Stuffed Duck
This dish may seem complicated, but it’s as simple as asking your butcher to debone a whole duck for you. Once that is done, the rest is dead easy! It’s covered in a spread of Asian-seasoned ground pork, then rolled, secured, and cooked to perfection. The accompanying bok choi is the perfect vegetable to enjoy alongside this very high-fat and very keto-friendly meal.
Chef Tips:
- If you prefer, you can use ground chicken in place of pork. These are mildly flavored meats, to ensure the flavor of the duck and all the Asian flavors shine the most.
- The duck will run red when resting. Do not worry, the pork is sufficiently cooked through. It is best to rest on a tray that has a lip/side to avoid the juices running all over your kitchen counter.
Stuffed Duck
This stuffed duck recipe transforms a classic dish into a memorable feast, perfect for any special occasion. The tender meat, enhanced by a flavorful filling, creates a harmonious balance of textures and tastes that will impress your guests.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 TB olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic crushed with a garlic press
- 1.2 oz fresh root ginger peeled and minced or grated
- 6 green onions 3 thinly sliced and 3 thickly sliced – keep separate
- 10.6 oz ground pork mince
- 1 oz softened grass-fed butter
- 1 TB Chinese 5-spice plus an extra teaspoon to coat the seared duck
- Generous handful cilantro finely chopped (plus extra leaves to serve)
- 1 deboned whole duck around 23oz/650g (weight after deboning)
- 4 baby pak choy bok choi, halved
- 1 lime
- 7 oz chicken stock
- 1 oz grass-fed butter diced, for sauce
- 1 red chili thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 355°F and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
- Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and ginger and cook until softened, around 2-3 minutes.
- Add the thinly sliced green onions (reserve the thickly sliced ones for the sauce) and cook for 1 more minute. Scrape the contents of the pan into a large bowl.
- Add the ground meat to the same bowl, along with the softened butter.
- Scatter over the Chinese 5-spice and the finely grated zest of the lime. Season with salt and pepper, then get stuck in with clean hands to mix and combine the mixture well. Do not discard the zested lime, cut into 4 wedges for serving.
- Place a large sheet of parchment paper directly on your kitchen counter. Put the deboned duck on top, ensuring it's spread out flat and lying skin-side-down. You will notice most of the boned duck has a fat layer, but you will clearly see the breasts and other meaty parts.
- Season lightly with salt and pepper. Have 4-5 long strands of butcher’s twine or cooking strong at hand, around 12 inches long each.
- Spread the seasoned ground meat mixture out over the deboned duck, focusing on the areas that are only skin. In other words, around the duck breasts, etc.
- Then, working from the bottom, roll the duck up as tightly as you can (as if you are making sushi), ensuring the mixture does not spill out the sides. Once tightly rolled, use pieces of the twine/string to tie the large cylinder up at even intervals along.
- Heat the second tablespoon of olive oil in a large, non-stick pan over high heat. Add the large cylinder of stuffed duck and cook until golden on all sides, using tongs to turn it as needed.
- Transfer the duck to the large, lined tray.
- Scatter over a little more Chinese 5-spice all over the skin, then place into the oven for 35-45 minutes. Do not discard the fat left in the pan, set it aside for now: we will use it when we cook the pak choy later.
- Once the duck is done, carefully remove it from the tray, place it onto a large plate or board, and cover it with foil (see tip). Leave to rest for 10-15 minutes. Do not discard all the fat and juices that ran off in the tray: pour it into a small saucepan: we will use it for the sauce. We will use the baking tray again later, so keep it at hand. Do not turn the oven off.
- Now, prepare the pak choy. You will still have all the flavored fat left in the pan from when you seared the duck. Heat this fat and cook the pak choy over high heat, cut side down until you achieve visible browning/charring. (I like to allow the soft green leaves to come up the sides of the pan as those tend to burn quicker.)
- Use tongs to transfer the pak choy to the baking tray, cut side up, and place in the oven to finish cooking, around another 7-8 minutes.
- Now, onto the sauce which should be done just before you are ready to serve. Warm the chicken stock in a small pan over medium heat.
- Pour in all the rendered fat and juices from the duck roasting tray, avoiding adding any of the leached protein (the grey blobs in the tray). There will be a lot of fat – more than a cup.
- Whisk the mixture continuously until it reduces by a third.
- Whisk in the butter until the sauce is homogenous and silky. It should coat the back of a spoon. Once homogenous, remove the pan from the heat and add the thickly sliced spring onions to warm through.
- Once the duck has rested, snip away the cooking string, then use a sharp knife to cut thick slices (around two per person).
- Serve the sliced duck with the pak choy and drizzle the sauce generously over everything.
- Season with more salt and pepper, if needed.
- Garnish with red chilies and cilantro, then serve with lime wedges that must be squeezed over everything before eating!
Nutrition
Serving: 1gCalories: 1.36kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 39gFat: 132gSaturated Fat: 44gCholesterol: 195mgSodium: 360mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2g
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Hi, my name is Kate.
I love food. Real food. We eat all of the things that nursing school taught me were bad for you: butter, eggs, bacon, and raw milk.
I am a Nurse, a Mom, and a Real Food loving blogger. Just trying to save the world.