Duck Cooking Tips - Maple Leaf Farms Duck

Cooking duck is easier than you think.

Here are several popular cooking techniques for duck. These are general guidelines. For specific dishes, please follow the recipe’s cooking instructions. In addition, we have videos that you can view online to see how you can quickly prepare duck.

Technique videos.

In these technique videos, Maple Leaf Farms’ corporate chef will teach you how to properly cut up a whole duck and score a duck breast like a pro.

How to cut up a whole duck
(deboning a duck)

How to cook a duck breast

Planning a duck dinner.

One whole duck serves 3-4 people. If used in a salad, stir-fry or casserole, one whole duck will feed 5-6 people.
Duck should never be defrosted on the counter, but instead defrosted in the refrigerator. A breast will thaw overnight, while a whole bird can take two days or more. For faster thawing, submerge duck in its unopened original packaging in COLD water, changing water every 30 minutes.
Duck, like all meats and poultry, should rest after cooking to allow the juices to settle in the meat, so make sure you allow time for this in your cooking and serving schedule.
Once you have thawed raw duck, do not refreeze it, unless you have cooked it.

Roasting a whole duck.

Roast the duck uncovered on a rack in a shallow roasting pan, breast-side up, or roast on a vertical poultry roaster in a pan. For an un-marinated whole duck, allow 30 minutes per pound in a preheated 350° F oven. For a marinated duck, allow 22 minutes per pound at 375° F. or until internal temperature at the leg joint reaches 180° F.
A vertical roaster is a perfect way to roast a whole duck. Even the beer can roasters work well with duck.
When a roasted whole duck has completed cooking, the legs will move easily.
When roasting a whole duck, place it on a rack in a pan, so the fat can drain freely into the bottom of the pan and duck doesn’t sit in it. Line the pan with aluminum foil before putting the rack in it, and you have a very easy clean-up!
Roast your whole duck without stuffing. Instead stuff the duck with an onion quartered, an orange quartered, or pieces of celery and carrots. This will keep the duck moist and add delicious flavor. Cook the stuffing in a separate dish.
For a wonderful barbecued flavor, try grilling outdoors. For a whole raw duck, the best results come from first precooking it in your oven (following the package directions), and for the last 20-30 minutes, finishing it on the grill. This gives the duck a wonderfully crispy skin.
Maple Leaf Farms fully cooked roast half ducks are great on the grill! Just follow package directions.

Recipe Suggestions: Whole Roast Duck with Balsamic Vinegar and Honey Glaze, Roasted Duck with Apple Dressing, Holiday Roast Duck with Orange Sage Glaze [more whole duck recipes]

Preparing a duck breast.
Download our instructions for Scoring & Rendering Duck Breasts -- the secret to having crispy duck breast skin.

Sauteing a duck breast:

Thaw duck breasts and remove from package. Pat duck breast dry with paper towels.
Trim skin to the shape of the meat.
Score skin into 1/4 inch intervals. (Do not cut into breast meat). Rotate breast and score again, making a criss-cross pattern. Season with salt/pepper or preferred seasoning/marinades.
Preheat griddle to 325 degrees F or Teflon pan to low-medium low.
Place breast skin-side down for approximately 8-12 minutes or until fat is rendered and skin is crisp and brown. Low and slow is the way to go.
Turn breast over and cook 1-2 minutes. (Duck breast can be refrigerated at this point, then finished at a later time.) Place duck breasts in 400 degree F oven for 3-4 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F. Let product rest 2-3 minutes before slicing.

Grilling a duck breast:

When grilling boneless duck breasts, you will also achieve the best results by starting the cooking process indoors and later moving them to the grill.
First, render the fat from underneath the skin in a skillet on the stove (about 10 minutes over medium low heat). Then move the breasts to the grill.
Place meat side down and grill for 5 minutes. Turn over and finish for 2-3 minutes. Internal temperature of the duck breast should be 155 degrees F. Let rest five minutes before slicing.

Note: If you wish to add sauce while grilling, brush it on before placing the duck breast on the grill.

Recipe suggestions: Duck Breast with Balsamic Glaze, Duck Kabobs, Strawberry Orange Duck Salad [more duck breast recipes]

Cooking a duck leg.

Duck legs require a long, slow cooking method to produce tender succulent meat. Braising, roasting or a combo works best.
Making duck leg confit is another wonderful way to get tender, fall-off-the-bone meat.
When you purchase duck legs, they come with the drumstick and thigh together. This is different than chicken, which mainly comes separated between the drumstick and the thigh portion.

Recipe suggestions: Canard Au Vin, Southwestern Duck Cassoulet, Rustic Duck Stew with Rigatoni [more duck leg recipes]

Ideas from around the world.

To make a delicious duck pizza, make your favorite crust recipe and top it with plum sauce, chopped green onions, and any pre-cooked duck meat. Top with a light sprinkle of fresh mozzarella or goat cheese. Bake until cheese starts to bubble and enjoy.
For Asian-style roast duck, glaze the duck with hoisin sauce during the last 15 minutes of roasting and serve with fried rice, black bean pancakes, or stir-fried vegetables.
For a duck dinner with Mediterranean flair, serve duck with polenta and grilled vegetables with olive oil and herbs.
Put a Tex-Mex spin on duck by using a spicy rub and serving it with a roasted tomato salsa and seasoned corn.
For the exotic taste of India, use a rub of orange zest, cumin and curry powder on duck. Serve with coconut basmati rice.
Caribbean jerk seasoning gives duck a tropical flavor. Serve with roasted beets topped with caramelized onions or with a mango papaya chutney.

Sauces and seasonings.

Rubbing the skin of a raw duck with paprika helps to create a golden, crispy skin when roasting.
A quick and easy sauce for duck is equal parts of ginger ale and jam (peach, apricot, plum, blackberry) and a dash of powdered ginger and garlic. Stir and microwave until heated. Serve a sauce on the plate or on the side with duck. Putting sauce on the crispy skin will make the skin go soft.
Did you know that the classic French orange sauce for duck is called bigarade sauce? It is a brown sauce flavored with oranges. "Bigarade" is French for "bitter orange," so be careful not to use overly sweet citrus for a classic sauce.
[more sauce and rub recipes]

Cooking with duck.

Make something old, new! Just take your favorite recipe and use duck in place of pork, beef or chicken. Duck's flavor can stand up to any spice, seasoning or ethnic profile.
While duck is poultry, it is very different from chicken and turkey, because it's a red meat. This means that a well-prepared duck breast eats more like steak than chicken and is pink in the center when properly cooked to an internal temperature of 160 F.
Confit duck comes from an old method of preserving meat by seasoning it and slowly cooking it in its own fat. The cooked meat was then packed into a crock and covered with its cooking fat which acted as a seal and preservative. This method produces a particularly tender meat.
Duck cracklings can be easily made by cutting duck skin into thin strips and frying them until they are crisp. They are great on duck dishes or salads.
Duck, like all meats and poultry, should rest after cooking to allow the juices to settle in the meat.
Don't be afraid to serve duck with everyday sides, like mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn on the cob, macaroni and cheese, fruit salad or broccoli with cheese.
Duck maintains good texture when frozen--better than any other poultry.
If you like to grill over wood, cherry wood is an excellent choice for duck.