ROASTED DUCK WITH POTATO DUMPLINGS AND RED CABBAGE
Best roasted duck you will ever eat. Simple oven roasted duck, comes always crispy and tender. Potato dumplings are an excellent side dish as well as red cabbage.
Clean the duck under running water and remove the insides (livers, stomach, neck), if included in your duck.
Preheat oven on 177C/350F, the lowest rack.
Season the duck with salt, caraway seeds, red paprika, inside out.
Place the duck in a big roasting pan.
Cover with the lid and bake for 1 hour & 30 minutes. Take out from the oven and spoon the duck with the fat getting from the duck. If you have a lot of fat, you can take it away during the cooking and preserve it in a jar. It makes an excellent substitute for butter or oil, try roasted potatoes in duck’s fat.
Cover again the duck and bake for another 30 minutes. After an additional 30 minutes, remove the lid and cook uncovered for another 15- 30 minutes or until the skin is golden brown and crispy.
Transfer duck to a cutting board and let stand 15 minutes before carving. Cut the duck on 4 pieces. 2 breasts and 2 legs. Serve with cabbage and potato dumplings. Use the remaining fat to drizzle dumplings.
Red Cabbage
Wash cabbage and remove first layer before cutting.
Cut in half and remove hard stem on the bottom and cut in very thin slices. You may use a mandolin.
In a large casserole or in deep skillet, start to cook sliced bacon and onion. Bacon will release enough fat, so no additional fat is needed.
Add the red cabbage inside the caserrole, season with salt, pepper and caraway seeds.
Stir constantly and add 1/2 cup of water, stir again and let simmer covered for 20 minutes or until soft.
Once cabbage is soft, add sugar and duck’t fat, stir and serve with duck and potato dumplings.
Potato dumplings
In a large casserole, boil potatoes in their own skin, for 40-45 minutes or until soft.
Place potatoes in large bowl and let cool down.
Remove the skin and grate the potatoes with a grater.
Add 5 Tbs of vegetable oil and semolina flour and with a wooden spoon or with your hands make a dough. (You may also use stand mixer with paddle attachment.)
Make 2 small loafs and boil in water for 20 minutes.
Remove from boiling water, let cool and cut on small pieces with sharp knife or use regular sawing thread.
Notes
The cooking time may vary, depending on the weight of your bird. For every additional 1 kg (2 pounds) of bird add 30 minutes of cooking.