Duck

This easy roast duck makes for a lovely holiday centerpiece—it’s also pretty easy to cook.

This midcentury take on a medieval dish is bright and balanced, with a luscious sauce and crispy duck skin.

Thinly sliced duck breast seared with leeks starts this beautiful bowl of noodle soup called kamo soba.

Simmer duck legs in a chile-infused, maramalade-based braise until tender, then reduce the sauce to a sticky-rich lacquer to glaze over the crisp skin.

This isn't really cassoulet, but it is very, very good! Cut into little bars as a pre-dinner bite or serve one toast per person alongside a crisp salad of bitter greens for lunch.

Coating blanched ducklings in orange liqueur makes them develop a crisp, deep mahogany skin as they roast on a bed of orange slices and other aromatics.

The best way to tackle this duck recipe is to braise the legs and make the relish in advance, then cook the breasts and crisp the legs on party night.

Traditional duck confit is not only cooked in fat but also preserved for a period of time. A true confit has a unique flavor developed as it ages in duck fat. You can make it the traditional way, buy ready-made confit, or use the cooking method described here, called sous vide (under vacuum). Recently, I learned how to use this method to make duck confit for use in Cassoulet in the Style of Toulouse, where large succulent chunks of boned meat are set between layers of beans to bake for a second long cooking. Sous vide–prepared confit will survive this extra cooking and remain flavorful and moist. Additionally, this is the easiest and least messy way to prepare this essential cassoulet component.

This cassoulet is filled to the brim with white beans, lamb, garlic sausage, and smoked sausage (and breadcrumbs), but you can make yours with pork or ham, goat, or duck. Whatever you use, keep the proportions similar to those listed below, and you can’t lose.

You can braise the duck on Saturday and crisp it Sunday, which pares down the day-of duties.

Citrus segments get saucy in our play on duck à l’orange.

Editor's note: Ask your butcher to cut your whole duck into breast and leg parts for you. If you can't find amaranth, swap in another leafy green, like baby arugula or spinach.

Chef Sean Brock created this dish using quail, but the technique pairs equally well with bone-in turkey breast, creating a surprisingly juicy version of a much-maligned cut. Searing a turkey breast on the stovetop crisps the skin beautifully, while basting with thyme- and garlic-scented duck fat enriches the lean meat. Green onions stand in for the green garlic for a silky, fresh sauce that's a welcome departure from classic gravy. Be sure to use homemade vegetable stock or a clear canned stock to preserve the brilliant green color. You can find duck fat from many gourmet shops, or online from D'Artagnan.

Cherries form an addictive sauce for duck breast when stewed with tomato paste, cumin, red wine, shallot, and a host of other aromatics.

This is my standard duck or goose stock. It is the stock that I call for in the recipes in this book. In other words, you need to make lots. Every time you get a carcass, save it for stock. If you don’t have a lot of ducks around at one time, save them up for future rounds of stock making. You can chop up the carcasses before freezing, so they take up less space. Make this stock when you have a day off, as it takes all day. The good news is that you will be rewarded with 4 quarts or more of rich stock that is a perfect base for stews, soups, or wintertime risottos or polenta—or even eaten on its own as a clear soup.