Duck Duck Duck
Duck Duck Duck. I'm no expert and recently returned a half roast duck to the resturant's kitchen because it was undercooked. I would say it was medium rare. I always thought duck should be crispy on the outside and well done throughout. The thought of any kind of less than fully cooked poultry makes me queasy. While the resturant was nice about it they inferred that it was supposed to be this way. Could that be right? Are they suppose to serve duck this "raw"? Or am I a hick? Thanks for the responses in advance. slp
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
13 Comments:
Duck breast is usually served medium rare -- cook it more and it gets tough and unappealing. The skin should be cripsy though. When pan-seared, duck breast will be both -- medium rare and crisp on the outside. Duck legs/thighs can take more cooking and are often served more well done.
Many cooks accomplish this seemingly impossible task by cooking the breast and legs separately, often braising the legs and roasting or pan-roasting the breast. Alton Brown has a recipe with some good technique here.
I wouldn't call any meat cooked to medium rare "raw" -- but I prefer meat cooked rare to medium rare. Nor would I call anyone who likes theirs cooked differently a "hick".
kjgibson at 11:53PM on 01/04/08
While the USDA recommends cooking duck to 165 F, it can be (and usually is) cooked to a lesser degree of doneness. If you're uncomfortable with it being served medium-rare, by all means specify that it be done to your liking. But give it a shot -- the texture is so much better when it retains some of its color.
Dominic
the zen kitchen
dvchurch at 2:33AM on 01/05/08
Hmmm...I often order duck but usually in a duck breast dish, in which it is served medium rare, or as just the leg, in which case it is more fully cooked and as you say, crispy on the outside, soft, tender and not pink inside (granted it is usually duck confit). I know I would prefer my leg meat to be well done too so I would have sent it back as well.
izzy's mama at 10:53AM on 01/05/08
I completely agree that breast meat should be medium-rare, ideally, and no more than medium. If done properly, the skin will be crisp, with virtually all of the fat rendered away.
Legs and thighs are usually more cooked, but when I think of what I've gotten in restaurants, they've also usually been boned, tend to come out a bit pink -- maybe medium to medium-well? I don't think I've ever gotten it well-done except when that is specific to the prep (e.g., braised, etc.).
But I agree with kj and dom... you should never hesitate to ask that things be prepared according to your own preferences and comfort zone. But I also agree that you SHOULD give it a try a few times. You might be astonished at what you come to prefer!
A real-life example... I remember the first time I was served pork cooked to a pink medium doneness. I was horrified! This was many years ago when I was still a "novice gourmand" and I had no clue. After trying it, I discovered that it was delicious, and that the only reason I'd always believed I disliked pork was because it had always been cooked to the point of shoe leather.
Lesson learned!
LoCo at 12:22PM on 01/05/08
How do you cook a duck breast so that it is crispy and not overdone. We did a delicious duck breast recipe of Ermeril's - it was really good but probably medium-well - and in my book, that is overcooked -
the recipe was pan sear the breasts over medium heat for 10-12 minutes then finish in a hot oven 10-12 minutes.
I am pretty much a duck-novice so I am not sure where to adjust here. My inclination is to just finish them in the pan and skip the oven...
We are trying the duck again tonight and I welcome your ideas.
cmckenna at 9:46AM on 01/06/08
I reverse it -- sear in a hot pan and finish in a medium oven. I cook them for a little less time in each too - maybe 8-10 minutes.
kjgibson at 12:28PM on 01/06/08
A quick Google found this article at cheftalk.com -- look pretty good, but I have only the most limited experience cooking duck. But I do eat it in restaurants whenever I can, and this sounds like what I'm used to getting:
How to Cook Duck
LoCo at 12:55PM on 01/06/08
Thanks for these tips - I'll let you know how it goes.
cmckenna at 4:14PM on 01/06/08
I cook maybe 50-75 ducks or geese a year (I spend a great deal of time chasing them in the marshes of NorCal), and much of what the other commenters say is correct. I have several fun recipes for duck and goose here, in case you're interested.
As far as your restaurant experience is concerned, I've been there, too. Restaurant duck, especially served halved as is common, is a Hobson's Choice: You can get the breast perfect (135 degrees and a shade over rare), and stringy legs, or medium-to-well breasts and tender legs. Most serious waterfowl cooks do braises with leg/thighs and wings, and pan-roast the breasts.
Pan roasting is how you get that crispy skin and rare interior: Preheat over to 400 degrees, then lay a little duck fat in an oven-proof pan, put the salted duck or goose breast skin side down and fry over medium-high heat until it's pretty. Flip, and put the lot in the oven until you get the right temp. 8-10 minutes for a duck, 10-15 minutes for a goose.
And by the way, any red-meat bird can and should be served rare-to-medium: Doves, ducks, geese, squab, pigeons, woodcock, etc.
HunterAnglerGardenerCook at 7:20PM on 01/06/08
Duck-update
Well, the duck was delicious. I did 8 minutes in the pan on the med-high, strained off some of the fat and popped in a 325 oven for 8 minutes - maybe nine by the time we got organized. Let the meat stand for 3 minutes. It was tender and juicy and delicious. The duck fat did not completely render and a bit of the skin was chewy, which I enjoyed, but one guest left his duck fat on the plate - someone quickly snapped it up :)
hunteranglergardnercook - that is a great resource. It never occurred to me to look in our wild game cookbook - probably because this pre-packaged duck breast did not look very gamey. I'll check out your recipes. Just looking at the home page, it looks like an attractive site.
I haven't used meat thermometers, but I think I will try it next time. I can see that a thermometer can take out some of the mystery and since duck is pricey here, less mystery is good.
Thanks to all for the help - what a great meal we had
cmckenna at 9:33AM on 01/07/08
Excellent! And thanks for the kind words. If you could have but one gadget in the kitchen (besides pots, pans etc) it should be an instant-read thermometer! It will save your life if you do a lot of meat cookery...
HunterAnglerGardenerCook at 12:41PM on 01/07/08
That is the problem, I do have an instant-read thermometer - just never bother to use it.
New Year's resolution #1, dust off that thermometer and use it!
cmckenna at 5:43PM on 01/07/08
As the poster of this comment I was concerned that the chef would think that I didn't know what I was talking about. Well, I guess I didn't. But after thinking about it for a while and also after a duck show on Iron chef, plus reading everyone's comments, I must say that it appears that duck is one of the hardest meats there is to get right. In my restaurant example it appears that it was cooked to medium rare +/-. I see that doing this is partially to not toughen up the meat...well done duck can be tough. But in my case, the meat overall was very tough...very. I tried to dislocate the leg and couldn't, for example. It was cooked as a half duck. and in retrospect the skin was only crispy on the leg edges. So, overall, while I learned a few things here, I feel comfort in the fact that it still wasn't very well prepared and I was OK to send it back. Thanks to all.
sperschau at 8:11PM on 01/07/08