Lard or shortening

Flour

Water

Salt

Pepper

1 sm Apple, quarted

1 Potato, chunked

1 Onion, quarted

7 Potatoes, cut up

2 Onions, quarted

Lightly salt and pepper inside of bird(s). Roll in flour to coat. Slowly brown bird on all sides. Remove bird to Dutch oven. Add flour to pan drippings. Cook and stir until brown. Add water, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir until thickened. I usually make 4-5 cups of gravy. Stuff cavities with apple, onion, and chunked potato. Put potatoes and onions around bird. Pour gravy over all. Cover. Bake slowly 3 1/2 – 4 hours or until the meat is falling off the bones — tender and moist. Serve 1/2 duck to each person or slice goose. Pass potatoes, onions and gravy.

1 Handful each, fresh lemon, thyme, Italian parsley, rosemary, sage (1 teaspoon each if dried)

4 tb Kosher salt

Coarsely ground pepper to taste

Remove heads, feet, giblets and excess fat from ducks. Using poultry shears or strong kitchen scissors, remove tails and backbones; cut each bird in half through breastbone, then in quarters. Rinse and pat dry. Prick all over with the tines of a fork. Combine herbs with salt and pepper and rub all over duck pieces, pressing well into skin. Place quarters on a rack in a roasting pan, skin side up, and cook in a 300F oven for about 1 hour, until the fat has rendered into the pan – up to 2 or 3 cups. Remove from oven but leave on rack to continue dripping for about 45 minutes. Start a charcoal fire (a covered grill is most efficient for this) and when coals are ready and spread, place duck quarters on rack, skin side down. Cover grill and cook 10 minutes. Turn duck, cover grill and cook 15 minutes. Reverse and cook skin side up for about 5 minutes more, covered; serve immediately. Serves 6 to 8.

1 Pound pencil asparagus

1 Teaspoon cornstarch

1 egg white

2 Tablespoons peanut oil

1 Teaspoon grated ginger

1 Tablespoon chopped garlic

1 Large carrot — julienned

1 Cup fresh bean sprouts

2 chopped scallions

2 Tablespoons light soy sauce

1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro

Salt and pepper

Cut the duck magret into strips (approximately 2 inches.) Cut asparagus spears into 2-inch pieces. In a mixing bowl, mix cornstarch, egg white and duck strips, set aside. In a large wok over high heat, heat the oil and add the duck meat, ginger, garlic, asparagus and carrot and stirfry for 6 minutes. Add bean sprouts and scallions and cook for another three minutes. Add soy sauce and serve immediately. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

3 cups water

1 medium onion — quartered

1 large carrot — peeled and halved

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup strawberry jelly — or red currant jelly

16 ounces pomegranates — juiced (2/3 cup)

3 tablespoons sugar

Dried-Fruit Couscous

1/4 cup dry red wine

2 tablespoons cornstarch

fresh mint sprigs — optional

1. Remove giblets and neck from duckling. Remove and discard excess fat from inside body cavity. Cut off and discard excess neck skin. Rinse duckling, giblets, and neck in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut off and reserve first 2 joints of the wings, leaving only the third. To cut duckling into quarters, using poultry shears, cut duckling lengthwise in half through the breastbone and continue cutting along one side of the backbone; cut duckling halves in half crosswise.

2. Coat bottom of 5-quart kettle or Dutch oven with nonstick vegetable cooking spray. Add giblets, neck, and reserved wing tips to kettle and cook until well browned. Add duckling quarters, water, onion, carrot, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the bay leaf. Cover and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until duckling is fork-tender – about 1 hour. (If preparing ahead, remove duckling from kettle, cool, wrap, and refrigerate. Strain cooking liquid, discarding fat and cooked particles. Refrigerate liquid, or duck stock.)

3. Just before roasting duckling, prepare pomegranate glaze: In 1-quart saucepan, heat jelly until melted. Stir in pomegranate juice and sugar and heat to boiling over high heat. Boil mixture 5 minutes; remove from heat and set aside.

4. Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Remove duckling from kettle and place, skin side up, on rack in roasting pan. (If duck breasts have curled up after boiling, remove their breast bones so they will be flat.) Roast duckling 15 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, pour duck stock through large strainer into bowl, discarding cooked particles. Remove excess fat from stock. Reserve 1 cup stock for the sauce and 2 cups stock for Dried-Fruit Couscous; refrigerate remainder for another use.

