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Do you brine a duck?

A

ablethevoice

boatanchors rule!
I've gotten in the habit these last few Thanksgiving seasons of brining the turkey for 12 hours or so before cooking. We all do notice a big difference in juiciness and texture. I'm just wondering if it is necessary to do the same to a duck. Last Christmas was the first time I'd ever tried cooking duck - mainly because we didn't want another turkey - and my wife insisted we do it again this year. The duck came out absolutely delicious and that was without brining it. Do any of you (who do a Christmas duck) brine the bird before cooking? If so, what's your brine recipe? Anything special?

(I wanted to try a goose this year but at $6/pound:yikes:, we decided the hell with that; we'll do duck again.)
 
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It's an option. You can also marinate in Kiwi fruit if you want it more tender.

I'd rather long term fry the duck (6 hours in the oven) rubbed in salt and stuffed with apples and prunes.
Served with waldorff salad, brown milk sauce with redcurrant jelly, red cabbage, and caramelized potatoes.

"dolph"
 
We brined our turkey for the first time this year, and we were just flabbergasted at how good it was. Definitely in the brining camp from here on.

I don't know if you've ever had duck before. If not, it's a delicious bird. A bit more full-flavored than turkey, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it gamey. I'm guessing brining would work just great. It would keep it from going dry,and it might just make it a tad bit milder as well.

Give it a go and let us know how it turns out!
 
Duck is a very fat bird and if you manage to prepare it in a way that makes it go dry, you must have fried it over 5 weeks in an Aircon.

"dolph"
 
I won't brine anything anymore. A few years ago, we did a turkey in brine because we saw it on Alton Brown's Good Eats show and he said it was the best. We followed his instructions and I must say, it was the worst turkey we ever had. I didn't like the way it changed the flavor of the meat and the texture was almost rubbery.

I love roast duck, but I'll never brine it.:no:
 
The local Chinese here stuff theirs with annisette. It gives it a nice licorice undertone that's very subtle, but makes it impossible to eat duck without it afterwards.
 
I have no idea whether it's a good idea or a bad idea, but I did want to note that the thread title looks like it should be the punchline to a particularly bad joke.

Check The Joy of Cooking and see what it sez...
 
Store-bought/domestic duck, or wild duck?

The wild ones aren't too fatty and can get pretty dry, the store-bought domestics usually have plenty of fat to keep them juicy.
 
Ah. Yes. I guess I should have been more specific. It is a store-bought duck. I wanted some of you guy's opinions over and above what I've already seen elsewhere online. All things considered, I think I'll skip brining the duck and do it like I did last year: Just a bit of salt and sage rubbed in the skin with coarsely-chopped onions, apples and carrots stuffed in the cavity.
 
I've been brining turkeys for years now, and wouldn't dare prepare them any other way. For duck, I just don't see the need. They are (as has been mentioned) a very fatty bird, and I've never had a problem with dryness in duck, which is why I brine turkeys. Your recipe sounds great Able. Were it me, I'd stick with what you're doing.

I mentioned the following at Thanksgiving, and I'll reaffirm it here. Most badly cooked fowl comes about from cooking it too long. If you have a meat thermometer, use it. I pull my birds from the oven when the deep breast muscle hits 175˚, and wrap the bird in foil. They'll cook for another 30 minutes or so in the foil outside the oven. When they are unwrapped, the juices will have migrated equally around the bird and (barring other cooking mistakes) it will be delicious.
 
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