Happy New Year and welcome back. I am so excited about what’s in store for 2015 and I hope your year is filled with the joy of family gatherings, friends celebrating, traveling adventures and all the things that make you feel grateful. Here is a recipe that made me feel all the above and more, roast duck. Christmas was my first attempt at roasting a duck. I was a little nervous because I kept hearing about duck being so greasy. I don’t have any problem with the grease part because I know it helps keep the meat moist. What I discovered about duck is the meat is all dark which creates more grease than white meat.

I can’t believe I never knew this until now. Yummy! My family loves dark meat so I will be roasting duck more often. I made oyster dressing to go with my duck and honeybun, it was fantastic! Oh yes, I love to brag on my food so don’t hate. 🙂 I also have disasters in the kitchen and you will hear about those as well. I will share my oyster dressing recipe with you later this week. This recipe is easy and a wonderful substitute for chicken. The next time you want to jazz up your Sunday supper, roast a duck for your family and friends.

Enjoy,

MJ

Ingredients:

1 5-6 lb. duck
Salt and pepper
1 small onion cut into quarters
1-2 sticks celery cut 2″ long

Directions:
Rinse duck with cool water. Drain and place on a roasting rack with a pan. Pat the duck dry with paper towels. Generously rub salt and pepper
all over the duck and in the cavity. Lift the skin slightly and do the same. You will use about 2.5 to 3 tbs. kosher salt and about a tbs. Pepper. Just remember, you want the duck to be well seasoned not over salty. Place in refrigerator for a minimum of 24 hours uncovered. Preheat oven 320 degrees. Remove from refrigerator and place on counter for 20-30 minutes just to knock off some of the chill. Stuff the cavity with the onion and celery. Follow the cooking instructions on the package but a gauge for cooking this size bird is 2.5 to 3 hours on 320 degrees. My duck had a thermometer indicator already inserted which helped to determine when the bird was done. Remove the duck and reserve all that juicy goodness in a pan. Increase the temperature to 420 and return the duck to the oven for ten minutes or until skin is golden and crispy. Do not overcook. Cover slightly with foil and let the duck rest for 15 minutes before carving.