Derby Duck! My Favorite Roast Duck Recipe, That Is

 

Well, we didn't have a Kentucky Derby party this year, but we did have a Derby duck.

Not exactly traditional, nary a mint julep in sight, but festive all the same!

When we find duck at a nice price - in Albuquerque usually at TaLin Market - we love this recipe for "Roast Duck with Honey-Chili Glaze". It's delicious, easy to follow, uses ingredients I almost always have on hand, and seems foolproof.

I originally got the recipe as a magazine clipping from my mom, so I have no idea who wrote it, or even what magazine printed it. My little clipping is now creased and stained, and I just know I'll lose it eventually. And of course I've made some minor modifications over the years ... so I thought I'd share it here. That way I can always find it, and there's also a chance someone will recognize it - I'd like to give full credit!

Roast Duck with Honey-Chili Glaze

One 4-lb duck

Rub Ingredients:
1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 T. fresh, minced)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

Glaze Ingredients:
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup dark rum

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Place a V-shaped roasting rack - I like the 13x10" Norpro rack shown at left - in a roasting pan with sides at least 2" deep.

Wash and drain duck, removing neck and giblets for another use.

In a small bowl, combine rub ingredients. Rub duck with the mixture, inside and out. Cover wing tips with foil to prevent burning. Put duck, breast side up, in rack and roast for 20 minutes.

Dial back the oven to 350 degrees F and roast 45 minutes more.

Remove duck from oven (leave oven on), remove foil from wing tips, and let duck rest at room temperature for 10 minutes. Pour off hot duck fat.

In a small bowl combine glaze ingredients. Baste duck with glaze mixture, then return bird to oven. Roast 15 minutes more, brushing with glaze every 5 minutes.

Remove from oven, let rest 5 minutes before carving.

* * * * *

The recipe's author is obviously a health-conscious saint, tossing out all that rendered duck fat. Not me! I keep it in the fridge for future roast potatoes or hash browns, because potatoes sizzled in duck fat are sublime. In fact, I usually roast some quartered Yukon golds along with this duck, tucked around the edges of the roasting pan. Bliss!

Also: you can make a faaabulous stock from the duck carcass and neck. I freeze the stock for my next batch of gumbo.

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Creams for Fiber Artists
Sandia Park, NM