Whole roast duck
This is a great recipe for roasting a whole duck for crispy duck pancakes. I’ve had success roasting in advance and reheating the shredded duck in a foil parcel in the oven.
Like my whole roast goose recipe, I used a baster and a v-shaped roasting rack for a more relaxing time.
Ingredients
- Duck, ~2.5kg
- Lemon, 1 large
- Rosemary, handful
- Bay leaves, 3
- Five spice, 4 tbsp
- Salt + pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220°C.
- Take the duck and pat dry with kitchen roll then prick the skin all over with the tip of a skewer (or similar).
- Season the bird cavity and skin generously with the five spice and salt and pepper. Use your hands to ensure the rub gets into all the nooks and crannies.
- Place the lemon in the duck cavity followed by the rosemary and bay leaves.
- Take some butchers twine and tie the legs together at the “ankles”. I also like to tuck the parson’s nose up through the legs and pop a skewer through to keep it in place.
- Place a roasting rack in a deep roasting tray. Take care to locate the duck on the roasting rack so that it fits neatly and isn’t hanging over the edge of the roasting tin.
- Roast for 10 minutes at 220°C then reduce to 170°C and roast for ~3 hours.
- Every 30 minutes or so, baste the duck using the fat from the roasting tin then use the baster to decant excess fat from the tin into a large bowl (there is a lot of fat!).
- Once done, leave uncovered to rest for ~30 minutes then shred!