COOKING DUCK IN FRENCH STYLE |

The French are known for their elegant cooking techniques, but sometimes they can be a little too fancy. Here’s an easy dish to try at home that will bring out the best in your duck.

french whole duck recipes is a blog that has many different french cooking tutorials. This blog will teach you how to cook the perfect french duck in french style.

Canard

For roasting, only the real duckling or caneton (a bird under 6 months old) is suitable. Fortunately, that’s the only type of duck you’ll find at an American grocery store. It typically weighs 4/2 to 5/4 pounds when ready to cook, has been delicately plucked and cleaned, and is frozen, a condition it tolerates much better than chicken. It simply has to be defrosted in the refrigerator or in a basin of cold, running water before cooking.

AN IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT FRENCH DUCKS

While commercially produced birds in the United States are typically of a single breed, White Pekin-French ducks come in a range of varieties. The nantais, which seldom weighs more than 3 pounds and is the most popular table duckling; the rouennais, which is known for its pressed duck; and the canard de barbarie, which is frequently older and always bigger and is used for braising.

GETTING A DUCK READY FOR ROASTING

Remove any excess fat from the hollow and the area around the neck. Cut off the wishbone to make cutting the breast flesh simpler. The bottom portion of the wing is mainly bone, so cut it off at the elbow and throw it in the stock pot. Make sure the fat glands at the base of the tail have been removed, then dig out any yellow residue and massage the region with salt and lemon juice. Prick the skin at 1/2-inch intervals along the thighs, back, and bottom portion of the breast to allow the layer of subcutaneous duck fat escape while cooking. Sew or skewer the legs, wings, and neck skin to the body after seasoning or filling the cavity to ensure a tidy look on the table.

STOCK OF DUCKS

The neck, heart, gizzard, and lower wings of a duck may all be used to make a duck stock.

NOTE ON CARVING

A 4 1/2-pound duck will only feed 4 or 5 people since it has much more carcass and far less flesh than a chicken of the same weight. Making as many thin slices of breast flesh as possible, 4 to 6 each side, is the French technique of carving: The duck is flipped on its side, tail facing the carver, after the second joints and drumsticks have been removed. Starting at the lowest portion of the breast closest the tail and moving toward the breastbone, thin slices of flesh are sliced diagonally. The other side is sliced using the same method, but in the opposite direction.

TIMETABLE FOR ROASTING

Ducks cooked to a medium rare—the juices flow slightly pink when the flesh is pricked—are a favorite of the French. The duck’s juices should flow clear yellow if it’s to be served well done. Duck flesh that has been overcooked is brown, dry, and disappointing.

The table below contains unstuffed, unchilled duck. If the duck is stuffed, add 20 to 30 minutes to the timings indicated.

SUGGESTIONS FOR VEGETABLES

Duckling with green peas, or caneton aux petits pois, is a popular French pairing, particularly in the spring. Broccoli or Brussels sprouts, as well as braised lettuce, celery, celeriac, onions, or turnips, are more vegetable options. If you want to offer a starchy vegetable, try braised or pureed chestnuts, mashed potatoes with celery root or turnips, or a puree of lentils or navy beans.

SUGGESTIONS FOR WINE

Serve Burgundy, Cotes du Rhone, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, or Bordeaux-St. Emilion, or any other full-bodied red wine. Alternatively, a cold Traminer from Alsace.

Here are a few delectable dishes for a delectable French meal:

ROTI CANETON

Ingredients

a ready-to-cook duckling weighing 5 1/2 pounds

a half teaspoon of salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

a sprinkle of sage or thyme

a tiny onion, sliced

A small roasting pan that is just big enough to fit the duck in.

1 medium carrot, cut

1 medium onion, sliced

A bulb baster is a tool used to cut bulbs.

a half teaspoon of salt

1/2 to 2 cups duck stock, beef stock, or beef bouillon (canned)

3 or 4 TB port is an option.

1–2 tablespoons softened butter

Make it this way:

Season the duck’s insides with salt, pepper, herbs, and the onion slices. Attach the skin of the legs, wings, and neck to the body. Prick the skin on your thighs, back, and lower breast with a needle. Thoroughly dry the duck.

Place the duck breast up in the roasting pan, strew the veggies over it, and bake for 15 minutes at 350°F to gently brown it.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and flip the duck on its side. Regulate the heat so that the duck is constantly producing frying sounds but the fat does not burn. Remove deposited fat on a regular basis (a bulb baster will suck it up easily). Basting isn’t required.

Turn the duck on its other side after 30 minutes, or approximately halfway through.

Salt the duck and flip it breast up fifteen minutes before the end of the scheduled roasting time. When the fattest portion of the thigh or drumstick is pierced, the juices flow slightly pink, and when the duck is raised and drained, the final drops of juice from the vent are a pale rose, the duck is done to medium rare. When the duck’s fluids flow pale yellow, it’s done.

When the duck is done, remove the trussing strings and put it on a serving plate. Set in an oven that has been turned off and leave the door open while making the sauce, which should take 3 to 4 minutes.

Scoop off all except 1 tablespoon of grease from the roasting pan by tilting it. Add the stock or bouillon and quickly reduce the liquid by half, scraping up any coagulated roasting juices and crushing the veggies. Seasoning should be done correctly. Optional wine should be added and simmered for a minute to let the alcohol to dissipate.

Swirl the butter into the sauce shortly before serving, off the heat, and pour it into a sauceboat. Serve with a dollop of sauce on top of the duck.

Montmorency Caneton

Roast duck is also excellent with cherries or peaches as a garnish. Make a Vorange using the caramel-colored, arrowroot-thickened sauce from the last caneton, removing the orange peel and orange liqueur. In the sauce, the fruit is cooked as follows:

Ingredients

36 to 48 pitted red or black cherry (if frozen, thaw and drain)

a 4-quart enameled cast-iron saucepan

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons port or cognac

2–3 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons softened butter

Make it this way:

Combine the cherries, lemon juice, port or cognac, and sugar in a saucepan. Allow for at least 20 to 30 minutes of soak time.

Pour the sauce into the cherries once the duck has been roasted and the pan juices have been deglazed with wine and added to the sauce. To poach the cherries, reduce the heat to just below a simmer for 3 to 4 minutes (if liquid simmers, the fruit may shrivel). With a slotted spoon, remove the cherries and scatter them over and around the duck.

Reduce and thicken the sauce by boiling it quickly. Seasoning should be done correctly. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the enrichment butter. Pour the sauce into a hot bowl and pour a little amount over the duck before serving.

The roast duck recipe is a simple and easy roast duck recipe. It’s an old French recipe that is traditionally made with a chicken or turkey, but can be adapted to use duck as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is duck called on a French menu?

The duck is called a poulet.

How do you French duck?

French duck is a term used to describe when someone ducks under the table or desk during a conversation.

How is duck supposed to be cooked?

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Alma Bax

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