This roast duck makes a welcome variation from the typical Thanksgiving turkey. One year, I made this dish completely by chance and served it with all the customary side dishes. My entire family, none of whom had ever had duck before, loved it.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 2 hrs |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 10 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 (5 pound) whole duck
- ½ cup butter, melted, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Combine paprika, salt, and pepper in a small bowl; rub spice mixture onto skin of duck. Place duck in a roasting pan.
- Roast in the preheated oven for 1 hour.
- Spoon 1/4 cup melted butter over duck and continue cooking for 45 minutes more.
- Spoon remaining 1/4 cup melted butter over duck and cook until golden brown, about 15 minutes more.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 625 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 1 g |
| Cholesterol | 280 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 52 g |
| Saturated Fat | 20 g |
| Sodium | 1538 mg |
| Sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 45 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
The duck was delicious and the recipe is perfect as is.
Loved it! Only one small change used smoked paprika instead of regular.
I was amazing it was my first time making duck my boyfriend and I devoured this dish I made it with rice and vegetables
I went by the recipe but used some of the tips others had shared. I did brine it in salt waifor a couple of hours. I added a small piece of an onion, a sprig of rosemary and about a 1/4 stick of butter to the cavity. I also added 1 teaspoon of garlic salt to the seasoning mix. It was very tasty , crisp and moist, and I’ll do it again. Next time I’ll brine it longer, though.
I love this recipe. My family LOVES this recipe. I add a little cayenne pepper to the rub as well.
We swapped out regular salt for garlic salt and I added 1 tsp of accent flavor enhancer. We did go ahead and add a half stick of butter inside of the duck. We despise dry meat more than anything and figured it was better to be safe than sorry. As far as the 1/2 cup of butter, we used a mix of regular unsalted butter and a garlic, parmesan, and basil flavored butter. Just tried a tiny piece and wow. This will be a staple of mine!
Turned out amazing. didn’t Change a thing. Great recipe. Will recommend for sure
I made this and it turned out great!!! I followed the recipe somewhat but added some garlic cloves to the inside and a couple of orange wedges. I also only used a 1/4 cup of butter not half. The orange sauce poured over at the end is a nice touch. I will for sure make this again during the holidays.
I took ideas from here and there and it worked beautifully. The day before I seasoned the duck with salt and pepper and pricked the meaty areas with a toothpick. I did not use paprika. I set the duck uncovered in the refrigerator. The next day I took it out of the refrigerator, let it get to room temperature placing a sprig of rosemary, 1 halved lemon, and half of an onion in the cavity. I used a rack on my pan. Sprayed the pan and rack with pam. I placed a thermometer on the meaty side of the thigh and cooked it for close to 2 hours until the temperature was close to 165. Took it out and tented it with foil and let it sit for 15 minutes. It came out perfect and wasn’t overcooked. I did find it necessary to use the butter and I accompanied the duck with white rice and a sweet cherry sauce. Very pleased with the outcome and not complicated.
I made it but I added garlic powder to the rub. Came out delicious
I rubbed the duck down with butter and added garlic powder. Only thing I did different. Duck was amazing
I stuff mine with carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, minced garlic and place the remaining veggies around the duck, and I make sure to score the skin, helps the duck fat drip and cook and give the veggies a great flavor
It was good – almost great. I DID but the butter on but just on one side and didn’t do it the second time, which I regret. The recipe doesn’t mention flipping it over half-way which I did. Very easy to make and delish even without a sauce. Next time I’m going to make one though.
My husband had never had duck before, so I wanted to be sure he could actually taste it. I made the recipe exactly as written, except omitted the butter entirely. Deeelicious. I don’t know that duck will become a part of our regular rotation–the purchase was largely motivated by our grocery store being out of turkeys–but this simple 3-ingredient spice mix was delightful. I followed some other reviewers and put a trivet under the duck before roasting. And I wish I had flipped it over halfway through cooking to crisp up the skin on the opposite side.
instead of salt. used one teaspoon of garlic salt, one tablespoon of sea salt.
We buy ducks when they are on sale. I have tried many recipes, this one was excellent. The first time I made it, I followed the recipe step by step and although, it didn’t taste bad, I felt guilty adding all that butter, plus you could taste the butter a bit much. Tonight I read other reviews and did not use butter at all, instead, inside the cavity I put lemon wedges (one whole lemon cut in wedges), half onion, four peeled garlic teeth. I also cut up potatoes in quarters, and placed them flat on the roasting pan, and paced the duck on top of the potatoes, but before I added salt, pepper, paprika, cut up onions, and minced garlic to the potatoes. The duck and the potatoes roasted beautifully and the potatoes tasted so good l, cooked in the duck oil. Very tasty, totally recommend it.
I made no changes. Some helpful family member turned the oven off, so I had to use a thermometer rather than timing to know it was done. Excellent flavor and so easy!
This was such a nice change especially during quarantine. Very flavorful!
Didn’t use the butter. Added a peeled and quartered orange and 2 rosemary sprigs to the cavity. Yummy!
Made it tonight for our Christmas dinner. It was superb and very easy. The only thing I added/changed was I rubbed the cavity with a fresh lemon and inserted one carrot inside. I made very sure the outer skin was super dry, I even blew it dry with a blow dryer as suggested by someone. I also added 1 teaspoon of garlic powder to the dry rub just because I can’t make anything without garlic. I occasionally poured off the excess fat to avoid causing a fire. Putting potatoes and carrots at the bottom of the pan and letting them cook in the drippings made for some amazing side dishes.
Best duck ever but then I haven’t made it before! Stayed moist with great flavor. I was worried about the drippings and used them to baste as some suggested. There didn’t seem to be much until I realized it had spattered all over the oven. Next time I will tent the duck with tin foil after one hour.