Stuffed duck is a bright, juicy and unforgettable accent of any holiday feast. As the famous Russian proverb says: "A duck is flat with a sock, sometimes wild and domestic, newspaper and lame, very smart." It is no coincidence that this bird was moved from the wild to rural yards, because it is the stuffed duck that becomes the main holiday of the stomach, which everyone is waiting with great impatience.
Basic principles and methods of preparation
Apples, quinces and oranges, potatoes and cabbage, buckwheat porridge and mushrooms - all this and much more harmoniously combined with duck meat. Stuffed with fruits, mushrooms and vegetables, a stuffed duck with a delicious crust will be the main decoration of any celebration. A long tradition appeared in Russia - to cook this dish for a special occasion. It is not in vain that they say: "The bird on the table is a holiday in the house." Culinary traditions recommend preparing the filling of potatoes, buckwheat, cabbage or mushrooms. If you want something unusual, you can stuff the duck with cherries, oranges, quinces, as well as nuts or mushrooms.
Before considering this or that recipe, it is worth getting acquainted with some features of duck meat.
Carcass preparation
There is plenty of fat in the duck, so it is better to remove its excess when cutting. This is especially true for the area near the legs and tail. It is also recommended to remove the skin from the neck. The duck is baked for a long time, so it is advisable to immediately remove the very tips of the wings - they will burn anyway. The duck tail contains specific glands that give the dish a rather unpleasant taste. If it is not removed, the stuffed duck will be spoiled.
The bird should be well cleaned of hemp and feather debris. This is very convenient to do with ordinary tweezers. You can burn it over the fire. After that, the duck needs to be washed and dried again with a paper towel.
When the carcass is completely processed and cleaned, you can begin to prepare the filling. But before that, you should spread the duck with spices and marinade. Plain salt and black pepper mixed with basil, curry, Italian or Provencal mixture of herbs - all this goes well with duck meat. Many people prefer to add mayonnaise, sour cream or mustard to the marinade.
Culinary features
Of course, before you stuff the bird with a wide variety of fillings, you must remove the insides and rinse it well. The duck is stuffed, laying the filling in the hole on the stomach, which is then sutured with a strong cotton thread. You also need to close the hole at the top of the body - just wrap the skin from the neck inward and fasten it with a thread.
Whole stuffed duck is baked in a ducklings or in a special sleeve. You can simply wrap the carcass with foil and send it to the oven, greasing with the remains of fat. It is desirable to cook the dish in the oven, but no one forbids it to be done in a slow cooker or in a goose-maker. The optimum temperature is 200-250 degrees. It is difficult to say how much time is needed. As a rule, at least two hours. In the process of cooking stuffed carcass you need to turn.
Duck filling
This is not to say that duck meat is absolutely friends with all products. Still, there is a certain pattern that should be followed in order to get a truly delicious and festive dish. So, for example, very often buckwheat or rice porridge, as well as potatoes are used as a filling. Duck stuffed with apples and sauerkraut. Nuts, dried fruits, prunes, dried apricots and raisins are those ingredients that are combined with duck meat.
You can also stuff the bird with fruits and vegetables. It is worth saying that at first they are stewed or fried. The main components are most often sautéed onions and carrots. Sweet pepper is another ingredient that blends harmoniously with duck meat. Simply put, there are a lot of options for filling for duck carcass. It remains only to choose the most suitable recipe.
Stuffed Duck: Best Recipes
Stuffed sauerkraut filling definitely deserves the attention of housewives, and all because precisely this component harmoniously supplements the taste of duck meat. So, to prepare the dish you will need the following ingredients:
- Vegetable or olive oil.
- Almost a kilogram of sauerkraut.
- A handful of dried apricots.
- Two medium sized onions.
- Two small apples.
- Directly the duck carcass itself (gutted and cleaned according to all culinary traditions).
