Mighty Duck

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This is a labor-intensive recipe, but if you like duck or have been afraid to try it, this is the recipe for you. I've had duck on several occasions, once when I made it myself with a different recipe, and this is my favorite!

I was not wild about the chard - I would have liked for it to have more flavor. Maybe next time I will try adding some pine nuts or sliced almonds to it.

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I used this recipe this past New Year's Eve - it was the first time I've made duck. I didn't make the chard, just wild rice and a salad. My wife even liked it!!! Very easy, too!

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I thought the recipe, while time consuming, was extremely easy and tasty. Everything turned out perfectly. I used poultry seasoning instead of thyme, and it was still delicious. A word to the wise- double the amount of greens. They're tasty and the recipe just doesn't make enough. Especially for a whole duck.

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I made it yesterday--didn't have time to brine, but followed the same technique with the steaming (I added a few springs of time and rosemary then I seared the duck in a NASA-hot cast iron pan. It was delicious. And I will admit that I used a little tiny bit of the orange sauce shoved up the duck's nether region.

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I'd never cooked duck before. We've gotten duck at Chinese restaurants and while I've enjoyed it, my husband didn't like the greasiness of it. This duck was just perfect and very easy to do. The only thing I didn't do completely correctly was scoring the skin on the breasts. On the parts that I cut all the way through the skin turned out perfectly crisp and not at all greasy. On the sections that I only cut part way through the skin was still fatty and a bit rubbery. But now I know and since we've decided this is a do again recipe, I'll make sure to cut all the way through next time.

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I was really skeptical to try this recipe. Steaming just did not sound like a tasty way to cook my first duck, but I am a big fan of Altons turkey brined recipe so I gave it a shot.

I was very impressed with the outcome. I added more juice than called for because my bird wasn't fully covered and I added a bit if it to the steaming liquid. I did not have fresh thyme so I added some dry to the mix. Great recipe. We will be having duck again!

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I watched the episode on YouTube "mighty duck". It was really helpful to watch it & then do the dismembering & brining. OMG! I didn't miss a step, the skin was crisy & delicious and the meat was juicy. Yummo! The husband was cutting up the leftovers for his lunch the next day, I noticed him nibling on it as he sliced. This one I will definely do over and over. Thank you Alton, You the BEST!

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This was the most fun to make, and it turned out fantastic! "Fun," you say? Alton suggested a Long Island duck. I went to Publix and asked for one. The butcher, who is really great, said he didn't know what kind of duck it was, didn't know there were different kinds, and wanted to know if it really mattered. I figured not to bother asking him if it was a drake, especially since Alton didn't specifiy either. So, in the spirit of duckiness, I bought the quacker and took him home thinking "AFLAC" all the way. I couldn't wait to get home and cook the 6+ pounds little bugger. The next day I called the duck packer, Maple Farms, and asked their duck technical support help line if this was a Muscovy, Pekin, Mallard, canvas back, or what? Duck Tech Support returned quickly and told me it was a Pekin duck, same as a Long Island duck, so thank you, Victor Borge for starting all this. I suggested that Maple Farms include that information on its labelling. After three days of thawing in the fridge, it was time to go into surgery. I really tried to follow Alton's instructions for duck dismemberment, only I felt like Dexter on a dark and rainy night trying to dissect an alien. I consulted old poultry anatomy texts, dissection guides, even bought a role of duck tape in case I had to reassemble something. I found Alton's dismemberment instructions useless. I called the butcher and he advised me to just cut it up like a chicken, which I did. Following my chicken rendering experiences, I used a very sharp boning knife and prepared this thoroughly deceased duck into four nice quarters for the brining. From then on it was easy as duck soup (Via Duck?. The duck turned out to be meaty, juicy, and very tasty. I couldn't find chard, so I substituted kale, which was prepared just like Alton suggested. I served it with a root vegetable gratin with Gruyere cheese and a zinfandel. Next time will be even better!

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Hubby made this tonight for dinner! Looks like I'm going to have to buy duck more often. Alton Brown, you are a culinary genius!!! Thank you for making tv not only watchable, but tasty too!

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Never thought duck at home was worth the effort because of the fat and lingering smell of the grease. This recipe makes duck a worthy and attainable alt to chicken or even pork. Cooked up crispy and darn near lean. However, unless you REALLY love the powerful and lingering aroma of duck fat I suggest tossing the drippings as opposed to recycling them as Alton suggests. The fat does make good hashbrowns, just smelly.