6. Brush duckling with some glaze and roast 5 minutes; roast duckling 10 more minutes or until well browned, brushing 3 more times with glaze. Prepare Dried-Fruit Couscous; keep warm. Set duckling quarters aside.

7. Prepare sauce: In cup, combine wine and cornstarch until smooth. Stir reserved 1 cup stock and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt into glaze remaining in saucepan. Heat to boiling and stir in cornstarch mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Pour sauce into serving bowl.

8. Spoon Dried-Fruit Couscous onto serving plate. Arrange duckling on couscous. Garnish with mint, if desired. Serve duckling and couscous with sauce.

3 tb Butter

1 1/2 ts Salt

1/2 ts Thyme

3 Onions, white, chopped

1 Duck hearts, chopped

12 oz Wine, white, warmed

Directions: Pintail ducks may be used in place of Black ducks. Cut ducks into serving pieces. Roll in flour and brown in butter and oil, turning often. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and add thyme, basil, onion, parsley, giblets and wine. Cover and cook in 350-F oven for 1 hour. Add cream and cook for 20 more minutes or until duck pieces are tender. Serve in a warm platter with the gravy from the pan. Suggestions: Hot bread, red wine, buttered baby carrots & braised celery

1/2 t Each ground ginger and cinnamon

1/4 t Each ground nutmeg & white pepper

1/8 t Ground cloves

3 T Soy sauce

5 Whole green onions

1 T Honey

1/2 c Plum sauce

fresh cilantro

24 Mandarin pancakes

Rinse duck inside and out and pat dry; cut off tail and discard; reserve giblets for another use. Mix together ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper and cloves. Sprinkle 1/2 t of spice mixture inside duck. Stir 1 T of the soy into remaining spice mixture, then rub evenly over exterior of bird. Cut one of the green onions in half and tuck inside cavity of duck. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until next day. Set duck, breast side up, on a rack over 1 1/2 to 2 inches boiling water. Cover and steam for one hour, adding more water, if necessary, as it evaporates. Cool duck so it firms slightly, then drain and discard juices and green onion from cavity. Set duck, breast side up, on a rack in a baking pan and prick skin all over with a fork. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. Blend remaining 2 T soy with honey and brush on duck. Turn oven temperature to 500 degrees. Bake for 5 minutes or until skin becomes richly browned; do not allow skin to char. While duck is roasting, cut remaingin green onions and tops in 1 1/2 inch pieces, then cut lengthwise in thin strips. Serve green onions and plum sauce in separate bowls. When duck is roasted, slice off skin and cut into roughly 2 inch square pieces. Slice meat into bite-size pieces. Reserve bones for duck soup. Arrange skin and duck pieces on a serving plate and garnish with cilantro. To eat, put a small piece of skin and meat on a mandarin pancake. Top with a few green onion slivers and a dab of plum sauce, then fold pancake around duck and eat with your hands.

2 Grapefruit

1/4 c Sugar

1/3 c Vinegar, red wine

3 c Duck stock OR

3 c Veal stock

Blanched vegetables ***

*** An assortment of blanched vegetables should be used as garnish for this dish. You might consider using green beans, asparagus, broccoli, or julienne of carrots, zucchini, turnips, tied into bundles with strips of blanched leek

Place the duck, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 4 days to dry out the skin. Preheat the oven to 500 F. Cut off the tail and excess neck skin from the ducks and remove all excess fat. Place the ducks, breasts up on a rack in a roasting pan. Tuck wing tips under. Roast until crisp and well browned, about 1 hour.

With a sharp paring knife, remove a thin slice from the top and bottom of each grapefruit, then remove the skin of the fruit in long strips. Set aside. Cutting between the membrane, cut the grapefruit into sections and set aside. Place the sugar and wine vinegar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over medium high heat until the vinegar has evaporated and the sugar has caramelized lightly. Carefully add the stock and bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer at low boil for 5 minutes. Add grapefruit skins to the mixture and simmer 3 minutes longer. Strain the mixture into a clean saucepan and simmer until reduced enough to coat a spoon lightly. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and keep it warm. Transfer the duck to a work surface. Run a sharp knife under the wishbone at the front of the duck’s breast, then carefully slip the knife between each breast half and carcass. Remove the breasts, and then take off the legs and thighs in one piece. Lightly coat a warm serving plate with the sauce. Place the duck over the sauce and arrange the grapefruit sections, overlapping, on top. Garnish with blanched vegetables as desired, and serve, passing the rest of the sauce around separately.

