OK, so I know this blog is about every day food, but every once in a while ya' just gotta' stretch your abilities a little. We've cooked duck before several times (bb - that is before blogging) usually in the oven; however, due to the fat content of the bird it can make an absolute royal mess of your oven, never mind smoke you right out of your own house. There's nothing more embarrassing to this cook than having to deal with the racket caused by the smoke detector - I mean what must the neighbors think? Enter the big guy, his outside kitchen and the Weber rotisserie. Last night he cooked a canard to beat all canards - by the way it was a lovely little 5.75 pound duck from CANADA, so it had to be great, right? Believe me it was! Please bear with me as I brag.
As you know the big guy swears by charcoal and he has a total of 3 barbecues in his backyard kitchen - one that I call the beast (a 500 pound monster that's great for big jobs), a double barrel that he uses to grill, barbecue low and slow and/or smoke, and a Weber kettle with a rotisserie attachment. That's the one he used last night and here are the pictures to prove it.
The duck preparation started the night before when it got cleaned, skin pricked and doused with hot water, then dried overnight uncovered in the refrigerator. Before placing it on the rotisserie, the big guy stuffed the duck with 4 small white onions, fresh rosemary and two fresh lemon halves, after he'd rubbed the outside with the lemon. He then cooked it on the rotisserie for an hour and a half, brushing it with glaze during the last half hour.
By the way, the picture above right is a very contented Georgie keeping her eyes on the duck from a distance. Can you believe this is the same feral cat that adopted us in February? Shows what food and lots of love from her BF Max can do for an animal, doesn't it?
This beautiful duck was finished with a glaze made from 3 cups of POM Wonderful along with 1/2 cup of white sugar, boiled together for 30 minutes under a watchful eye so it didn't burn. The result - a moist, succulent, mahogany colored bird with a slightly tart finish.
We had our bird along with some pan roasted Brussels sprouts topped with bacon and mixed wild and basmati rice courtesy of Trader Joe's. The duck was flavorful and cooked perfectly to our tastes - we ate the breasts last night and the big guy took some for lunch today. The rest is in the freezer to go on a pizza or in pasta - can't wait for that I'll tell ya. Stay tuned!
Holy cow that's a gorgeous bird. I love the color! I'm envious of you big guy's outside kitchen/grill set up.
Posted by: Mags | 10/26/2009 at 09:48 AM
It was delicious and would be great in some moo shu pancakes with a little green onion and more POM glaze. Ya, the big guy's outdoor kitchen is really something. He's got a huge island and another large counter, and a big 2 burner propane flat top grill too. It's quite civilized especially now when the temperature's below 90.
Posted by: June | 10/26/2009 at 10:33 AM