Hard Cider Brined Roasted Duck
This cider-brined duck is so luxuriously tempting, you may never be able to go back to ordinary chickens and turkeys ever again. Try it out for your next holiday dinner and impress your guests.
- Serves: 1 Duck
- Prep Time: 18 hours
- Cook Time: 3 hours
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Duck, entrails removed & body cleaned
- 1/2 c. Dry Sherry
- 4 c. Water
- 4 c. Dry Hard Apple Cider
- 1/2 c. Dried Chili Flakes
- 1/2 c. Brown Sugar
- 1/2 c. Coarse Kosher Salt
- 6 cloves Garlic, smashed
- 1 thumb-sized piece Ginger, sliced
- 1 tbsp. Black Peppercorns
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 5 Star Anise Pods
- 1/2 tsp. Whole Cloves
- 1 1/2 tsp. Coriander Seeds
- 1 tsp. Fennel Seeds
- 6 Bay Leaves
Instructions
Combine all brine ingredients except cider in a large pot, cover, and heat on medium, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar. Continue to heat on medium for about 30 minutes or until fragrant and aromatic. Remove from heat and add cider. Submerge duck completely in brine and allow to sit, covered, for about 18 hours or up to 48 hours.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees and cover a rimmed baking dish with aluminum foil; thoroughly grease a roasting rack and place onto prepared rack. Remove duck from brine, taking care to remove any spices that stick to the skin. Pat as dry as possible with paper towels, then pin any openings closed with toothpicks to contain juices. Place breast side up onto roasting rack, then transfer to oven. Roast for 3 hours or until the duck is golden and crisp, turning once or twice for evenness. For extra crispy skin, turn heat to 375 for final 30 minutes of roasting.
Allow duck to rest about 10 to 15 minutes before carving.
Comments
Add a commentFor a crispy skin can I let it rest in the fridge after brining and patted dry, for a day or 2, then bake?
Comment by mark on November 16, 2022 at 5:19 pm