The cuisines of different countries of the world are a treasury that is filled to the brim with real wealth. Each nation is proud of its cuisine, and each has a different one.
But it is worth noting that all famous chefs know how to cook a duck, observing the culinary rules of their country. Indeed, duck, along with other types of meat, is a common dish that is used both on a daily and holiday table.
The secret to choosing a duck
If we are talking about preparing ducks for an everyday table, then the question of choosing a carcass is not as acute as if we are talking about decorating a festive feast. After all, it is rare to find a quality and well-fed, odorless bird with smooth skin. Also, when searching, you should pay attention to the carcass being dry and soft, but the breast, on the contrary, should be solid. The cut meat of a good duck has a rich red color.
A two-month-old duck is considered ideal, the weight of which varies in the range of 2-2.5 kg.
It is noteworthy that the village duck is always fatter, while the store duck is distinguished by tender meat, which tastes like chicken.
Basic rules for cooking duck dishes in the oven
There are many recipes for how to cook duck. It can be stuffed, cooked in slices or a whole carcass. But it turns out to be the most delicious if you cook it in the oven with the filling. Each time a new dish can be obtained by simply changing the filling.
Among the most popular fillings are noted such:
- sweet and sour apples;
- soaked lingonberries;
- sauerkraut;
- nuts
- dried fruits;
- boiled potatoes;
- buckwheat with mushrooms and vegetables;
- various fruits;
- legumes.
Before cooking, wash the duck well and dry it with a paper towel. Then it should be pickled according to the recipe, grated with spices and salt, and, if necessary, garlic. Using too many fillings is not recommended to avoid damage to the skin of the bird.
Roasting duck: basic rules
For baking, it is best to use a ducklings or a baking sheet with high sides.
It is very important to understand how to cook a soft duck in the oven, achieve a rich taste and get juicy meat as a result. You can cope with this task if you calculate the exact time of preparation of the carcass. So, from the moment the oven is completely warmed up, you need to count 45 minutes for every kilogram of duck. Another 25 minutes should be left as the time necessary for browning the carcass.
To cook the duck in pieces, it will take no more than 90 minutes. The final time will depend on the initial softness of the meat and the size of the slices.
Serve the finished bird with various side dishes, herbs, spicy sauces, sour snacks. As a complement to the duck, dry red wine is ideal.
Duck with apples in the oven - a classic recipe
For centuries, eminent cooks and simple housewives have competed and shared recipes on how to cook a duck so that it is soft and juicy. And the bird, cooked with fragrant apples, is the clear winner of the race. Duck meat turns out to be surprisingly juicy, soft and at the same time dense, it has a specific pleasant aroma.
Very often, a duck with apples is compared with a Peking duck, which is justified, because the cooking technique is very similar, like the ingredients used.
Ingredients for a classic duck recipe with apples
To make duck with apples, we need the following ingredients:
- Duck carcass (1.5–2 kg).
- Apples (1 kg).
- Lemon (1 pc.).
- Salt (to taste).
- Spices (to taste).
The chefs in the restaurant and experienced housewives know how to cook a soft, juicy duck and that for this it is recommended to take a chilled carcass that has not been frozen. But finding such meat can be very difficult, so a frozen duck is quite suitable for this recipe.
As for apples, it is recommended to use acidic varieties. An Antonovka is good. If you do not follow the classic recipe, then you can use various spices, but it is recommended to give preference to ginger, cinnamon and black pepper, which are perfectly combined with duck meat.
Duck with apples: cooking steps
There are several variations on how to cook the duck and where to start. But everyone suggests starting with preparing a carcass. So, preliminary defrosting may be required if the duck was frozen. This should be done gradually:
- For several hours (preferably all day), the duck is moved from the freezer to the refrigerator.
- Continue the defrosting process at room temperature.
With a chilled carcass, you do not need to do such manipulations.
Care must be taken to ensure that the duck is well cleaned and that no hairs remain on the carcass. If there is such a problem, then it can be dealt with very simply - holding the duck over the switched on fire of the gas stove. You need to understand that this applies only to small hairs, and larger ones are plucked additionally.
It is very easy to remove burnt “stumps” by baking the buttered duck in flour and thoroughly wiping it with a paper towel. After that, the carcass is washed under running water.
Next, you need to prepare a mixture for rubbing the duck. It is better to do this in a separate bowl, in which all spices and salt are poured, and then mix thoroughly. The resulting mixture evenly rub the carcass.
Preparation of the filling:
- Rinse thoroughly, and then peel and peel the apples, cut them into cubes or slices.
