Pineapple Ginger Hoisin Duck

I had been gifted two Crowns of duck recently and pondered what to do.  There was a reason they didn’t just breast them, and a reason they removed the wings and legs.   They were turning their ducks into something beautiful, and far be it from me to mess with that idea!

I really enjoy duck when it is cooked right.  Medium Rare, or rare is the best.  Anything past that and I detect a taste someone akin to liver and I really don’t enjoy that much.   My friend that gave me the ducks assured me that he has a friend that threw the crowns into the oven much the same way I make my prime rib.  And at the end dump in an entire bottle of Sherry for a 5 minute cook.  I opted out on the Sherry and made a really nice glaze and the duck turned out excellent.

Recipe by Margie Nelson (Wyld Gourmet)

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Ingredients:

• One or two crown of duck

• ½ cup Bragg’s Amino Acids or soy sauce
• One small can of pineapple tid-bits with juice
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp minced garlic

• 2 tsp minced ginger
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp of molasses or BBQ sauce
• 3 tsp sweet chili sauce
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes

• 1 tsp Chinese five spice blend
• ½ tsp white pepper
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• One whole pineapple
• Bunch of green onions

Method

Wash the crown of duck thoroughly and remove all bits of feathers and fuzz from the skin and fat.  Place breast side up and score the skin and fat with sharp knife.

Mix all the ingredients together up to the whole pineapple.  Blend all these ingredients into a lovely sauce, give it a taste and adjust to your liking.    

Cut your pineapple into slices with outside rind attached and quarter the slices.  Clean your bunch of green onions up.

Arrange your crown of duck with the breast side up and place the quartered slices of pineapple in the bottom of the pan with the whole green onions scattered in also.

Brush the duck and pineapples liberally with the sauce and place into a 500F oven for 10 minutes.  Then brush with breasts with the sauce again and leave in the oven for another 10 minutes.  At the end of the 20 minutes, turn off the oven, baste again and let it rest in the slowly cooling oven for another 5-10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and slice the breast into slices and enjoy with a piece of pineapple and green onion from the pan.    

You can cut the duck and pineapple into thick chunks, add more sauce and serve over rise with the green onion garnish.  

This is worth the effort of plucking those ducks.  Duck fat is a beautiful thing!

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