the extra virgin or virgin grades that don't like high temperatures and use a mild olive oil. This lighter olive oil also won't add flavours to the cooking so all you will taste are the vegetables.

When I cook a roast, I save the fat and drippings in a common bowl in the fridge and use the resulting fat mixture for roasting vegetables, and basting the next roast joint.

Avoid vegetable lard and shortening simply because they are loaded with transfatty acids, and those things are really bad for you. Don't use butter, it will burn at the high temperatures you are using.



If you're really wanting to impress, or are cooking up roasted vegetables for a special occastion like Christmas dinner, then the absolute best fat you can use for roasting your vegetables is goose fat. Goose fat tolerates very high temperatures, and gives you a vegetable that is browned and crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside.





French Goose Fat La belle Chaurienne-Graisse D'Oie La Belle Chaurienn

Yes, it is an indulgence, but since you're only going to use it a few times a year, it's well worth it.

Keep this fat in a clean jar in the back of your fridge and it will last you several months.

The Vegetables

Potatoes

This is the vegetable I roast most often. Allow 1 medium, or 2 small potatoes per person.

Peel the potatoes and cut them in half, quarter if larger. Parboil the potatoes by placing them in a pot of cold water and bringing the water up to a boil. As soon as the water comes to a boil, remove the pan from the heat and drain the water. Shake the pan a bit just to rough up the edges of the potatoes. This'll give you some crunchy bits on the outside.
You could, if you were so inclined, use the tines of a fork just to scrape the sides after parboiling.

Parsnips

Allow 1 large parsnip for 2 - 3 people. 

Peel, top and tail it just like a carrot. Cut the lower tail off just where it starts to widen. If this tail is

much smaller than the main part of the parsnip, leave it whole, it if is about the same width, cut it lengthwise in half. For the rest of the parsnip, half or quarter it depending on the size. These do not need to be parboiled.

Other vegetables

Some ideas include carrots, beetroot, rutabaga (swede) or turnips, sweet potato, and onions

Peel the assorted vegetables and cut in half or quarter. Pieces should be about the size of a medium potato, cut in half.

Beetroot and swede need to be parboiled, but the other vegetables do not. 

Roasting Methods

Oven temperature

Preheat the oven to 425F/Gas Mark 7/220C 

I place the rack on the top level of the oven and set the temperature at Gas Mark 6/400f/200c as this is what temperature I cook a roasting joint at. Unless you have a fan-assisted oven which circulates the air, the temperature in the upper part of the oven will be about 1 gas mark higher than the temperature set. 

Of course, the lower part of the oven will be about 1 gas mark lower, so I use that to my advantage as well when cooking numerous items at once in the oven. 

Cooking with olive oil

Place all your vegetables onto a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil, a bit of salt, and a bit of pepper. Mix them all together so the vegetables are coated with the oil. If you want, add some chopped fresh thyme or rosemary as well.

These will take about 40 minutes to cook. Put them in a small tray on the top rack in the oven. Half way through the cooking time, take them out of the oven and turn.

Cooking with fat

To roast your vegetables with fat, put the fat into the small tray and put it in the oven until it becomes very hot and spits. The fat should be hot enough that it has just about started to smoke.

Take the tray out of the oven, carefully add the vegetables and turn them to coat them all over with the fat. If any of your vegetables are wet, they will spit so be extra careful here. 

Place the tray back into the oven and roast the vegetables between 40 - 45 minutes, turning them about half way through the cooking time.

And there you have it. Delicious roast vegetables. So, what are you going to roast for your next meal?