- In order to prevent darkening of apples, you need to sprinkle them with the juice of one lemon.
- Sprinkle apples with cinnamon and salt.
You need to stuff the duck with the prepared filling. But do not be zealous and stuff the duck too tight, since it is possible that when cooking the skin of the duck is too stretched and burst.
The stuffed duck needs to be sewn up. This can be done with coarse threads and stitches over the edge. Alternatively, you can use toothpicks. On the two edges of the duck, you need to make small cuts into which the wings are tucked. So when baking, the bird will retain its shape, and also will not turn out wrinkled and dried.
Ready to cook, the duck is laid back down on a baking sheet, and then sent to a preheated oven. How to cook a juicy duck in the oven and guarantee its maximum softness? Open the oven every 30 minutes and water the carcass with the fat that forms during the baking process.
In order to determine if the duck is ready, you need to pierce it with a knife in the thickest place. After this manipulation, juice is sure to stand out. If there is no blood in it, then the duck is ready.
Peking Duck Cooking Rules
How to deliciously cook a Peking duck? There are really many rules, but basically they are similar to traditional recipes for cooking duck in the oven. But differences still exist.
Initially, the duck is poured with boiling water, and then rubbed with various spices and garlic. Next, you need to put the carcass on a jar and send it to the refrigerator, previously placing it in a deep plate. A plate is simply necessary for such manipulations, since juice will stand out in 12 hours (this is how much the duck is kept in the refrigerator).
It’s easy to cook a Peking duck, because there are several stages of preparation:
- Wrap the duck carcass in foil and send it to the oven for 1 hour at a temperature of 200 o C.
- Grease the finished duck with a mixture of ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper.
- Again, put the duck for half an hour in the oven at a temperature of 250 o C.
At the final stage, you need to grease the duck with honey sauce and serve whole on the table.
Duck Stew Rules
Very often, experienced housewives ask themselves how to cook a stew duck. This is not a problem.
First you need to fry the meat with vegetables and onions. The roasting process assumes that juice will stand out from the duck, in which the dish will be stewed. Periodically you need to add water or wine to the pan. Some recipes include the addition of ducks with a serving of vegetables, dried fruits or mushrooms.
How to cook a duck in a pan?
Marinating is the first step in making a duck in a pan. Although this stage is predetermining for other cooking methods.
For a frying pan, it is enough to rub the duck with pepper and salt, and then coat with mayonnaise on both sides. You need to marinate for about half an hour. After that, the bird, previously sliced into portioned pieces, is sent to a hot pan. If desired, you can add more spices and spices, and then fill the duck with water for subsequent stewing.
A whole duck is stewed in the same way.
Duck in the sleeve: cooking secrets
Cooking duck in a sleeve or foil is not much different from the usual process of cooking duck in the oven. The standard scenario is only diluted with the material in which the carcass must be placed before being sent to the oven. Additionally, you can also put potatoes or some other vegetables there.
Time for preparing:
- Bake the duck in foil for about 60 minutes.
- In the sleeve, the carcass takes 90-100 minutes to cook.
The cooking time is indicated taking into account that the baking temperature will be equal to 180 ° C. The time is indicative, since it directly depends on the size of the duck and the capabilities of the oven.
How to cook a wild duck?
Many tips on how to cook a juicy, soft duck in the oven do not work when it comes to wild birds. Indeed, the traditional methods of processing domestic and wild ducks are different. Game meat is a little harsh, so it will take a little longer to stew or bake.
Experienced chefs recommend forgetting how to cook the whole duck if it is a wild bird, because it is better to cook it in pieces. The peculiarity of game meat is that it may look unprepared, although in fact it is already well-fried, so you need to carefully monitor the process. Various herbs will help emphasize the piquant taste of game. It is also worthwhile to understand that wild duck meat has a characteristic smell of fish, which can be eliminated if you use spices during pickling.
The secrets of duck cooking
Much has been said about how to cook a juicy duck, but there are rules that will be a real discovery and will make the dish incredibly tasty.
- You can remove the characteristic unpleasant odor if you cut off the duck’s butt before cooking.
- Juicy fruits are more suitable for filling. Ideal would be apples, oranges, cranberries, lingonberries and prunes.
- A juicy bird will turn out if you periodically remove the duck from the oven, pouring the carcass with melted fat during cooking.
- In order not to dry the duck breast, you need to quickly fry it at maximum heat on both sides.
Duck dishes are perfect for everyday meals as well as for a festive table. The meat goes well with various products, so choosing a side dish will be very simple.