1 - The recipe link containing the quince has a very different and interesting way of cooking the duck. To try? However, the way written below worked very well indeed. I put the duck up on a rack over the roasting pan which was a very good idea because the amount of fat rendered just from roasting was phenomenal. For the quince paste, I slathered it into the cut marks in the skin, which were already crisping and pulling away. Most of the fat has rendered away and the skin was very crispy and flavorful from the spices and quince paste.
2 - I had a 5lb duck, I wish I'd recorded the weight of the first one, because this one took much, much longer to finish cooking to reach that all important 165F temperature. It took at least 30 minutes more, if not 45 (I didn't record it). It also took that long to get the quince paste to caramelize. Truth be told, I also forgot to increase the temp, in following the recipe, for the last 15 minutes. Otherwise the flavor was good, the quince paste and spice mix is a very nice complement. I do wonder about adding some sugar to the rub, though, given that only the breast gets the sweet paste. Oh, and also, what am I looking for in a done bird? With chicken, it isn't only that the 'juices run clear', but it's also that the joints are loose.
TIMING: uncertain. Recipe:
1 duck, 5-6 lbs
1 small onion
1 small apple
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 Tbsps? salt and 1/4 tsp? pepper
1 tsp sugar?
3 Tbsp quince jam or preserves (plum or apricot would work nicely, too)
- Completely defrost the duck in the refrigerator for 1-2 days, if using frozen. Once defrosted, rinse and pat dry. For best results, let the duck sit uncovered in the refrigerator overnight. This will help to dry and crisp the skin.
- Use a sharp knife to score the skin on the duck's breast in a diamond pattern, trying to cut only the skin without reaching the breast meat below. Cut off excess fat (save all of this).
- Poke the bird all over with a knife. Only prick the skin, don't hit the meat.
- Season the duck all over with salt, including the cavity. Stuff the cavity with garlic, onion, apple. Use 2-3 toothpicks to sew the skin around the cavity opening tightly together, to keep the inside moist during roasting. Cross the legs and tie them together with a cooking twine. Fold the wings under the duck.
- Mix together 2 tsps. salt, sugar, pepper and the spices and season all over the skin with it.
- Place the bird on the rack inside the roasting pan and cook at 350 F for 1 hour, breast side up.
- Remove the bird and prick the skin all over for a second time.
- Flip the duck breast side down and roast for 30 minutes more.
- Pull the duck out of the oven briefly and spread the quince jam over the breast side of the duck. Baste it a bit with the fat in the pan, then slide it back into the oven to finish roasting. Cook another 15 minutes.
- Take out of the oven again, increase the temperature to 400F.
- Poke again, for a third time, all over, before reintroducing in the oven and baking it for 15 minutes, breast side up. The meat is cooked when internal temperature of the breast is 165F.
NOTE: Do not let anyone throw away the duck bones or skin. After everyone is done eating, take all the scraps, plus whatever's left in the roasting pan, and put it all in a pot of water, to cover, in which the duck was boiled. Bring the pot back up to a simmer and let it go an hour or more. You will end up with a rich broth, which you'll strain and cool overnight uncovered. The duck fat will rise to the top. Use the broth for soup or cooking rice. Save the duck fat and use it for frying potatoes. You'll thank me.