Source: New York’s Master Chefs, Bon Appetit Magazine : Written by Richard Sax, Photographs by Nancy McFarland : The Knapp Press, Los Angeles, 1985 Chef: Michel Fitoussi, 24 Fifth Avenue, New York

2 tb Salt

2 qt Water

1/2 c Chopped onion

1/2 c Chopped celery

1 Garlic clove; minced

1 Bay leaf

2 ts Butter or margarine

2 ts Flour

1/2 ts Ground star anise

1 tb Green peppercorns in wine

Salt

Remove backbone from duck and quarter or bone duck, reserving backbone and giblets for broth. Place salt in deep saucepan, add duck pieces and cook 20 minutes. Remove duck, place in shallow casserole and bake at 350F 45 minutes, increasing heat to 375F during last 10 minutes. Combine giblets, backbone and water in saucepan, cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 2 hours. Skim off fat. Add onion, celery, garlic and bay leaf to broth, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Strain. Melt butter in saucepan, stir in flour and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add broth and cook until slightly thickened. Add star anise and green peppercorns and season to taste with salt. Serve sauce over duck.

1/2 c Chestnuts, either fresh or dried

1/2 c Ginkgo nuts, canned or fresh

1/2 c Dried lotus seeds

8 Dried Chinese mushrooms

1/2 c Red dates (jujubes)

1 Duck (about 5 pounds)

Salt

1 tb Finely chopped fresh ginger root

3 Shallots, chopped fine

2 Eighteen-inch pieces of sugar cane (if unavailable, omit)

Clear water from 1 coconut

1 ts Rock sugar

1 tb Fish sauce

3 Scallions, both green part and white, cut into 4 pieces crosswise

Black pepper to taste

Fresh coriander, chopped

Prepare the various nuts, the lotus seeds, dried mushrooms, and red dates as follows: Soak the peanuts in hot water for 30 minutes; drain and set aside. If using dried chestnuts, boil for 20 minutes, drain, and set aside. If using fresh ginkgo nuts, remove the shell and blanch to remove the thin inner skin; set aside. Soak the Chinese mushrooms in hot water for 20 minutes, then drain, remove the stems and cut into quarters; set aside. Boil the dried lotus seeds for 20 minutes; drain and set aside. Soak the red dates in hot water for 30 minutes. (If they are very dry, boil for 10 minutes.) Drain and set aside. Rinse and clean the duck. Rub salt over the duck and rinse off; let dry for 10 minutes. Combine the ginger, shallots, and 1 teaspoon salt. Rub the inside of the duck with the mixture. Combine the peanuts, chest- nuts, ginkgo nuts, lotus seeds, and 1 teaspoon salt and stuff the duck. Sew the duck closed with heavy white thread, or else use skewers. Peel the sugar cane and cut into thin lengthwise strips, the same length as the duck. Place 3 pieces of white kitchen string on a flat surface, long enough to tie the slices of sugar cane around the duck, covering the entire surface. Bring the string around and tie as you would a roast. Turn the duck over and slide the remaining strips under the string, covering the entire duck with the sugar cane. Pour the coconut water into a large pot. Put the duck into the pot and add enough water to completely cover. Add the rock sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil and remove the scum continuously for 15 minutes, then turn the heat down, cover, and keep at a lively bubble for 2 hours. Turn the duck every 30 minutes. After 2 hours, remove the duck from the pot; untie and discard the sugar cane. To the liquid remaining in the pot add the mushrooms, red dates, 1 teaspoon salt, and the fish sauce. Boil, covered, for 15 minutes, then remove the duck to the broth, cover, and simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Remove the duck and add the scallion pieces to the broth. To serve, break the duck, with the bones, into 8 pieces. Put the pieces in individual bowls and add broth, some of the various nuts that were stuffed into the duck, red dates, and mushrooms. Sprinkle with black pepper and chopped fresh coriander.

2 md Star anise, broken into 16 sections

2 sl Gingerroot, Half-dollar size

5 lb Duck

1 c Dark soy sauce

1 c Light soy sauce

1 c Water

3/4 c Sugar

Honey

Put the scallions, star anise and gingerroot in a heavy pot. Place the duck, breast sideup in the pot. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over the duck. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer for about two hours or until tender, turning every half-hour. Remove duck from pan and place on a shallow dish, rub honey on duck, place duck in a 400 degree oven just until crispy…not too long. Remove and chop into small pieces. Reserve liquid and serve at the table as a sauce. Sometimes I thicken it a little but most of the time we just serve it as is.