Asian Pressed Duck
Pressed duck is a bit of work, but a very fun dish to serve. It is a really nice dish for special occasions, like Chinese New Year. To prepare pressed duck, cooked duck in de-boned, pressed into a pan and steamed. Then the duck is cut into squares and fried. The result is a real treat- crispy on the outside with tender duck meat in the middle.
The process does take two days. The duck is cooked, shredded and steamed on the first day. Then it is refrigerated overnight, before frying. That’s not really a bad thing. All the messy stuff is out of the way the day before. When you want to prep the duck, just slice and fry. I pan fried the duck squares, but you could deep fry it, if you prefer.
The dish came out quite well, but there is one thing I might change for the next time I make it. I used an 8×8 inch square pan. It was tricky to fit the pan in my stock pot for the steaming. Next time, I would a 9×5-inch loaf pan or two, which would make the steaming easier. My pan ended up a little tilted during the steaming process. Or, I could have used a bigger stock pot.
Except for the steaming issues, it was not a difficult dish to prepare. It was kind of fun. Another bonus is that I had a pot of duck stock, from cooking the duck. I strained it, cooled it down and removed the fat on top. The next day, I used to stock to cook my rice in. The rice was so flavorful.
So here is the recipe. I kept in the directions using square pans, but feel free to use a loaf pans instead.
Pressed Duck
1 (4-5 lb.) duck
Water to cover
2 green onions
1 ( 1-inch) piece ginger root
2 T. fennel seeds- or two star anise
2 T. dark soy sauce
1 t. hoisen sauce
1 t. salt
2-3 T. cornstarch
Oil for frying
Sweet and sour sauce- recipe follows
The day before you want to serve pressed duck, in soup pot, combine duck with just enough water to cover. Add green onions, fennel seeds, soy sauces and salt. Cover and simmer until duck in very tender, at least a couple of hours. Remove duck and allow to cool down. Remove skin and meat from the bones. Discard the bones. Shred the meat. You can add a little of the skin, if you like. I actually removed most of the skin from the duck before I cooked it. Then I rendered down the skin to have duck fat for cooking. In baking pan, sprinkle half the cornstarch to cover the bottom of the pans. Be generous with the cornstarch. If you use an 8×8-inch pan, you will need a little less cornstarch than if you use a 9×9-inch pan. Press the shredded duck meat firmly into the pan. Sprinkle with the rest of the cornstarch. Set up a pot to steam the duck mixture. I used a large stockpot with a steamer rack in it. Place the pan in the steamer, cover and steam for 30 minutes. Remove duck from steamer, cool and refrigerate overnight. The next day remove the duck from pan and cut into squares. Pat off extra moisture to reduce splattering. Heat oil to 350 degrees and fry duck pieces for about 5 minutes, or until crispy and golden on the outside. Drain and serve with sweet and sour sauce- or a dipping sauce you like. Serves 4.
Sweet and Sour Sauce
1/2 c. vinegar- I like apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. pineapple juice
3 T. catsup
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. cornstarch
1 t. dried minced garlic
1-t. fresh grated ginger
Hot pepper flakes to taste
In saucepan combine all ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring as mixture gets hot, until sauce begins to bubble. It will also get much clearer. Boil gently 1 minute, stirring constantly before removing from heat. Makes 1 1/2 c. Keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
Duck with Pear Ginger Sauce
Duck with Pear Ginger Sauce
I love the way duck tastes when served with pears. Duck, with its dark, rich meat really works well with all sorts of fruit. I’ve made sauces and glazes for duck from cherries, prunes, mangoes, peaches and of course, oranges. Since I had several very ripe pears and a duck I was roasting I thought I’d try them together. Oh yum!!
I made a simple sauce out of the pears. I peeled them and diced them and put them in a small saucepan with a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar, about 1/4 cup of cider vinegar, some salt and pepper and a healthy splash of hot sauce. It needed something so I added about a teaspoon and half of grated ginger. That was the missing ingredient. It gave the sauce a nice bite. I simmered the sauce for about 10 minutes, stirring from time to time to prevent sticking. The pears were just starting to fall apart. When the duck was ready to serve I warmed up the sauce and spooned some on the plate.
To roast the duck: Let me say this was a locally grown duck so not as fatty as ducks I get at the grocery store. For the very fatty ducks you need to score the skin and trim off extra fat. If you don’t the skin won’t get crispy and isn’t very appetizing. Still, I wanted a nice high heat to crisp up the skin. I placed it on a rack in a roasting pan. I did cut up an onion and a small orange and placed them in the cavity. Sprinkled generously with salt and pepper and placed the duck in a preheated 450 degree oven for 15 minutes. Then I turned the heat down to 425 until the duck was done. In this case, it was a smallish duck and cooked in about 65 minutes. It is OK if the duck meat is a little pink. Kind of preferred a little pink by most, but cook it to your own comfort level. Let duck rest 10-15 minutes before cutting into serving pieces.
