This is what we made for Easter dinner. The boy got it into his head that he wanted to try cooking duck, so duck is what we cooked. Prior to this, the only time we had cooked with duck was a red wine based stew, and that only need some duck legs, not a whole bird. So this was quite a new venture. Ian loves duck; I generally think it’s just ok. But this turned out tasty and I quite enjoyed it for once. Really, though, the show-stopper was the apple stuffing/dressing – SO good. And for something fancy like duck, this recipe wasn’t all that hard, either. I neglected to get a picture of all the tastiness spread out on a plate, but I think the big oven dish is impressive enough. 🙂
Apple Roasted Duck
Ingredients
- 1 6-lb. whole duck
- salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning to taste
- 1 stick + 1/2 stick + 1 Tbsp butter (separated)
- 1 c. chopped onion
- 5 stalks celery, chopped
- 3 good sized apples*- peeled, cored & chopped
- 3 c. cornbread stuffing mix or cornbread crumbs
- olive oil as needed
- 5-6 small red or golden skin potatoes, quartered and lightly salted
- 1 tsp. celery salt
- 3/4 c. water or broth
- kitchen twine or toothpicks
- meat thermometer
*green apples work best for this I think. We used a combination of golden delicious and granny smith.
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Rinse the duck and pat dry. Rub outside lightly with olive oil. Rub with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning to taste.
- Melt the 1 Tbsp. of butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Saute onions & celery until tender.
- In a medium bowl, combine the veggies with the apple and cornbread mix. Add the 1/2 stick butter (melted), water/broth and celery salt. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Mix together to make the dressing.
- Fill the duck’s cavity with dressing and close with kitchen twine or toothpicks. Place in a shallow roasting pan or greased 9×13 baking dish.
- Melt remaining 1 stick of butter, and drizzle along bottom of dish. Add potatoes and any leftover stuffing around the duck.
- Bake for 60 to 80 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 180F.
Do you like duck? Have you ever tried cooking it at home?
