| Yield: | 2 to 4 servings |
| Yield: | 2 to 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 1 pint pineapple orange juice
- 15 whole black peppercorns
- 1 bunch fresh thyme
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 (5 1/2 to 6 pound) frozen Long Island Duck, thawed
- 2 handfuls shredded chard
- 2 shallots, minced
- Dash sherry or balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Combine all brine ingredients in a plastic container with a lid. Place the lid on the container and shake to dissolve the salt.
- Remove the pop-up thermometer, liver, gizzards, and heart. Cut off the wings.
- Using kitchen shears, locate the spine at the base of the neck. Cut up the line of the backbone towards the neck cavity. Turn the duck and cut straight towards the rear cavity. Remove the backbone.
- Turn the duck over and cut straight down the middle of the breast bone, leaving 2 equal duck halves. To separate the legs from the breast, flip your halves over so the flesh side is facing up at you. Using a knife, make a crescent shape cut between the leg and the breast. Lay your knife flat against the skin and make 3 marks in one direction and then in the other, making an X. Make sure that you are cutting through the skin and not the meat.
- Line the inside of a plastic lexan or a pot with a zip-top bag. Place the duck quarters inside the bag, and pour the brine over the duck. Seal the bag, ensuring that all air is removed from the bag. Brine the duck for 2 to 2 1/2 hours in the refrigerator.
- Bring 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches of water to a boil in a large pot. Place a colander into the pot and line the sides of the colander with the duck. Do not stack the duck quarters on each other. Cover and turn the heat to medium low. Steam the duck for 45 minutes. Set oven to 475 degrees F. Place a large cast iron skillet into the oven.
- Remove duck pieces from steamer and place legs, skin side down, into the hot skillet. Place the skillet into the hot oven immediately and cook the leg quarters for 10 minutes. Add the breasts, skin side down, and cook for 7 more minutes or until the duck takes on a deep mahogany color and the skin is very crisp.
- Remove the duck from the skillet and rest under foil. Add the chard and the shallots to the skillet. Toss the chard in the fat until it barely wilts. Season with the sherry or balsamic vinegar.
- Serve the duck with the chard.
Reviews
My fourth attempt at duck and this recipe was a success. Taste wonderful, skin nice and crispy and no excess fat/greasiness. And although there are 3 states to this, it’s not difficult. Go for it.
I used no alterations to the prescribed recipe, and it came out perfectly. If you do not have the required hardware then do not attempt it. The large cast iron pan is critical to the duck reaching ideal doneness. Once again, Alton Brown has yet to let me down.
Common mistake some folks make. Yes….use a large CAST IRON pan. When you preheat the oven to 475-degrees, you’re preheating the pan also. You want to put the duck pieces into a pre-heated pan. The recipe mentions you CAN roast a little longer for the desired crispness of the skin.
The directions say steam 45 minutes. Is it suppose to be 4 to 5 minutes? It was dry!
One of my favorite recipes. My son requested it as his send off meal to college. Alton Brown got my family eating DUCK… yeah… they still can’t believe it… but we enjoy it!!
I’m giving this 4 stars. I made one major change – I brined with water instead of pineapple juice, which I ultimately regretted because pineapple juice actually denatures meat proteins over time, so it wasn’t as tender as it could have been. Also make sure that you have the skillet fully hot, or else the duck skin WILL stick. Not AB’s fault, totally mine because I was in a rush.
I’ve made this probably 10 times now. Dirties a lot of dishes, but well worth it. My husband likes it so much, he even volunteers to do the dishes if I’ll make it.
If you have a chance to watch the episode, AB also recommends skimming some of the duck fat into a separate pan/skillet & sauteeing some boiled red baby potatoes with some salt & pepper. Not too much though, but it does complete the meal: duck, swiss chard, baby red potatoes. It’s a hit every time.
This was my first time making duck, and my first time eating it beyond a small taste as PF Changs once. I double checked that it’s safe to eat pink duck meat (and it is) and I was relieved that it wasn’t blood red after cooking. I did use my meat thermometer to ensure food safety. I found it quite tasty. I was just a bit disappointed that it didn’t taste more different. It was actually quite similar to chicken with the crispy skin. I did not have a cast iron skillet, so I used my large roasting pan and it worked fine. The meat was very moist and I really liked the flavor of thyme and salt. There was no discernible citrus flavor in the finished bird.
This was fantastic! First time every cooking duck and it came out succulent, incredibly moist, and extremely tender with this recipe. Raves all around the dinner table.
This is the only way I will make duck in the future!