Foolproof Roast Duck

Pic to come when I find it on my hard drive.

This year for Christmas I made a duck. Oh I've done it before, heck it's practically a specialty of mine at this point. But this year I made it on Christmas Eve for my in-laws and my husband. Just the four of us. It was lovely. I've made this recipe a bunch of times but I never write it down. So that's what I'm doing this time over the next few days you'll get the whole recipe complete with butternut squash puree and an approximation of the berry sauce I make which is good on meat and veggies alike. Enjoy and Merry Christmas to all who celebrate, Happy Holidays to everyone else and a Happy New Year to all.


Foolproof Roast Duck
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary chopped
2T of salt
2T fresh ground pepper
a whole duck

Preheat oven to 425.
Rinse the duck with cold water inside and out. Use a pruning knife and your fingers to work your way between the skin and fat of the duck and the flesh of the duck, this will be a difficult and delicate procedure but totally worth it. Once you have a space between the duck flesh and the fat rub the flesh with salt, pepper, garlic, and rosemary. Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic, and rosemary over the outside of the skin of the duck and use the remains of the spices to season the cavity of the duck. Use a paring knife to make shallow pricks everywhere but drumsticks. Don't forget the areas where the thighs join the body.  Use a light touch with paring knife to gently crosshatch skin's top layer on breast side to facilitate release of fat. Be careful not to cut all the way through skin into flesh. Place in roasting pan breast side up. Roast for 50 minutes. Remove duck from oven and Tilt duck to drain, pouring juices from cavity into roasting pan. Flip the duck using two forks, tongs or turkey lifters. Roast for another 50 minutes. Flip one last time and roast breast side up for another 40-50 minutes, if it looks done it probably is, you want it to be 165 degrees on a meat thermometer.