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    Roast Duck Recipe

    Published: Oct 24, 2015 / 1,274 Comments

    123.8K shares
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    Recipe Print

    Ever wondered how to cook duck? It's much simpler than most people think. This Roast Duck has tender and juicy meat, crispy skin, and it's glazed with the honey-balsamic glaze to give the duck a beautiful roasted look.  Perfect holiday main dish recipe or something you can make any time for a special occasion.

    whole roasted duck with honey-balsamic glaze

    It's a great looking dish - perfect for any special occasion, and with the holidays coming up, this roast duck will look great on any Thanksgiving dinner menu, or as a Christmas and New Year's Eve dinner idea.  By the way, the honey-balsamic glaze in this recipe DOES NOT MAKE THE DUCK SWEET - I did not want a sweet duck.  It only gives the nice crispiness and beautiful look to the duck skin.  Your duck will have a very savory and juicy flavor from the garlic and lemon that you'll stuff inside the duck cavity. SO GOOD!   Cooking this duck does take some time and effort, which makes it a perfect holiday main dish or a special occasion dinner. 

    close-up of whole roast duck with honey-balsamic glaze

    This recipe has very detailed instructions (with step-by-step photos) on how to prepare and cook the duck - which could be very helpful if you've never cooked the duck before.  The duck will be roasted in the oven at 350 F for a total of 3 hours, and in addition to the beautiful duck, you'll end up with a lot of duck fat which I highly recommend you save and use for roasting vegetables, potatoes, and even cooking your breakfast eggs with it!

    whole roast duck with honey-balsamic glaze

    If you want a really beautiful and festive presentation for your holiday duck, use my recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash glazed with Cinnamon & Maple Syrup, with Pecans & Cranberries as garnish for the duck (this is what you see on the photo below).  You can garnish the duck and decorate the serving platter with these colorful veggies - they will have all the holiday colors and flavors and will look very pretty with duck:

    whole roast duck with honey-balsamic glaze

    How to prepare a whole duck for roasting

    Step-by-step photos and instructions start here (the complete recipe without photos is at the bottom of this post).  I recommend that you read and look through these photos and then scroll down to the recipe box itself for more condensed version of the recipe (without photos).

    If using frozen duck, make sure it's completely defrosted (defrosted in the refrigerator for a couple of days).   Remove the giblets from inside the duck. Rinse the duck, inside and outside, with cold water.  Pat dry with paper towels:

    raw whole duck

    Set the duck on the working surface.  Score the duck's skin on the breast side in a diamond pattern, making sure you only cut the skin, without reaching the meat.  The 2 deep cuts to the right of the photos is the example of how NOT TO SCORE, but it's still OK, as I did not cut through the meat but did reach the meat in those 2 cuts on the right:

    scoring the duck's skin

    The duck breast should be scored in a diamond pattern:

    score the duck breast in a diamond pattern

    This is what the duck should look like, breast side up, scored (see 2 deep scores on the right - try not to do that but it's OK as long as you don't cut into the meat itself):

    score the duck skin in a diamond pattern

    Poke the other fatty parts of the duck with the tip of the knife all over, to ensure fat release, especially in very fatty parts.  You don’t need to poke the duck legs as the skin is pretty thin there (except for where the duck legs connect to the duck body).

    poking the duck's skin with a knife

    Season the duck very generously with salt both inside the cavity of the duck and outside on the skin, legs, all over.

    generously salt the duck

    Put 5 chopped garlic cloves and lemon slices inside the duck cavity (these are just for flavor, not for eating - you will discard them after cooking).

    adding lemon slices and minced garlic into the duck cavity

    The duck will have flapping skin on both ends - fold that skin inwards, to hold the garlic and lemon inside.

    folding the duck's flapping skin on both ends inwards, to hold the minced garlic and lemon slices inside the duck's cavity

    Tie the duck legs with butcher’s twine or butcher's string (or, in my case, I just used folded aluminum foil to tie up the duck legs, because I forgot to get butcher's twine):

    Tie the duck legs with aluminum foil

    Place the bird breast side up on a large roasting pan with a rack (roasting pan should have a roasting rack to lift the duck from the bottom of the pan and allow the fat to drip below the duck).

    duck placed on a large roasting pan

    How to roast a duck in the oven

    You will be roasting the duck for a total of 3 hours at 350 F.  These 3 hours of roasting are divided into 4 distinctive time chunks (1-hour breast side up + 40 minutes breast side down + 40 minutes breast side up brushed with balsamic-lemon mixture + 40 minutes breast side up brushed with the honey-balsamic mixture).