Right out of the oven
Won Ton Duck Soup
Won Ton Duck Soup
After duck dinner with friends a few days ago I was left with the wings, neck and a few bony pieces of back. I didn’t want to waste them so I used them for stock. The few pieces of duck I had only gave me about half a cup of meat. Then I got a call from a friend and suddenly had company coming for dinner. To make the duck meat go a little further I used the meat in won tons and made an Asian inspired soup. I had an onion, a small sweet potato, some canned straw mushrooms and green onions. Ended up with a very yummy dinner for two. Jonathan gave it two thumbs up. I was happy to get a nice meal out of just stuff I had on hand. I had also trimmed off some skin from the ducks before roasting them and had rendered the fat. I used it to brown the onions for the soup. Use oil if you don’t have duck fat.
Won Ton Duck Soup
4 c. duck stock- made from wings, neck, gizzard and back pieces, onions, carrots etc.
1/2 c. duck meat
1 T. hoisen sauce
1/4 t. ginger
about 12 wonton wrappers
1 T. duck fat
1 onion, diced
1 rib celery, sliced
1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 can straw mushrooms, drained
sesame oil
salt and hot sauce to taste
3 T. green onion, chopped fine
Make a stock from duck trimmings and aromatic vegetables. Strain and set aside. Remove what meat you can from the duck and mince fine. Combine cooled duck meat with hoisen sauce and ginger. Place a teaspoon on the duck mixture in a wonton wrapper. Moisten edges of wrapper and fold like a small egg roll. Set aside. Continue with remaining meat until it is used up. You should get about 12. Meanwhile heat a little duck fat in soup pot and cook onions until tender. Add stock, vegetables and mushrooms and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Add wontons and simmer until they are tender, about 4 minutes. Add a drizzle of sesame oil, season to taste and top with green onion right before serving. Serves 2-3.
Duck with Mango/Mandarin/Ginger Sauce
Duck with Mango/Mandarin/Ginger Sauce
In a recent dinner with friends we cooked up a couple of ducks. Using ingredients I had on hand I made a glaze for one of them with a fresh mango, some fresh mandarin oranges and ginger. It had a great mix of flavors that complimented the duck quite well. Here is the recipe for the sauce.
Mango/Mandarin/Ginger Sauce
oil
1 large onion, diced
1 large mango, peeled, pitted and chopped
5 mandarin oranges, peeled and separated into segments
2/3 c. orange juice
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
2 T. hoisen sauce
1 T. lemon juice
2 t. grated fresh ginger
1 t. sesame oil
salt to taste
In large skillet brown onion in oil. Add remaining ingredients, except sesame oil and salt, and cook until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Add sesame oil and salt to taste. Use as a sauce on duck, poultry or pork.
The Duck
1 duck
salt and pepper to taste
1 recipe mango/mandarin/ginger sauce
I cut off the extra fat and skin from the neck of the duck to save for rendering later. I also removed the wings and set aside for another use. I then cut the duck in half and placed it in a roasting pan on a rack. Season it with salt and pepper. Bake in a 425 degree oven for half an hour. Turn down heat to 350 and cook until duck is done. That will take about an hour- depending on the size of the duck. At this point I had to come up with a plan B. The oven I was using stopped working. To finish off the duck I heated up a large skillet and put the duck in the skillet, skin side up. I poured the mango sauce over the duck and cooked it with the lid on for 15 minutes. Then I took the lid off and turned the duck skin side down. On medium high heat I allowed the sauce to reduce. It also caramelized on the skin making a nice glaze. If the oven hadn’t stopped working I would have finished off the duck under the broiler.
Duck with Cherry and Red Wine Sauce
Duck with cherry and red wine sauce
As part of a dinner with friends I made duck 2 ways. The first was with a cherry and red wine sauce. The tart cherries – I used frozen- paired very well with the duck. I could see using this sauce on pork, lamb or even chicken. I had a duck in the freezer from Plum Creek Farm, a local farm. The cherries were from King Orchards in Central Lake, Michigan. They are neighbors of my sister. I recently got some frozen cherries from them and wanted to use them with the duck. I started by making the sauce.
Cherry and Red Wine Sauce
2 T. oil
1/2 c. minced shallots
2 c. frozen cherries, thawed
1/2 c. red wine- I used Merlot
1 cinnamon stick
salt and pepper to taste
3 T. honey
In skillet saute shallots in oil until they start to turn golden brown. Add cherries, with any liquid they are in, and the wine and cinnamon stick. Cook until most of the liquid evaporates. Add the honey, season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook a few more minutes. Remove from heat and discard cinnamon stick.
Reducing the sauce
The Duck
1 duck
salt and pepper to taste
1 recipe cherry and red wine sauce
I cut off the extra fat and skin from the neck of the duck to save for rendering later. I also removed the wings and set aside for another use. I then cut the duck in half and placed it in a roasting pan on a rack. Season it with salt and pepper. Bake in a 425 degree oven for half an hour. Turn down heat to 350 and cook until duck is done. That will take about an hour- depending on the size of the duck. At this point I had to come up with a plan B. The oven I was using stopped working. To finish off the duck I heated up a large skillet and put the duck in the skillet, skin side up. I poured the cherry sauce over the duck and cooked it with the lid on for 15 minutes. Then I took the lid off and turned the duck skin side down. On medium high heat I allowed the sauce to reduce. It also caramelized on the skin making a nice glaze. If the oven hadn’t stopped working I would have finished off the duck under the broiler.
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