While a whole roast duck might seem like a special-occasion dish—something you’d serve for Christmas dinner or order in certain Chinese restaurants—it’s actually very simple to make. If you can prepare a Thanksgiving turkey (or even a roast chicken), you can cook a whole duck. In some ways, cooking duck is easier than cooking chicken: Thanks to duck fat, the bird’s breast meat is less prone to drying out, making it easier to achieve crispy duck skin and juicy meat.
This simple main dish uses a technique common in traditional Peking duck recipes: dousing it with boiling water. Pouring hot water over a room-temperature duck tightens its skin, which starts it on its journey toward becoming that coveted crispy skin. (Afterward, you’ll need to pat the duck cavity and surface with paper towels to dry them thoroughly.) Then all you need to do is season the bird and roast it at high heat, flipping it occasionally, until the internal temperature of the duck meat reaches 135°F for medium-rare (or to your desired doneness).
Wondering what side dishes to make alongside this roast duck recipe? Start with a sweet-tart plum applesauce. We also love this dish with garlicky green beans, a bittersweet endive and orange salad, and savory scallion pancakes, soft Mandarin pancakes, or fluffy Parker House rolls.
Recipe information
Total Time
2 hours 45 minutes
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F.
Step 2
If necessary, cut off wing tips with poultry shears or a sharp knife. Remove and discard giblet bag and excess fat from body cavity and neck, then rinse duck inside and out. Prick skin all over with a sharp fork. Fold neck skin under body, then put duck breast-side up on a rack in a 13- by 9- by 3-inch roasting pan and pour boiling-hot water over duck (to tighten skin). Cool duck, then pour out any water from cavity into pan. Pat duck dry inside and out, reserving water in pan, then rub duck inside and out with kosher salt and pepper.
Step 3
Roast duck breast-side up 45 minutes, then remove from oven. Turn duck over using 2 wooden spoons so that the duck legs are exposed, and roast 45 minutes more. Turn duck over again (breast-side up), tilting duck to drain any liquid from cavity into pan. Continue to roast duck until skin is brown and crisp, about 45 minutes more (total cooking time: about 2¼ hours). Tilt duck to drain any more liquid from cavity into pan. Transfer duck to a cutting board and let stand 15 minutes before carving. Reserve pan juices for another use.
Editor’s note: This recipe was originally printed in the September 2006 issue of ‘Gourmet’ and first appeared online in August 2012. Head this way for more of our best Christmas dinner ideas →
Leave a Review
Reviews (155)
Back to TopJust reading the recipe for the first time, I knew something was serious;y wrong. The time and temp didn't makes sense. Instead, I followed the suggestion of Thinking Out Loud - Toronto, ON, Canada, and got a terrific duck that was perfectly cooked and beautifully browned allover. The recipe as published would have been a total disaster. I like my duck medium/ medium-rare, NOT cremated as it would have been with the epicurious recipe. Thank you, Thinking Out Loud.
StuKin
CT
12/2/2023
What I did differently from the recipe was to dry brine the duck the day before. After it is thawed, coat the duck in coarse salt, wrap it in tin foil, and refrigerate until the next day. Then I followed the recipe as stated. It came out great. The best duck I had ever made. Will do it again! I will also try it with goose and turkey, which I have also been dry-brining for a couple of years now.
SpeedyMcTaylor
Los Angeles
11/24/2023
After 90 minutes of roasting, the internal temperature was 190 deg F. The duck was completely over-cooked and dry I will need to search for another recipe.
Josephine
Santa Fe, NM
10/17/2023
Confused about directions ... Why should you reserve the water in pan? Do you roast the duck in the reserved water?
Western Mass Cook
Western Massachusetts
9/27/2023
Great recipe but I didn't need the 3rd turning. 45 minutes on each side worked perfectly at 200C fan.
Ken
Oxford
1/30/2023
This is the ONLY way I make duck now... the flipping technique- I didn’t use everything else but the 45 min 3x flips ensures it comes out Awesomely Beautiful every time. LOVED IT!!
The REALIST
1/22/2023
I read "discard liquid in pan" and know to throw this recipe out, the same way you throw out the incredibly overcooked duck from this high of a temperature for so long. What absolute trash.
Rabbi Goldberg
11/4/2022
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