Active Time

　　15 minutes

　　Total Time

　　2 hours 45 minutes

　　While a whole roast duck might seem like a special-occasion dish—something you’d serve for Christmas dinner or order in certain Chinese restaurants—it’s actually very simple to make. If you can prepare a Thanksgiving turkey (or even a roast chicken), you can cook a whole duck. In some ways, cooking duck is easier than cooking chicken: Thanks to duck fat, the bird’s breast meat is less prone to drying out, making it easier to achieve crispy duck skin and juicy meat.

　　This simple main dish uses a technique common in traditional Peking duck recipes: dousing it with boiling water. Pouring hot water over a room-temperature duck tightens its skin, which starts it on its journey toward becoming that coveted crispy skin. (Afterward, you’ll need to pat the duck cavity and surface with paper towels to dry them thoroughly.) Then all you need to do is season the bird and roast it at high heat, flipping it occasionally, until the internal temperature of the duck meat reaches 135°F for medium-rare (or to your desired doneness).

　　Wondering what side dishes to make alongside this roast duck recipe? Start with a sweet-tart plum applesauce. We also love this dish with garlicky green beans, a bittersweet endive and orange salad, and savory scallion pancakes, soft Mandarin pancakes, or fluffy Parker House rolls.

　　

Ingredients

4 servings

　　1 (5- to 6-lb) Pekin duck (also known as Long Island duck)

　　2 cups boiling-hot water

　　1 tablespoon kosher salt

　　1 teaspoon black pepper

　　

Step 1

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F.

　　

Step 2

If necessary, cut off wing tips with poultry shears or a sharp knife. Remove and discard giblet bag and excess fat from body cavity and neck, then rinse duck inside and out. Prick skin all over with a sharp fork. Fold neck skin under body, then put duck breast-side up on a rack in a 13- by 9- by 3-inch roasting pan and pour boiling-hot water over duck (to tighten skin). Cool duck, then pour out any water from cavity into pan. Pat duck dry inside and out, reserving water in pan, then rub duck inside and out with kosher salt and pepper.

　　

Step 3

Roast duck breast-side up 45 minutes, then remove from oven. Turn duck over using 2 wooden spoons so that the duck legs are exposed, and roast 45 minutes more. Turn duck over again (breast-side up), tilting duck to drain any liquid from cavity into pan. Continue to roast duck until skin is brown and crisp, about 45 minutes more (total cooking time: about 2¼ hours). Tilt duck to drain any more liquid from cavity into pan. Transfer duck to a cutting board and let stand 15 minutes before carving. Reserve pan juices for another use.

　　Editor’s note: This recipe was originally printed in the September 2006 issue of ‘Gourmet’ and first appeared online in August 2012. Head this way for more of our best Christmas dinner ideas →