Anyone got some good tips on duck?

a reply to: Bhadhidar
Sounds like you are trying to smother the taste of the duck. If it's not good eating stand alone, I don't want to eat it.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Thanks for the tips FCD!

And luckily I am not serving until Friday night. So I have time to prep more meat.

I'll do my final grocery run today when I get off of work.

I will definitely be brining the turkey. Definitely helps make it more moist and flavorful.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Check your messages home slice.

Good tips from a lot of people. Be sure to dry your duck. You don’t want a wet duck. Dry it out in your fridge uncovered.

originally posted by: TheAlleghenyGentleman
Good tips from a lot of people. Be sure to dry your duck. You don’t want a wet duck. Dry it out in your fridge uncovered.

Thank you kindly sir! I'll do that for the last few hours, and then paper towel pat dry.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

I know you are brining. Have you ever done a dry brine? After Friday’s duck you should consider dry bringing foul in the future.

originally posted by: TheAlleghenyGentleman
a reply to: CriticalStinker

I know you are brining. Have you ever done a dry brine? After Friday’s duck you should consider dry bringing foul in the future.

I do dry brines on beef, I've never done it with birds though. How would you compare the two with birds? I know with beef I've gotten incredible results with dry (never tried wet with beef).

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Wet brine is how I would cure for pastrami or corned beef. A dry brine, herbs and a ton of salt is how I would do a holiday bird.

With a dry brine really salting the cavity is key. You need to give it a good 12-24 hrs to help extract the moisture. Best to dry brine on a rack.

I wet brine chicken or rabbit when I fry. A good piece of beef I will leave alone. Pork loves to be dry or wet brined.

a reply to: TheAlleghenyGentleman

You've sold me. I'm gonna do dry, this will also save me fridge space and cleaning extra big containers.

a reply to: TheAlleghenyGentleman

You seem to be using the words 'brine' and 'cure' interchangeably. Unless you're curing with salt over a long period of time (like months), salting is just 'brining'. Or, are you using "curing salts" to dry cure? Dry salt over a short period of time is just salting, not really curing, whereas salt in solution (like water) over a short period of time is 'brining'. Curing most often involves curing salts like Prague #1 and Prague #2. Salt and/or sugar can be used, but then environmental conditions become critical and duration changes dramatically (like from weeks to years).

Sorry, we could probably start a whole other discussion here about "charcuterie" (something I know a fair bit about), but terminology is important, especially when it comes to fowl.

I salt some meats, I dry cure some meats, I wet cure some meats and I brine some meats. All are different processes with different objectives and different results.

Duck isn't as dry a meat as Turkey. You'll need to cook it a bit longer, and at a much lower temperature.

Duck is dark meat. Almost all dark meat.

Take this into consideration.

Duck sounds interesting! I don't recall ever having tried it.
Someone brought a goose once to Thanksgiving and after trying it I didn't eat another bite of the dry Turkey.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I get it and I do know the difference. My last jobI was the head of charcuterie and head chef at a butcher shop where we produced over 60 types of charcuterie.

To really talk about curing salts (pink salt) we would definitely need another thread. To talk about charcuterie we would definitely need another thread.

Most books have incorrect information on percentage of curing salts. Anybody interested on curing should check out the Marianski brothers. Their books are fantastic

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Anyone have any killer tips? I'm all ears

I have roasted over 30 ducks and probably 35 Turkeys in my lifetime. Never had an issue and the Duck is NOT oily nor greasy.

1. Cut off any excess fat.
2. I stuff it using the 1980 Better Crocker Stuffing recipe.
3. I place it inside a roasting pan with a lid on top of a rack placed inside the roasting pan. The rack keeps the bird from cooking in its own grease. That's how the duck is never oily nor greasy.

The RACK is Key!!!!!!!!!!!!!!