Grandmother's Oven Roasted Duck

Ok y'all, as a Sorority alumna, I like to look good... I also like to put on yoga pants and a comfy shirt when I'm done for the night, but when I'm entertaining, I for sure want to look my best. Now in kitchens an restaurants, they wear hairnets or hats for a reason: to keep hair out of the food. Let's be honest, most of is have processed hair so it prone to lose a strand every once and awhile. So, keep in mind, while looking your best keep your hair partially, if not fully, pulled back in a manner that you are not going to play with it while cooking! Another tip, if you're dressing up for company, an apron is as MUST!!! Invest in a cute one or make one yourself!!!

Enough on appearance, next, the kitchen. Make sure it's CLEAN! And by clean I don't just mean do the dishes, I mean clean the counters of clutter (if it has a home and that home is not the counter, it does not belong on the counter) and then clean the counter, stove top, sink, and anything else you see with Lysol or chlorox or a kitchen cleaner of some kind. We don't want to contaminate the food! This is just general food safety. You'll also want to make sure you're using clean dishes and utinsils. Wash your hands, if you have fack nails, use a nail brush. When working with poultry it's generally good practice to wash your hands after you've touched poultry & before touching another item.

Ok, all the pre-cooking tips outs of the way, now onto dinner.

You Will Need:

Ingredients for Duck:

1 Whole Duck (fresh or frozen, thawed and remove giblets)

1/4 Yellow Onion

1 Bulb Garlic (decloved)

2 Sticks Unsalted Butter

Salt (I use Sea Salt in a grinder)

Pepper (I use Peppercorn in a grinder)

Garlic Powder (to cover duck)

Paprika (to cover duck)

Dried Rosemary (I've tried fresh, but I prefer it on chicken) approx 1 tbsp

Dried Thyme approx 1 tbsp

Vegitable Oil (to cover duck)

Ingredients for Garlic Mashed Potatoes

(For 2-3 people, my husband eats a lot):

5 Russet Potatoes

1 Stick Unsalted Butter

1-2 tbsp Goat Cheese Crumbles (don't knock it til you try it)

A large dallop of Sour Cream

1-2 dashes of Paprika 

1 dash Nutmeg

1 tbsp Oregano

1 tbsp Basil

Salt to taste

Garlic Powder to taste

"Ingredients" for Corn:

Use steam in bag, canned, or on the con, however you prefer. Cook to your liking, I just use steam in bag.

Dishware and Utinsils You'll Need:

Roasting pan or Stoneware (I use a Rachel Ray stoneware so the duck can absorb more juices)

Turkey Baster

Microwave Safe Pouring Cup

Paper Towels

Large Pot (for boiling potatoes)

Knife (to cut potatoes)

Potato Peeler

Strainer

Potato Masher

Wooden stirring spoon (that's what I use, you can sub your own stirring spoon)

Carving Knife & Fork

Serving dishes/utinsils if desired

Table setting dishes and utinsils 

You can't go wrong with a Gewürztraminer here. Or milk.

Let's get cooking! 

Pre-heat oven to 375

Ok, your duck is thawed and the giblets are removed. Rinse it well (the cavety too!) and dry the skin carefully and completely with paper towel. Place it in the container you are going to bake it in. 

Declove your garlic bulb and cut your onion into a quarter. Place the onion into the duck cavety and approximately half the cloves into the cavety with it. Place the remaining cloves around the duck in the roasting container.

Cover the duck entirely in vegetable oil on both sides (I start on top and end with the breasts so I can turn the bird less.) Once covered in oil I season the breast (salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, paprika, garlic powder... I go light on the rosemary and thyme and heavy on the paprika and garlic, but that's my taste, you'll develop your own with experimenting,) then flip and do the same on the back. 

Once that is done you're ready to pop it in the oven for an hour. 

Wash & peel the potatoes.

After an hour, melt one stick of butter and spoon it onto the duck (pouring will wash the seasonings off the bird.) Then place the duck back in the oven for 45 minutes (baste every 15 minutes), start boiling the water for potatoes. 

While water is coming to a boil, cut up the potatoes (I cut them in half, halve the halves length wise then quarter them width wise (made that term😂). Put the sliced potatoes in the boiling/pre-boiling water and let boil just under high ( if you have settings like mine 8 or 9) for about 30 minutes. 

I'm guessing around this point, the oven timer will be about to go off, so melt another stick of butter. Once the timer goes off, spoon the butter on the bird. Place back in oven for 15 minutes (baste at 10 minutes).

Strain the potatoes then return to the empty pot, add the sour cream, butter, and crumbled goat cheese to the pot then mash! But not completely... Add paprika, nutmeg, oregano, basil, and salt & garlic powder to taste before it gets too creamy and mash some more! When it can't be mashed any more but isn't mixed enough, switch to your mixing spoon until you're satisfied with the consistency. Prepare to be in love!

The corn is easy, microwave or stovetop however you prefer, just time and space manage. Your potatoes should be done around the same time as the bird, but never fear! Finish the potatoes up then pull the duck out and let it sit for 15 minutes to let the juices settle.