I don’t often cook duck at home. Not because I don’t like duck, actually, I love duck. Growing up, duck graced our dinner table often. How, you might ask, is that possible? The beauty of growing up in Chinatown is the many delis and restaurants that sell prepared foods. Dinner at our house was usually homemade soup, steamed fish, stir-fried veggies, and either roast duck, soy sauce chicken, or crispy-skinned pork from one of our favorite Chinese delis. (Shout out to Ping Yuen Market and Deli).
Reality Hits
Then I moved to the South Bay, and Asian delis were not quite as common. If I wanted duck, I was going to have to make it. But, let’s get real, I’m not making Peking Duck or Crispy Skinned Duck-it’s difficult and way too much work. Chinese Roasted Duck is an art form. So we found a simple, delicious recipe for Honey Balsamic Roasted Duck Legs that cured any duck craving until we could get to our favorite deli in Chinatown.
The recipe comes from a blog I found years ago, Souperior, which is now inactive. Thankfully, I saved it.
These days, there are plenty of Asian stores nearby, about a 10-15 minute drive away. So much easier to find a Roast Duck or any number of deli items I had as a kid. Despite this, we still make this recipe when we have a hankering for duck.
Marinate the duck legs in a simple mix of honey and balsamic vinegar infused with scallions and garlic, then roast for about 90 minutes, basting occasionally. The result is beautiful, mahogany-colored, delicious duck. How easy is that?
Serve with a nice salad and a baguette, or make duck wraps with Mandarin pancakes (found in Asian grocery stores). In a pinch, use the thinnest flour tortillas you can find in place of Mandarin Pancakes. Serve the wraps with julienned scallions, cilantro, and hoisin sauce. A riff on Peking Duck.
Enjoy!
Part of a casual meal with friends, which included a Blueberry Hazelnut Spinach Salad, Korean BBQ Pork Belly, and a variety of banchan!
Honey-balsamic Roasted Duck Legs
Ingredients
Protein:
- 4 duck legs
Marinade:
- 3 spring onions finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 3 tbsp. honey
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- Pinch of sea salt & a few peppercorns (if you have a mixture of pink & black peppercorns is elevated, but just ordinary black will do)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine marinade ingredients and whisk to blend.
- Pour half of the marinade into the shallow dish (just big enough to hold all the duck legs in a single layer). Add the duck, moving it around the dish so the bottom sides get coated. Then pour the remaining marinade over the duck legs, making sure the top is completely coated. Cover with plastic wrap and pop in the fridge to steep for up to 3 hours. Marinate at least 30 minutes.
- In a pestle and mortar, bash together the salt and pepper to a fine powder and set aside. You will be using it at the end of roasting.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Shake the duck from the marinade (but save it!) and put them on a rack over a baking dish, skin-side up, and pour a few inches of water into the dish.
- This is important as the duck will drip lots of fat and you don't want it swimming in it. The marinade will drip too, and it will BURN. You will never ever get your dish clean again if you don't have the water there. Put the duck in the oven for 1 1/2 hours.
- Periodically brush a little of the reserved marinade over the duck. (Every 30 minutes or so)
- Halfway through the cooking time, turn the legs over so that the cut side can be basted as well.
- When there is only 10 mins cooking time left turn the legs again skin-side up, use up the last of the marinade (if there is any) and sprinkle the salt/pepper mix all over the skin and return to the oven.
- Serves 4 or 2-3 if you have BIG eaters. Serve with a nice salad and bread or shred the meat and skin and serve with Mandarin Pancakes for a duck wrap. Accompaniments include scallions, cilantro and Hoisin Sauce.