Winner Winner DUCK dinner!

It was dreary and cold again on Monday.  Just the right kind of weather for another hearty baked dinner.  I've had a duck in the freezer for awhile.  OK, a long while and I really needed to do something with it. 

I opted for a classic roasted duck.  I was going to go with an Asian spin but I decided to keep it simple.  The duck came with an orange sauce packet and I didn't even use it.  I warmed it up and sat it on the table and though it was very tasty, the duck itself was perfection and needed nothing more than a knife and fork. 

Hubs said this was one of his favorite meals I've ever made.  We've been married almost four years so I've made a lot of meals.  I'll take that one as a serious compliment.

Ignore all the Asian sauces in the picture below.  Didn't use them.

Roast Duck & Potatoes
1 thawed or fresh Duck (mine was 6.5 lbs.)
1 whole Onion, quartered
1 whole Celery Stalk, cut into small pieces
4 whole Garlic Cloves
3 Bay Leaves
Salt
Pepper
Whole small Potatoes
Olive Oil
Fresh Rosemary

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Prepare your roasting pan.  If you don't have a roasting pan (I don't), put foil on a large pan and then use a baking rack on top to suspend the duck.  You want the juices and fat to have room to drip out and away from the duck.  I always cover mine in aluminium foil so I don't have to scrub so much later. 

Thaw duck if needed then take out all the giblets from inside.  Duck is very fatty so make sure to cut away large chunks of fat and put with your giblets.  Save these to make delicious duck broth.  Also check duck for pin feathers, and if you find any, pull them out. 

Since duck is so fatty, you will need to score over the top half of the duck (breast side up) to allow the fat to escape.  Make very shallow cuts diagonally to keep from cutting into the meat in a diamond pattern.

Salt and pepper the inside and outside of the duck.  Next, stuff duck with the quartered onion, celery, garlic cloves, and bay leaves.

Since I didn't have any twine to truss the duck, I used bamboo skewers.  Basically just close up the opening you just filled with those yummy veggies.

Be sure to tuck the wings under the duck so they don't overcook.  My poor bird only had one full wing.

Place duck breast-side-up on rack and set the timer for 1 hour.

While the duck is roasting, it's time to start the potatoes.

Prick all over potatoes and put into a bowl.  Pour some olive oil over them, sprinkle with salt, pepper and chopped rosemary.  Toss to make sure all the potatoes are covered with the oil and seasonings. 

When the timer goes off, take the duck out of the oven.  Prick all over the duck to allow fat to be released.  This will help make the skin nice and crispy.



Arrange the potatoes around the duck and place back into the oven.  Continue roasting until skin is browned and crispy and juices run clear.  Remove from oven and allow duck to rest for approximately 10 minutes.  This allows all the juices and fat to go back into the meat.



Here is the first slice...Perfection!