Crisp Roast Duck with Orange Glaze
By America's Test KitchenPublished on September 15, 2011
Time
1¾ hours
Yield
Serves 2 to 3
Ingredients
Orange Glaze
1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (from 2-3 large oranges)2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 1 lime)2 tablespoons honeyCrisp Roast Duck
1 whole Pekin duck (about 4 ½ pounds), neck and giblets discarded, prepared according to illustrations 1 and 2 belowSalt and ground black pepperBefore You Begin
Pekin ducks may also be labeled as Long Island ducks and are typically sold frozen. The duck must defrost in the refrigerator for at least one day before cooking. To feed six people, steam one duck after the other and then roast all the pieces together in an oversized roasting pan or a large jelly roll pan.
Instructions
- Bring all ingredients to boil in small saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened and reduced to scant 1/4 cup, 25 to 30 minutes. Set glaze aside until ready to use.
- Meanwhile, set V-rack in large, high-sided roasting pan and position duck, breast side up, on rack. Add water to just below bottom of duck. Bring water to boil over high heat, cover pan tightly with aluminum foil (or pan cover, if available), adjust heat to medium (to maintain a slow, steady boil), and steam, adding more hot water to maintain water level if necessary, until skin has pulled away from at least one leg. For duck with very moist, tender meat and slightly crisp skin once roasted, steam about 40 minutes. Steam 10 minutes longer for somewhat denser meat and very crisp skin after roasting. Transfer duck to carving board and, when cool enough to handle, follow illustrations 3 through 6 below to cut into six pieces. (Cooled duck, either whole or cut into pieces, can be wrapped in foil and refrigerated overnight.)
- Adjust oven rack to bottom position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Season pieces on both sides with salt and pepper to taste and position skin side down in lightly oiled roasting pan. Roast, carefully pouring off fat if more than two tablespoons accumulate in pan, until skin on breast pieces is rich brown color and crisp, about 25 minutes. Transfer breast pieces to platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Again, pour off excess fat from pan, turn leg/thigh and wing pieces skin side up, and continue roasting until skin on these pieces is deep brown and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Again, pour off excess fat from pan. Return breast pieces to pan and brush both sides of every piece with glaze. Roast until glaze is hot and richly colored on duck pieces, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve immediately.
for the glaze
for the duck
Time
1¾ hoursYield
Serves 2 to 3Ingredients
Orange Glaze
Crisp Roast Duck
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Orange Glaze
Crisp Roast Duck
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Orange Glaze
Crisp Roast Duck
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
For a roast duck recipe with moist, flavorful meat, and, of course, a minimum of fat, we began by removing by hand the large clumps of white fat that line the body and neck cavity. Loose skin, including most of the flap that covers the neck cavity, also had to be cut away. Taking a cue from roast duck recipes popular throughout East and Southeast Asia, we steamed the duck to render the remaining fat (a full 58 percent of the duck’s original weight). Still, the legs remained too fatty. To fully degrease the legs, we had to cut up the bird before roasting it. No longer protected from the heat, the fat in the legs just melted away.
Before You Begin
Pekin ducks may also be labeled as Long Island ducks and are typically sold frozen. The duck must defrost in the refrigerator for at least one day before cooking. To feed six people, steam one duck after the other and then roast all the pieces together in an oversized roasting pan or a large jelly roll pan.
Instructions
- Bring all ingredients to boil in small saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened and reduced to scant 1/4 cup, 25 to 30 minutes. Set glaze aside until ready to use.
- Meanwhile, set V-rack in large, high-sided roasting pan and position duck, breast side up, on rack. Add water to just below bottom of duck. Bring water to boil over high heat, cover pan tightly with aluminum foil (or pan cover, if available), adjust heat to medium (to maintain a slow, steady boil), and steam, adding more hot water to maintain water level if necessary, until skin has pulled away from at least one leg. For duck with very moist, tender meat and slightly crisp skin once roasted, steam about 40 minutes. Steam 10 minutes longer for somewhat denser meat and very crisp skin after roasting. Transfer duck to carving board and, when cool enough to handle, follow illustrations 3 through 6 below to cut into six pieces. (Cooled duck, either whole or cut into pieces, can be wrapped in foil and refrigerated overnight.)
- Adjust oven rack to bottom position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Season pieces on both sides with salt and pepper to taste and position skin side down in lightly oiled roasting pan. Roast, carefully pouring off fat if more than two tablespoons accumulate in pan, until skin on breast pieces is rich brown color and crisp, about 25 minutes. Transfer breast pieces to platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Again, pour off excess fat from pan, turn leg/thigh and wing pieces skin side up, and continue roasting until skin on these pieces is deep brown and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Again, pour off excess fat from pan. Return breast pieces to pan and brush both sides of every piece with glaze. Roast until glaze is hot and richly colored on duck pieces, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve immediately.
for the glaze
for the duck
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