How to Roast a Duck (12 Steps)

Slow roasting a duck in a low oven makes for a crispy skin with less fat and meat that is moist and juicy. Serves 2 to 4.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F, and place a rack in the center of the oven.
Remove the neck and giblets from the duck.
Rinse, and pat dry duck.
Remove large deposits of fat from the openings of the body and neck cavities.
Rub the body cavity and sprinkle the skin of the duck with salt.
Pierce the skin of the duck all over in 20 to 30 places with a sharp metal skewer. Hold the skewer almost parallel to the duck while piercing it to avoid puncturing the duck meat. You only want to pierce the skin.
Place the duck breast-side down on a rack in a roasting pan.
Roast duck for 3 hours, pricking the skin every so often a few times with the skewer.
Drain the fat out of the roasting pan after the 3 hours, and then turn the duck breast-side up.
Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and roast for 45 minutes more.
Remove the duck to a platter, and let stand 10 minutes.
Serve.