Tah-Dah!!

A new look and a new post.  Its not exactly the look I wanted but the templates don't make it easy.  But at least I have a cool new logo designed by none other than the Superking himself!!  I may continue to make a few tweeks over the next few weeks but it is a new look nonetheless.

So my latest food adventure was making duck for the first time for Easter dinner with the family.  We decided to get a whole duck from the Organic Butcher of McLean and asked around for a few tips on the best way to prepare it.

We went for the simplest route...rub it down with some spices and roast it for about two hours while occasionally basting it in its own fatty juices.  This is how I usually do a turkey so I figured it would work for duck too.  And since duck is so much more fatty than turkey, it makes my job even easier.

First we give the duck a bath and pat him dry. (Actually before we gave him a bath we had to take out the innards. Luckily the gizzard was already in a pouch but the neck was still attached.  It was quite the two-person job trying to get that thing out and it was kinda gross too so no pictures of that.)

Then we give him a massage with a mixture of savory spices and herbs.  We used salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and dried basil.  It was very aromatic and made a pretty reddish color on the duck's skin.

Then we gently placed the duck onto the rack of a large roasting pan and into a 375 degree oven for about two hours. Every half hour to forty-five minutes we would baste the duck with its own juices that had dripped into the bottom of the pan.  The recipe we used actually called for basting with butter but we felt that may be too rich. Duck already has a tendency to be a little greasy so adding butter or oil will only accentuate that. However also on the final basting, we did add a light basting of a sweet chili sauce as well.

When the oven timer goes off , we gently removed the duck from the oven and let him rest about 15 minutes.  We actually cooked our duck the day before since our Easter Sunday is so busy with church and family already so as soon as the duck was finished with its little nap, we immediately wrapped him up in a cozy blanket of aluminum foil, snug as a bug in a rug for the night. 

We also harvested the fat juices and crispy bits from the bottom of the pan to be used for another food adventure!

The next day just before serving the duck, we unwrapped him, sliced up the breast meat and served it on a pretty platter along with the legs and wings as well.  We also served it with more of that sweet chili sauce on the side. I was a little worried about cooking it the day before and having it be dried out but it actually turned out to be quite flavorful.  It had a lovely crispy skin, the meat was juicy and rich without being overwhelming, and the chili sauce added a nice touch of sweetness and a little kick of spicy heat. It seemed to be a big hit with the family as well!