Slow Roasted Duck with Crispy Skin

My slow roasted duck is a simple recipe which will give you tender meat and crispy skin with the fat rendered out by the slow cooking. I serve the duck with a quick sauce of port, raspberry jam, and orange, along with a dash or two of chipotle powder for some kick! This a perfect recipe for your next holiday dinner or celebration.

Hello, all!

Here in still chilly, but getting warmer, New England I’ve been watching the crocuses come up and thinking about Easter fast approaching. Thinking about Easter has had me thinking about holiday recipes, and one of my favorite way to prepare a holiday roast is slowly.

But don’t wait for a holiday! Birthday. Anniversary. Dinner Party. These are all times which are perfect for slow roasted duck. 🙂

Slow Roasted Duck

I LOVE slow roasting! The simplicity of popping the roast in the oven and letting it tick away while I can putter away working on other things makes slow roasted meats so amazing! I don’t know about you, but I always have a pile of other things to do on holidays and fussing with my roast is not something I want to bother with.

I think slow roasted duck is especially awesome since the low oven temperatures allow all that fat to render out, leaving behind crispy skin and tender meat. Bonus!

And I haven’t even gotten to the best part!

Prep for this recipe consists of tying the legs, salting&peppering the duck, and slicing an orange. That’s it! You can get it prepped in about 5 minutes as the oven heats and then leave it alone for 3 hours. Does it get easier than that? I don’t think so!

How do you make slow roasted duck

To make slow roasted duck with crispy skin, sprinkle a whole duck with salt and pepper, and tie the legs. Roast the duck in a low oven at 300F for three hours, then raise the heat to crisp the skin and finish the duck.

Roasting the Duck

Simple is the word here!

All you do is put a few orange pieces in the duck, tie up the legs, (maybe trim some fat), prick the skin, and give the duck good salt and peppering and the duck is fully prepped.

The one little thing I do differently is to lay a few orange slices on the bottom of the roasting pan and then putting the duck on top of them. This way the duck is off the bottom and out the fat while it roasts AND the orange slices get full of duck flavor. Duck flavor which we are going to use to make the sauce!

Anyway, prep the duck, put it on the orange slices, and then into the oven at 300F for at least 3 hours. Once the duck is tender, raise the heat to 425F and get the skin good and crispy. That’ll take about 15 more minutes.

Making the raspberry port sauce

Raspberry jam makes a wonderful sauce with lots of flavor and great body while also being easy to keep on hand. Jam really is a secret weapon in making amazing savory sauces.

What you need to do is mix the jam with port, a little balsamic vinegar, those orange slices, and some chipotle powder. Bring it all to a boil and let it cook down for a few minutes.

The sauce you end up with is a complex mix of sweet, sour, and spicy, and thick enough to coat a spoon. Everything you want in a sauce for roast duck!

If you try my recipe for Crispy Slow Roasted Duck, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.

You can connect with me by subscribing to my emails (see the form in the sidebar or below the recipe card), liking my FACEBOOK page, or by following me on PINTEREST.

– Happy Roasting, Annemarie

Print Recipe

4.86 from 7 votes

Slow Roasted Duck with Crispy Skin

Crispy slow roasted duck is served with a raspberry orange port sauce. It's a simple, yet impressive, dinner recipe perfect for holidays and celebrations. Great for Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and more!

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time3 hrs 20 mins

Total Time3 hrs 30 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: roast duck, slow roasted duck

Servings: 6

Calories: 500kcal

Author: justalittlebitofbacon

Ingredients

Roasted Duck

• 1 navel orange
• 1 whole duck
• kosher salt and black pepper

Port Raspberry Sauce

• 1/2 cup ruby port
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2-3 dashes chipotle powder

Instructions

Roast Duck

• Heat the oven to 300F.
  
• Cut three thick slices off the orange. Quarter up any remaining orange.
• Stuff the quartered orange into the duck and place the slices down the middle of the roasting pan.
• Trim off excess fat from the duck. Tie together the legs with kitchen twine and sprinkle it all over with salt and pepper. Then prick the duck skin with fork.
  
• Place the duck, breast side up, on the orange slices. Put the duck in the oven and roast for 3 - 3 1/2 hours, or until the duck is fork tender.
  
• Raise the heat to 425F and roast for 15-20 minutes, or until the duck skin is golden brown.
  
• Remove the duck from the oven and let it rest while you make the sauce.
  

Port Raspberry Sauce

• In a medium sauce pan, combine the port, raspberry jam, and balsamic vinegar with the orange slices which were under the duck. Add a couple of dashes of chipotle powder.
  
• Bring to a boil and cook the sauce for 5-8 minutes, or until the sauce is thick and can coat a spoon. Taste and adjust the seasonings by adding a little kosher salt, pepper, and another dash of chipotle if needed.
  
• Arrange a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and pour the sauce into the sieve to strain out the orange slices.
  
• Transfer the sauce to a serving container. Carve the duck and serve it with the sauce.
  

Notes

• Whole duck: Whole ducks are often sold frozen. If you are using a frozen duck, give the duck at least 3 days in the refrigerator to fully thaw. You can keep a thawed, vacuum-packed duck for at least a few days if kept in the refrigerator. (Though perhaps up to 14 days. I've personally never waited more than a couple days after thawing.)
• Oranges: I used Cara Cara oranges in the recipe, which is why the photos show deep orange/red colored oranges. Either Cara Cara oranges or Navel oranges are great choices for the duck.