    1. Roast the duck for 1 hour at 350 F, breast side up, then remove the duck from the oven, it should look like this after the first 1 hour of roasting:

    roasted duck scored breast side up in a roasting pan

    close-up of roasted duck scored breast side up in a roasting pan

    2.  Then, flip the duck breast side down, and roast for 40 minutes at 350 F breast side down.  The duck should look like this - it's breast side down on this picture:

    roasted duck with the breast side down in a large roasting pan

    3.  In a small bowl, combine ½ cup of balsamic vinegar with the freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon.  Set the duck breast side up again on the roasting rack in the roasting pan.  Brush all of the duck with the balsamic mixture (especially the scored duck breast) and cook the duck breast side up for another 40 minutes at 350 F, brushing every 10 minutes with the mixture.

    4.  Now, in a separate small bowl, combine ¼ cup honey and 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar lemon mixture that you will have leftover from the previous step.  Brush the breast side of the duck with this honey-balsamic mixture, and roast the duck breast side up for another 40 minutes, brushing the duck breast side every 10 minutes with honey balsamic mixture. You can even carefully broil the duck for the last 10-15 minutes if you like (do it carefully, checking the duck regularly to make sure it doesn't char too much).

    The duck will really start to brown. In the end, the duck should be nicely browned with crispy skin like that (By now you would've cooked the duck for 3 hours at 350 F. ):

    close-up of roasted duck

    Untie the legs:

    Whole roasted duck with honey-balsamic glaze

    If you want a really beautiful and festive presentation for your holiday duck, use my recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash glazed with Cinnamon & Maple Syrup, with Pecans & Cranberries.

    You can garnish the duck and decorate the serving platter with these colorful veggies - they will have all the holiday colors and flavors and will look very pretty with duck:

    Roast duck with honey-balsamic glaze

    Roast duck with honey-balsamic glaze

    Thanksgiving side dishes

    • Garlic and Bacon Green Beans - crispy and crunchy green beans sautéed with garlic and bacon in olive oil and butter on stove top.
    • Creamy and Crunchy Salad with Peas, Bacon, and Pecans - easy and beautiful side dish for Thanksgiving!
    • Dijon Mustard Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Apples, and Gorgonzola cheese - Brussels sprouts smothered in heavy cream and mustard with bacon, apples, Gorgonzola cheese and nutmeg.  Cooked on stove top.
    4.84 from 1173 votes

    Roast Duck Recipe

    Detailed recipe with step-by-step photos on how to roast a whole duck in the oven.  This Roast Duck has juicy meat, crispy skin, and it's glazed with the honey-balsamic glaze to give the duck a beautiful roasted look.  Perfect main dish for any special occasion, especially holidays, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve! 
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 mins
    Cook Time 3 hrs
    Total Time 3 hrs 20 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American
    Servings 6 people
    Calories per serving 2862 kcal
    Author: Julia

    Ingredients

    Roast Duck

    • 6 lb whole Pekin duck
    • salt
    • 5 garlic cloves chopped
    • 1 lemon small or medium, chopped

    Glaze

    • ½ cup balsamic vinegar
    • 1 lemon , freshly squeezed juice
    • ¼ cup honey

    Instructions 

    • If you purchased frozen duck, make sure to defrost the frozen duck in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Once the duck is completely defrosted (in the refrigerator), take the duck out of the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to cooking to bring it more or less to room temperature.
    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. You will be roasting the duck for a total of 3 hours (3 hours will be divided into 4 time chunks where you will be flipping the duck, brushing it with glaze, etc. - see the instructions below).

    Prepare the duck

    • Remove the giblets from inside the duck. Rinse the duck, inside and outside, with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels.
    • Set the duck on the working surface. Score the duck's skin on the breast in a diamond pattern, making sure you only cut the skin, without reaching the meat. Poke the other fatty parts of the duck with the tip of the knife all over, to ensure fat release, especially in very fatty parts. You don’t need to poke the duck legs as the skin is pretty thin there (except for where the duck legs connect to the duck body). Season the duck very generously with salt both inside the cavity of the duck and outside on the skin, legs, all over. Place the duck breast side up.
    • Put 5 chopped garlic cloves and lemon slices inside the duck cavity (these are just for flavor, not for eating - you will discard them after cooking). The duck will have flapping skin on both ends - fold that skin inwards, to hold the garlic and lemon inside. Tie up the duck legs with butcher's twine.

