I wanted to make something special for my mom on Sunday for Mothers Day… I never made a duck before, but remember how good it was when my grandmother used to make it. So I picked up a frozen duck and let it defrost in the refrigerator overnight. I searched the web and found several different duck recipes. I couldn’t decide on one, so I just took the information from each recipe and went my own direction.

Ingredients:

2 ribs celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 small onions, chopped
salt, to taste
fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

1 whole duck
salt, to taste
fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
water, to cover
flour + water mixture, for gravy

First, start to prepare a duck stock: Trim any extra fat off the duck, cut off the neck, and remove the giblets. Place all those items in a pot and cover with water. Place over medium heat. Add the chopped celery, carrots and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer while you prepare the duck. Skim the fat off the top periodically.

Take a knife and make several slices into the skin/fat of the duck in a criss-cross pattern. Next take a fork and poke lots of holes all over the skin. This will help the fat drain out as it cooks. Place the duck, breast side up, in a roasting pan with a rack. Place in a 500 degrees F preheated oven for 30 minutes. Carefully pull the duck out and flip it over. Be careful of the hot fat/oil in the pan. Poke the skin again all over with a fork. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes. Next, lower the oven to 350 degrees F and flip the duck back over so it is breast side up again. Cook for another 50 minutes.

Remove the duck from the pan. Take out the rack. Place the roasting pan on top of a burner set to medium heat. Pour the stock through a strainer and add the liquid to the roasting pan. Use a fork or spoon to deglaze the pan. Slowly pour in the flour and water mixture while stirring until the gravy gets to the proper consistency.

Slice the duck and serve!