One rainy Saturday afternoon I decided that duck was a requirement for dinner that evening.
I bought a fresh duck from the mad chefs at Market Gourmet and went to see the cook (whose name may be Tee) at Tee's Trading. I asked what I could do with the duck so it could be eaten tonight. He kind of laughed but was a bit cranky with me and shook his head. I quickly added "or tomorrow night?" He gave me his secret recipe for the BBQ Duck he cooks at home.
Ingredients for stuffing:
- 1 fresh duck - washed and cloaka fat removed
- 1 small bunch shallots - cut in 10 cm pieces (just use the first 20cm)
- 5 Star Anise ( crushed roughly in a mortar and pestle then toasted in a dry pan)
- matchbook size piece of fresh ginger (smashed)
- large tablespoon of sugar
- small tablespoon of salt
- 3 tablespoons of blended bean paste (available instore)
- 10 coriander seeds (my addition - crushed roughly in a mortar and pestle then toasted in a dry pan)
I was told to put all these ingredients into the cavity of the duck then tie up the hole.
The next step was to bl
anch it in boiling water and I had images of stuffing dribbling out into the poaching liquid so I made a makeshift needle out of a bamboo skewer and after rubbing the wet parts of the stuffing into the cavity I pushed the shallots in and sewed the duck up. And here's a picture boys and girls.
The next stage is to place the duck in a pot of boiling salted water for 5 or 10 minutes. Sadly
I was house sitting and did not have a
pot big enough so I used a thin roasting pan and half filled it with boiling water. I carefully placed the duck in and poked it around a bit to stop it sticking. after 4 minutes I turned it over using a spatula and tongs, being careful not to pierce the cooked skin.
Everything was going well until I turned it over and the duck got a bit stuck on the bottom. Definitely not something you would serve in a restaurant but for sunday dinner with some duck pancakes this was going to be just fine.
Once both sides were cooked I took it out of the pan/pot and let it cool down. I noticed as it was cooling down that clear pure duck fat was sweating out of the pores of the duck. Yum! I patted it dry several times then let it completely cool and patted it dry again with paper towels. There was a lot of ducky fatty sweaty stuff under the armpits so I spent a lot of time getting that cleaned up.
Next it needed to refrigerate overnight to get all of the flavour of star anise and ginger into the flesh.
Skin basting sauce:
- 1/4 cup Chinese BBQ Sauce
- 1/4 cup Plum Sauce
OK so I am making up the quantity/ratio for this marinade as Tee was unclear but we will see how it goes.
Preheat oven to 180° C, baste the duck with the sauce and place in the oven in a baking tray breast down. Drop the temperature to 100°C and roast for 45 minutes. Flip the duck and baste again then cook for a further 45 minutes.
Drop the temperature to 80°C, baste and cook for a further 30 mins then flip over, baste and cook for a further 30 mins. Check for doneness by slicing into skin. Cook for longer if required.
I have no idea if this will be a crispy skin duck or not but will update this post tomorrow...
Well it turned out pretty tasty but some modifications are needed to make this better.
First the stuffing needs more Star Anise, probably double the amount
Secondly the marinade could probably go on the night before especially as this did not create a crsipy skin duck.
Finally the cooking process could include a lid at the first stages to get more of a wet cooking to really get the duck tender.
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