Roast Duck with Duck Fat Potatoes

Whole roast duck, the perfect indulgent Sunday lunch & this recipe comes with glorious potatoes that are almost confit & a red wine gravy.

This recipe is the perfect alternative Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner for a couple leaving modest leftovers. Alternatively, you could scoff the lot, we do!

The Perfect Duck Dinner.

Regular readers will know that I am rather fond of the occasional duck recipe. Whether it is duck breast in my pan-fried duck breast with orange sauce, or slow-cooked duck legs in my duck donburi or hoisin duck recipes, or quickly cooked in this duck stir fry!

This, however, takes the whole duck and does something quite magical with it.

I use a technique from a chef called Michel Roux Jr, so pretty much as close as you get to food royalty as far as I am concerned!

It features the very best potatoes I have ever eaten or cooked. Slowly roasted as the fat from the duck drips over them resulting in almost confit potatoes. They are heavenly and take roast potatoes to a whole new level.

It is finished with a wonderfully silky red wine gravy made from the giblets of the duck.

It is a complete heart of a Sunday lunch and ideal for a Christmas dinner for a smaller family. In that vein, it is very similar to my roast guinea fowl and roast pigeon recipes!

The Secret to Cooking a Whole Duck.

I’ve spent years playing around with different techniques for roasting duck. This one results in a perfectly cooked duck with crispy duck skin.

I’ve seen everything from searing the bird to boiling it before placing it in an oven.

This technique is insanely easy and has no preparation aside from stringing together the legs.

The bird is thrown in the oven at a very high temperature and then the temperature is dropped whilst the cooking continues.

The secret that really makes a difference with this roast duck recipe is to not cook it in a roasting pan!

It allows the hot air to circulate around the bird freely which really helps render out that fat.

One of the downsides is that it does make your oven a little muckier than using in a roasting tin.

But this is a special meal and not your average Sunday roast! Cleaning the oven after really is worth it!

Serving Suggestions.

This whole roast duck recipe provides you with the perfect base to build a fantastic Sunday lunch for a couple or smaller family.

All you have to do is go to town with whatever vegetables you want, I personally favour a wee bit of braised red cabbage.

If you want some greens you could go with my garlic green beans or my air fryer asparagus.

If you want mash maybe look a little outside the normal mashed potato. Consider some celeriac mash or carrot and swede mash (rutabaga for my US readers).

Equipment Used

I only name-check brands of equipment if I think they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions you can ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

• Stovetop.
• Oven.
• 20cm or 8″ saucepan.
• Griddle pan (optional).
• Kitchen knife.
• Chopping board.
• Baking tray.
• Kitchen foil.
• Fine mesh sieve.
• Stirring and serving spoons and or tongs.