4 1/2 lb To 5 lb. duckling
Chef's Salt (see below)
1 Carrot, washed, scraped,
-and coarsely chopped
2 Stalks celery, coarsely
-chopped
1 md Onion, coarsely chopped
1 Or 2 cloves garlic, thinly
-sliced
3 To 4 tbs. lard, duck fat,
-or chicken fat
3 To 4 black peppercorns
1 sm Piece of bay leaf
Sprinkling of marjoram
CHEF'S SALT:
1 c Salt
1 tb Spanish paprika
1 ts Ground black pepper
1/4 ts Ground white pepper
1/4 ts Celery salt
1/4 ts Garlic salt
The following three recipes are from a book called "The Chef's Secret
Cook Book" by a Hungarian psychologist turned chef named Louis
Szathmary. Szathmary is more interested in good food that in culinary
pomposity and that makes for some good reading. At the end of each
recipe is a "Chef's Secret" that explains exactly why the recipe
recipe is prepared in the way it is.
1. Preheat the oven to 300F to 325F.
2. Use a roasting pan with a tight-fitting cover. Put the lard,
duck fat, or chicken fat into the roasting pan. Reach into the vent
end of the duckling and remove the neck and giblets, which will be
inside the body cavity. Rub the inside and outside of the duckling
with Chef's Salt.
3. Place the duckling, breast down, directly on top of the lump of
fat in the roasting pan. Place the cut vegetables and garlic inside,
on, and around the duckling. Add about 1 to 2 inches of water to the
pan. Add the peppercorns, bay leaf, and marjoram. Cover and place in
the preheated oven.
4. After 2 hours, take the roasting pan out of the oven and very
carefully remove the duckling to a platter. Let it cool completely.
If it is not completely cooled, the dish will not turn out properly.
5. To finish, split the duckling lengthwise by standing it on the
neck end and, with a sharp knife, cutting from the tip of the tail
directly down the center. To quarter, each half may again be cut.
6. Place the cold, split duckling pieces, cut side down and skin
side up, on a slightly greased cookie sheet. Return to a 425F to
450F oven for 18 to 22 minutes. Before serving, remove the first two
joints of the wing, leaving only the third.
CHEF'S SECRET: The success of a roast duckling starts with the
buying. For best results, buy the best. A 4 1/2 to 5-lb. duckling is
the most satisfactory and economical size. It is perfectly safe and
even advisable to buy frozen duckling. Look for the mark of
government inspection on the package. Store in a freezer or the
freezing compartment of the refrigerator until ready to use. Before
using, let the duckling defrost overnight in the bottom of the
refrigerator. After it has been defrosted completely and the flesh
feels soft, preparation may begin.
After the duckling has been removed from the roasting pan to cool, it
can be safely kept at room temperature all day. Or, if the weather
is very hot and humid, store the duckling in the refrigerator after
it has cooled to room temperature. It is important to bring it back
to room temperature about an hour before finishing. Do not reheat
right from the refrigerator.
Perhaps you wonder why fat is added to the duck, which is a naturally
fat bird. As the water starts to beat in the roasting pan, the fat
becomes liquid and forms an even surface over the top of the water.
The surface of fat has a boiling point of 360F degrees, while the
water boils at 212F. Without the fat, the water would create a vapor
surrounding the duck in the covered roasting pan. This would give
the bird a steam-cooked, undesirable taste, and would prevent the fat
under the duck skin from oozing out as it does in dry air.
Makes 2 to 4 servings.
CHEF'S SALT"
Mix well and use instead of salt.
Be careful to use garlic salt, not garlic powder. If you use garlic
powder a small pinch is enough.
From "The Chef's Secret Cookbook", Louis Szathmary, Quadrangle Books,
Chicago. 1972.