    Roast the duck for 3 hours

    • Place the bird breast side up on a large roasting pan with a rack (roasting pan should have a roasting rack to lift the duck from the bottom of the pan and allow the fat to drip below the duck). Roast the duck, breast side up, for 1 hour at 350 F.
    • After 1 hour of roasting, flip the duck on its breast and roast it breast side down (roast the other side) for 40 minutes, at 350 F.
    • Remove the roasting pan with the duck from the oven (you now have roasted the duck for 1 hour + 40 minutes), carefully remove the duck to a platter (making sure the lemons and garlic from the cavity do not fall out - keep the skin on both ends of the duck folded), and carefully pour off all the duck fat juices from the roasting pan into a large heat-proof bowl or container.
    • Flip the duck breast side up again on a rack in a roasting pan (the pan will have no fat juices now). In a small bowl, combine ½ cup of balsamic vinegar with the freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon. Brush all of the duck with the balsamic mixture (especially the scored duck breast) and cook the duck breast side up for another 40 minutes at 350 F, brushing every 10 minutes with the mixture.
    • Now, in a separate small bowl, combine ¼ cup honey and 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar lemon mixture that you will have left over from the previous step. Brush the breast side of the duck with this honey-balsamic mixture, and roast for another 40 minutes, brushing the duck breast side every 10 minutes with honey balsamic mixture. You can even carefully broil the duck for the last 10-15 minutes if you like (do it carefully, checking the duck regularly to make sure it doesn't char too much).
    • After the duck is cooked, remove it from the oven, let duck stand for 15 minutes. Then, carefully remove and discard the lemon from the cavity (being careful not to get burned). Carve the duck and serve!
    • TOTAL COOKING TIME: The duck should be roasted for a total of 3 hours at 350 F. These 3 hours of roasting are divided into 4 distinctive time chunks (1 hour breast side up + 40 minutes breast side down + 40 minutes breast side up brushed with balsamic-lemon mixture + 40 minutes breast side up brushed with honey-balsamic mixture).

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Information
    Roast Duck Recipe
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    2862
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    267
    g
    411
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    89
    g
    556
    %
    Cholesterol
     
    517
    mg
    172
    %
    Sodium
     
    438
    mg
    19
    %
    Potassium
     
    1558
    mg
    45
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    29
    g
    10
    %
    Fiber
     
    1
    g
    4
    %
    Sugar
     
    23
    g
    26
    %
    Protein
     
    79
    g
    158
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    1145
    IU
    23
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    48.8
    mg
    59
    %
    Calcium
     
    104
    mg
    10
    %
    Iron
     
    17
    mg
    94
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

    Tried this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment and provide a Star Rating below - I love your feedback and try to respond to every comment!

    Need a beautiful side dish to go with your roast duck?

    Make this delicious Thanksgiving Side Dish with Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Cinnamon Butternut Squash, Pecans, and Cranberries:

    Ideas for Thanksgiving Salads

    • Winter Fruit Salad with Maple Lime Dressing - the ingredient list includes red apples, pears, clementine oranges (or mandarin oranges), kiwi fruit, dried cranberries, and pomegranate seeds.
    • Butternut Squash and Spinach Salad with Pecans, Cranberries, Pomegranate - perfect healthy Thanksgiving salad with Poppy Seed Honey-Lime Dressing.
    • Honey Mustard Brussels Sprouts Salad with Cranberries and Pecans - this holiday salad  is all about crisp, shredded Brussels sprouts tossed with slightly sweet honey mustard vinaigrette, dried cranberries and chopped pecans.
    • Warm Quinoa and Brussels Sprout Salad  in Honey Mustard Vinaigrette - this salad is loaded with pecans and cranberries. It is a nutrient-packed salad that is high in fiber and antioxidant properties. A perfect addition to a healthy menu!
    « Trout with Garlic Lemon Butter Herb Sauce
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    Please share your comment and Star Rating in the comments section below.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Rick

      January 29, 2023 at 4:29 pm

      My duck after three hours had not begun to brown. Had to jump temp to 400. Hoping it wasn’t a loss cause. Not a do over

      Reply
    2. BottaBing

      January 21, 2023 at 9:10 pm

      Delicious! I should t have broiled it for more than 5 min. I burnt the top but it’s still very good moist and full of flavor. Thank you

      Reply
      • Julia

        January 22, 2023 at 2:44 pm

        So glad the recipe turned out well! 🙂 Thank you for this positive feedback!

        Reply
      • Alex

        March 09, 2023 at 1:23 pm

        Duck came out very very cheesy, but did have good flavor.

        Reply
        • Julia

          March 18, 2023 at 6:16 pm

          Alex, I am glad you liked the flavor of the duck!

          Reply
    3. Jess Chua

      January 17, 2023 at 7:56 pm

      I roasted the duck for my family and friends on 2 separate sitting during Christmas and everyone loved it! It was easy to follow even for first-timer like me. Thank you very much for sharing this tasty recipe!

      Reply
      • Julia

        January 22, 2023 at 3:29 pm

        Jess, I am so happy to hear the duck turned out well! 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to share this wonderful feedback and the 5-star review! 🙂

        Reply
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    Hi, I'm Julia! Welcome to my recipe blog where I share easy-to-make weeknight dinners and other recipes using simple ingredients!

    I make and test all of the recipes presented on this site.

    I also do all of the writing and the original food photography (and sometimes travel) for JuliasAlbum.com. My recipes are everyday, familiar foods, cooked from scratch. I hope you enjoy them and let me know your feedback in the comments!

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