Brown Sugar and Soy Glazed Roast Duck

For the 2021 Virtual Cook-Off for the Coast, Isaac kindly joined us to share a couple of his recipes. In the session, he demonstrated how to shuck oysters and prepare Roasted Oysters with Crab Fat Butter, both of which you can learn separately.

In this recipe, he focuses on cooking duck—something he prepares often because mallards are frequently harvested in his hunting area. While he usually works with mallard ducks, this method also works well with any appropriately sized duck. To serve, he removes the breasts and legs from the carcass, slices the breast meat into roughly ½-inch pieces, keeps the thighs and legs whole, and serves everything together. Even the wings and neck don’t go to waste, often becoming the most contested parts of the meal.

Recipe Overview

Total time: about 4 hours, plus 24 hours of refrigeration
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar, divided

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon kosher salt, divided

1/4 cup whole black peppercorns, toasted

8 bay leaves

Zest and juice of 4 large navel oranges

2 (12-ounce) bottles amber beer

3 quarts water

Ice water (about 21 cups, or enough to reach 3 gallons total after simmering)

1 whole duck (about 2½ pounds), such as Peking duck or wild mallard, cleaned

1 tablespoon finely ground black pepper

2 tablespoons soy sauce (regular, not low-sodium)

Equipment: a large food-safe container (at least 4 gallons) or a clean cooler

Preparing the Brine

Combine 2 cups of the brown sugar, 2 cups of the salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, orange zest and juice, beer, and water in a large pot. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat and let it gently simmer for about 20 minutes.

Transfer the liquid into a large 4-gallon container or cooler. Add enough ice water so the total volume reaches 3 gallons. Maintaining the correct salt-to-water ratio is important for proper brining, so the amount of ice water may vary depending on evaporation during boiling.

Submerge the duck fully in the brine and refrigerate for 24 hours. Stir or turn the duck once halfway through by gently lifting and rotating it.

After brining, or slightly longer if needed, remove the duck and pat it completely dry, including inside the cavity. Let it rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes before cooking.

Roasting the Duck

Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C).

In a small bowl, mix together the remaining 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of salt, ground black pepper, and soy sauce. Rub this mixture thoroughly over the duck skin and inside the cavity until fully coated.

Place the duck breast-side up in a 9×13-inch baking dish. Roast for 2 hours. Then cover the dish with aluminum foil and continue roasting for another 1 hour and 30 minutes. The duck is ready when the leg loosens easily when pulled.

Resting and Serving

Once cooked, let the duck rest, still covered in foil, for about 10 minutes. Remove it from the pan and pour the cooking juices and rendered fat into a bowl.

Skim off the fat, reserving the flavorful jus beneath. Carve the duck into portions, spoon the jus over the meat, and serve.