I got the duck out of the freezer yesterday after work. By bedtime only a couple of millimeters of it was thawed, so I put it back in the fridge. Well, my fridge is pretty cold and the duck is hard again. Back out to continue thawing. Since it will take three hours to roast, I hope it thaws early enough for me to have dinner at a reasonable time!
I’m thinking that maybe next week I can try my hand at roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.
[sub]How’s this for a mundane and pointless thread?[/sub]
How will you prepare said duck?
Have you got a big enough microwave? You could zap it for a few minutes.
Yummy! I had a go at making roast beef and yorkshire pud’s a couple of months ago and boy was I glad I did.
I took my niece to the markets this week and they had baby ducklings for sale for 95cents she was all set to buy one and I knew her mum would kill me. Ended up telling her it would be a great idea to buy it 'cos we could eat it for Christmas lunch. She called me many names and was rather shrill in public but it was worth it because she didn’t go home with a duckling.
We just did a duck last weekend. We usually roast in normally and baste it a lot the last 15 minutes with Chambord, but this time we roasted it whole in a salt crust. That was the best duck I have ever tasted! Stuff it with rosemary and thyme, truss it, put it on a bed of kosher salt, then pack the whole thing in about 4 pounds of kosher salt mixed with about 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup wine.
sooooooooo good! I love duck.
I put it in a tin and roasted it in the oven at 350°F. I only used salt and pepper to season it. I boiled the neck and internal organs (I’m especially fond of the filtration units) and used some of the stock to start the gravy (I later added flour, salt and pepper, the chopped organs, milk and pan drippings). I ate it with mashed potatoes.
The skin was nice and crispy, and the flesh was good. Since I live alone, I have lots of leftovers!
I’ve made roast beef several times using Kafka’s method. (No, not that one! Barbara Kafka! 
) That is, I heat the oven to 450°F and sear on an nice crust. I use two cast iron skillets, one holding the meat and the other inverted on top. After searing for about a half an hour, I reduce the temperature to 350°F. My cast iron skillets are packed away, so when I make it this time I’ll use the same tin I used for the duck and cook the whole thing at 350°F for about 20 minutes per pound.
I’ve never made Yorkshire pudding. It looks simple enough – flour, milk, egg, salt and pepper. The recipés I’ve read recently say to cook the pud in a tin with some pan drippings. I coulr swear I read a recipé once that said to pour the batter into the tin the meat is cooking in and cook it with the meat. I haven’t found anything that says to cook it that way though since before I got the computer.
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I took my niece to the markets this week and they had baby ducklings for sale for 95cents she was all set to buy one and I knew her mum would kill me. Ended up telling her it would be a great idea to buy it 'cos we could eat it for Christmas lunch.
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You beast! [sub]Actually, the neighbours had their pet rabbits out in cages this morning, and one of them was looking quite plump… [/sub]
Was it anyone I knew?
Yeah, I think we’re down to Leftovers Duck Goose.
I like salt, but I don’t think I could eat four pounds of it.
You take the meat out of the pan and let it rest while the pud cooks.
Hope it wasn’t anyone I knew. 
Mmmmm…
I had duck last night. We had 4 thighs, which we cooked in a diluted maple syrup sauce (the real stuff - no corn ever came NEAR it!) and with apple slices. Served with buttered string beans and seasoned roasted potatoes, along with a good little Italian wine whose name I don’t remember, followed by a home-made lemon-meringue pie and a Winter Vidal Icewine from East Dell Estates (VQA). Myself, my boyfriend, and a friend of ours.
Poor starving students 
Next time when you’re trying to thaw your duck, put it in the sink and run cool water over it (and make sure you don’t block the drain). It will help thaw out quicker.
There’s a duck? Where? <ouch>
Yorkshire puddings are the only thing my mum makes that actually taste good.
When I roast beef, there is lot of drippings. Most of the Yorkshire pud recipés I see say to use just a little bit of the drippings. So would I remove the chunk-o-deadcow, pour off most of the drippings for gravy, and leave some drippings in the pan for the pud? How much?
Can’t say I’ve ever been crazy about duck. I’ve found it to be tougher, greasier, and bonier than chicken.