New Year's duck for the new year - 14 cooking recipes

The most solemn and festive duck for the New Year is, of course, baked whole in the oven. Here you just need to choose the appropriate design option and the products used. For example, someone wants to cook duck in oranges or apples. The other is stuffed with buckwheat, rice, cabbage. The third - baked in dough, with sauce, on a pillow. There are so many recipes that it’s dizzying. But there are also options with duck breasts, fillets, and legs.

The skin of the bird should not have any spots, and its color should be as light as possible, without yellowness.

It is better to inspect the surface of the carcass for protruding feathers. If the manufacturer did not care about the presentable appearance of his product, then it is unlikely that he monitored it during the growing process.

Look at the fat layers. If their color is dark, then the bird is already old, which means it will be tough.

Feel the bones of the carcass. If they seem soft, it means the duck is young, everything is fine.

Check for smell. Any strange, unpleasant smell from meat indicates that something is wrong.

The young bird will also not be too heavy. The optimal weight of the average duck is 2-2.5 kg.

Almost any poultry meat can be made more tender and softer.

The first, easiest and most reliable way is to boil it in salted water before further cooking. At the same time, it doesn’t matter what exactly you are going to cook: stew, casserole, roast or a whole duck.

The second, no less difficult, is marinating. Any marinade suitable for poultry or barbecue is suitable. It is also good because it helps get rid of the peculiar duck flavor, which not everyone likes in such meat. Even simply coating the carcass with mayonnaise or vegetable oil, wrapping it in a bag and leaving it in the refrigerator overnight helps significantly.

The third method is stuffing. The juicy filling makes the duck just as juicy, imbuing it with juices and aromas. Apples and citrus fruits are especially good in this regard.

In some cases, the situation with tough meat can be saved by foil and a baking sleeve. First, it is better to “pack” the duck well in them. And then, 15 minutes before the end of cooking, tear the packaging and periodically pour the rendered fat over the meat.

Advice:

It is best to trim all the fat from the back of the duck. And add it to the baking dish in separate pieces if the cooking process requires it. For example, when you need to baste a carcass with fat.