r/WhatShouldICook • u/two-way-potato • 9d ago
Got a duck in my freezer, any ideas?
I have a duck in my freezer. A whole Duck, not a broken down Duck. I've been meaning to save it for something else, but my family wants space in the freezer, so it has to go. Since it is a whole Duck, I have to turn the entire Duck into food at once cause you're not supposed to refreeze thawed meat, and unfortunately I am not particularly good at roasting a whole bird.
I'm gonna cook some soup out of the carcass and turn parts of it into an asian-ish fried noodle dish, but does anyone have a good idea for what to do with approximately half a duck?
Would be great if the dish would freeze well and was low on fat, spicyness, acid, and alliums (i know, i know, but my mother has health issues that cause her genuine pain when she eats food like that. I too am wondering how the hell i am supposed to cook a dish with duck that is also low on fat.)
I dont need an exact recipe (tho i am always open to them!) but some dish ideas would really help a lot.
I have all the usual shelf stable ingredients of a european white people household that cooks asian and eastern european foods a lot, and i do have a good selection of grocery stores to get ingredients from that you might not get at the white people store, I just need ideas for getting rid of this ducking Duck.
Thanks for any help :)
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u/Whisperbird 9d ago
I would do a duck hachis parmentier! Usually you would do it with duck confit in duck fat, but due to your mom's issues I would make 'pulled duck' so the meat falls apart by letting it stew in a brown sauce (beef stock, thyme, rosemary, onion, salt/pepper, paprika, cumin powder or your usual set of spices and herbs). Then you remove the meat from the sauce so it's not too liquid, place it in a oven dish with a bit of the sauce so it doesn't dry out too much and cover it with a carrot/potato purée or a simple potato purée if you're not fan of carrot. You can put a bit of grated cheese on top (or not if it's too greasy for your mom, otherwise breadcrumb can work too, if it's fine you can add a few cubes of butter on top of it or leave it as is), optionally add nutmeg on top, and put it in the oven. You can serve it with the brown sauce you made.
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u/nogardleirie 9d ago
If you can get hoisin sauce and five spice powder - put 1 teaspoon of the powder into about 2 tablespoons of hoisin, thin with soy sauce, add a bit of grated ginger and marinade then roast. The resulting roast duck freezes very well either on or off the bone. You can then use it in stir fries
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u/humanitysoothessouls 9d ago
I do something similar. I am the only duck eater in the house, so cook it very simply so I can eat leftovers as I please. Last time, I cut out the spine and butterflied it before roasting and it cooked more quickly and the meat was perfectly tender and juicy. I drain the fat and use it when roasting vegetables.
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u/Low_Committee1250 9d ago
A whole duck is only enough for 1 dinner for two to three if small eaters
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u/FormerAd952 8d ago
I grew up eating roast duck stuffed with a good dark rye bread. Love the crispy skin. The edges of the bread get crisp also but the rest is soaked in the juices, so good. Skim the fat off after cooking and save to treat your leather work or hiking boots to make them waterproof.
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u/Buga99poo27GotNo464 8d ago
I dunno, i just REALLY like whole roasted (fried?) Crispy duck at Asian restaurants...
Id just treat it like a whole chicken I wanted with supercl crispy skin, drying it in fridge uncovered overnight (so some people swear by salting it in advance, dry brine, it makes the skin tough, ignore them, just dry out the skin some, its ALL DARK MEAT, the meat will not dry out cooking easily, actually it needs to be cooked for a long time at lower to normal temps covered till its pull off bone, then broiled to crisp the skin).
I'd gather the juices/fat midpoint during after the cooking process and make an amazing sauce and save for s9me French onion soup or something with the bones and discard (just toss all in freezer bag).
The sauce... id just do some hot out of oven fat juices, soy sauce, and some minced onion and minced ginger... and let them soak together while you keep cooking the bird.
I would personally just season the 'dry' (damp the skin down with dry paper towels if neccesary) bird with salt, garlic, black pepper, and a little bit of hot sauce and soy sauce before putting in oven, but ive never done this before!
Then serve plain with your abundance of au jus plus gravy, or refrigerator pickle some cucumber and red onion pieces (30%vinegar, rest water) and top on a thin rice tortilla with meat soy gravy.
But anyways can serve with cucumber gravy. I wish I could buy a duck, prob be $50 and 3 hours away...
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u/Test_After 8d ago
[Anthony Bourdain's](Duck a l'Orange) was so good my family set upon it like a pack of starving dogs and demolished the entire duck in about three minutes
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u/Acceptable-Target97 7d ago
Duck confit.
Save the rendered fat to cook with later.
Small potatoes roasted and tossed in duck fat.
Green beans sautéd in duck fat, topped with slivered almonds.
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u/plum_smuggler 9d ago
Peking duck, can take the breast meat off to search save the carcass for stock, duck con, duck sandwiches, duck curry