removing breast before roasting rest of duck?
I ordered a duck to roast for Thanksgiving. When I picked it up, it was much larger than I had expected. Since there will only be two of us eating, I was wondering if it would be possible to remove the breasts for a later meal and still roast the rest of it. I was thinking since it would be breast down and with all the fat, plus basting; it would be fine. Or will it dry out? Any other opinions or ideas?
Best Answer
I would actually recommend you remove the breasts, regardless of when you will be cooking them. It is very difficult to get the duck breasts to a perfect 125–130°F, the legs to ~15° hotter, and to simultaneously render excess fat and crisp the skin when roasting the bird whole. Cooking the individual muscles separately greatly simplifies this. Also, with duck, there is (in my opinion) relatively little advantage gained from roasting the individual parts on the carcass, other than tableside presentation.
Pictures about "removing breast before roasting rest of duck?"
Should you let duck breast rest?
It is very important to rest your duck before serving; this equilibrates the temperature and spreads the moisture around. You can easily make duck crackling by cutting the skin into thin strips and frying until crisp. Use this on salads or as part of your favourite duck recipe.How do you remove duck breast from a whole duck?
Cut as close to the bone as possible along the edge of the breastbone, a few centimetres deep. Then using your fingers gently run your fingers between the duck breast and the breastbone, working your way down the breast away from the ribcage to remove the breast.How do you remove the breast from a duck?
The legs are the opposite, stringy and full of tendons that need to be well cooked before they soften. This is one reason roast duck is so often disappointing: If you get the breasts right, the legs are going to be downright inedible. But if you cook to the legs, you'll wind up with a dried-out breast.How to Clean a Duck
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