The cabbage needs to be washed and discarded in a colander. Chop the onions in half rings and fry in a deep pan. As soon as it begins to acquire a characteristic shade, you need to add cabbage and continue to fry at high temperature. As soon as the cabbage began to change its color, you can remove the pan from the heat and discard its contents in a colander so that the glass has excess oil.
Peel the apples (peel and core), cut into small slices and mix with cabbage, after which you can stuff the duck carcass and send it to the oven.
We continue to consider the stuffed duck recipes.
Oranges, apples and rice
This recipe will appeal to all lovers of classic dishes and gastronomic combinations. The duck itself takes about three hours to cook. Of these, only 40 minutes will go into preparing the ingredients. Products needed for cooking:
- Duck carcass (about 2 kg).
- 1 cup rice.
- 3 medium apples.
- 2 small oranges.
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil (can be replaced with the same amount of mayonnaise).
- Red sweet paprika (teaspoon).
- Salt, freshly ground black pepper.
- Butter.
- A teaspoon of curry.
First of all, it is necessary to defrost the duck carcass. This should be done in the refrigerator, and not at room temperature. After this, the bird must be cleaned from the remains of feathers and entrails. You can safely throw out the remnants of the lungs and excess fat. Find a large needle and a strong cotton thread, with which to sew up the place where there used to be a duck neck.
Now the bird needs to be carefully rubbed with salt, pepper and chopped garlic, not forgetting the inside. While the duck is pickling, you should put the pan on the fire and boil 2.5-3 liters of water in it, salt and cook up to 90% of the preparedness 1 cup of washed rice. After that, throw it in a colander and rinse with cold water.
Salt the cereal, add a tablespoon of aromatic spices and the same amount of butter. Peel one large apple from the peel and core, crumble in small cubes. Peel the orange and try to remove the white fibers as much as possible, cut into small pieces too. Mix fruits and rice. With this mixture, fill the duck and sew it with beautiful stitches. Well, if you manage to leave it like that in a cool place at night. In the morning, the bird should be generously greased with olive oil or mayonnaise, a mixture of seasonings and salt.
Pour the remaining fruit, previously peeled and chopped onto a baking sheet with high sides, and place the duck directly on them. Now you can send it to the oven. It will take about three hours to prepare the dish. However, after 2 hours, the degree of readiness of the duck should be monitored.
Royal duck
This dish will quickly disappear from the plate - you will see. To prepare it, you will need the following ingredients:
- 1 duck carcass;
- 250 grams of prunes;
- 2 chicken legs;
- 1 chicken egg;
- 10 thin pancakes.
The recipe is designed for approximately 20 servings (100 grams each). It will take about three hours to prepare this dish, taking into account the time required to prepare the ingredients. This dish is a little more difficult to prepare than a duck stuffed with apples and oranges, but it's really worth it.
Step by step recipe
Duck carcass, as in previous recipes, must be thawed, cleaned of all excess, rinse and dry thoroughly. But that is not all. A royal approach is also needed for the royal duck - all the bones will have to be removed! There is nothing to worry about if a peel breaks in the process - it can be sewn up with ordinary cotton thread.
The duck cleared of all excess needs to be pepper and salt, not forgetting about an internal part. Now you can cook the stuffing for the filling. First of all, you need to fry 10-15 thin pancakes. One liter of milk, 1 chicken egg, flour, salt and sugar - the dough for pancakes is ready! They need to be cut into small squares (3 * 3 cm), chop chicken legs (without skin), cut prunes - mix everything thoroughly, add a raw egg and spices.
Now you need to sew up the duck on top and stuff it tightly with minced meat, then sew up the completely duck carcass and lay it on a baking sheet. The dish is baked for about two hours. During all this time, you need to water duck carcass every 15 minutes - this is necessary for the formation of an appetizing crust. The readiness of the duck can be checked with a sharp needle or skewer, piercing the loin.
Remove the bird from the oven and let it cool. You can start licking your fingers!
Recipes for cooking stuffed ducks can be very diverse, but the essence is the same - this dish certainly causes a persistent feeling of celebration.