# Whole Duck Sous Vide



## JLaz

Hi guys,

I'm given the inevitable responsibility of cooking two whole ducks for the family feast this weekend (I know, I'm off for a weekend but I still have to cook).

Thought I could ask you if you've cooked whole ducks sous vide before. I'm planning to debone the duck, form it into Pepin style chicken ballotine (not yet sure what to stuff inside. Probably nothing). Sous vide the entire deboned bird, pat dry then deep fry ala-peking duck. Brush on some orange glaze then serve with Jus made from bones and trimmings.

Would you guys know what time/temp would be good for whole duck? (Pink all throughout but with tender legs) Is this even possible?

If not, I don't mind serving a medium-well duck or even a well-done duck if it really is needed to make the legs tender in time before the breasts are broken down too much.

PS: I'm keen on posting pictures as I go about this but I'm still trying to figure it out. I can't seem to find the Photos options in my settings.


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## daveb

I've not done a ballotine but have SV breast (129-131F for 2 hr) and have done SV confit of the legs (16+ F for 4 -8 hrs) The legs are so different than breasts I don't cook them together SV or more conventionally. And the confit makes a great app on good crackers or toasted bread rounds. 

I'll suggest you do the ballotine without the legs. The wings seldom have enough meat to fool with. The duck meat is flavorful enough to stand up to any seasoned stuffing. Celery pairs well. Perhaps a well seasoned and fruity rice stuffing? I would render fat off breast before stuffing and tying.

For the pics save them to the public area of a dropbox account. Right click pic then "copy public link" . From KKF post click on "insert image", select "from URL" paste the link, deselect the box that ***** things up and image will appear. Probably.


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## marc4pt0

Couldn't tell you time as I don't know how big the duck is, how thick you'll roll it and what you might be stuffing it with. If you decide to do a chicken mousseline stuffing I would cook it at 66C. If you decide to use a raw pork based filling, I'd go 59C. If duck is the only protein, cook at 56C.

I haven't sous vide a whole duck, but I have de-boned one, stuff it with a chicken mousseline containing fresh herbs, thinly sliced & caramelized mushrooms, and whatever kind of cured pork product I have on hand (thinly sliced as well) folded in. Stuff and truss the bird, shape it back into its whole bird appearance and tie it, then roast. Let rest for a bit and then slice to serve. It's one of my favorite things to make. The trick of course to remove 100% of the bones while not ripping/puncturing the bird, in which case the stuffing will just squeeze out.


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## spoiledbroth

You cannot sous vide a duck to eat the legs and the breasts... not without more than one circulator and some butchery??


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## ThEoRy

I'm more worried about the thickness of the fat and the fact that it will not be rendered crispy at all. Thick rubbery fat is not a good idea in my book. But what do I know?


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## DDPslice

Indeed I agree with theory about the fat being an issue, but if your going to deep fry for a little that would solve the fat problem? I did whole chicken roughly 5lbs whole 61*C/3hours (first time ever SV), put thyme and garlic under the skin and filled the bag with broth. I did this after reading the tutorial by Serious Eats on SV chicken breast and did a rough conversion of time/temp to get my numbers. The thyme was super potent, and the garlic was forward but not too strong and the skin was TERRIBLE holy christ it was so bad, definitely needed a torch/fry/something. So next time I am not going to cook the whole bird and separate the parts. And a quick fry after will help the skin but I worry it might cook out the juices from the SV (yes/no?) Tomorrow I will be deboning the chicken and doing it with rice and broth and I'll let you know how that goes.


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## daveb

There's enough fat on a domestic duck that it has to be rendered off slowly or the surface will seize and the fat will be a thick, unctuous layer. Best to render fat, bag and tag breast - paying attention to the part about not overseasoning, SV then sear and serve.


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## Mucho Bocho

Jlaz, 
Here's how I do it:
Brine for 24 hours in 5% salt, 3% sugar, 0.5% baking soda.
Rinse, and let dry in the fridge (an hour is fine, 12-24 hours is better).
Remove the back bone and lay flat on a sheet tray, place spatchcocked (butterflied) on a wire rack, and pour boiling water over the skin. This will help crisp the skin later on in the cooking process.
Set your oven to 225F/110C, and stick a probe thermometer with a lead into the leg and thigh region.
Slow roast until the lead thermometer registers 155F/68.5C.
Pull duck from oven, poke all over with a tooth pick, and the skin will burst, with fat coming to the surface. Brush fat all over the skin, and let duck rest for about 20-30 minutes, while heating the oven to 450F/230C.
Place du k back in the oven for about 15-20 mintues, or until the skin is a deep golden brown.
Let rest for about 10-15 minutes before carving. 

Duck, duck, goose...


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## JLaz

Thanks for all the help guys!

I decided not to push through with sous vide as the skin will for sure not go crispy afterwards.

Instead, I stuck it into a 90c oven until internal temp is at 57, cranked up the heat as high as I can go to crisp up the skin.

Internal temp ended at around 65 at which point the breast meat was already shades of white to brown, leg meat was done and decently tender. Served it with a mixture of black rice, dried apricots, dried cranberry, raisins, pan roasted shimeiji mushrooms, spring onion, dijon mustard, grand marnier, duck fat.

To say the least, it 2 5-pound ducks and a mountain of stuffing was gone in no time to a crowd of 10 people.

Quack!


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## gic

I'm only an amateur and while I love sous vide, doing a duck seems a disaster in the making, too much fat

I found the ideal way for me was steaming it with skin pricked to render the fat so the roasting that follows gives you a nice crispy skin works pretty well as described for example in the NY TImes: http://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/21/nyregion/food-no-more-hair-dryers-steam-duck-before-roasting.html


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## daveb

Anybody know the correct spelling of the french hash cut on the skin to promote rendering. Pronounce quattrage (?) My google-fu has failed me/


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## WildBoar

daveb said:


> Anybody know the correct spelling of the french hash cut on the skin to promote rendering. Pronounce quattrage (?) My google-fu has failed me/


Made my try out my googling skilz.

*Quadriller* (ca dree yay) (1) To mark squares or diamonds on meat, using a grill. (2) To mark squares using a knife.

That was poached from this pretty good listing of French cooking terms: http://www.hotelmule.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=1458


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## Lizzardborn

In a word - don't. For the time it will take to make the legs chewable, you will have dried the breast meat like hell. Sous vide is great for cooking uniform types of foods. You cannot cook tender and tough simultaneously.


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## spoiledbroth

I guess one thing to note is that I would prefer to never eat fully cooked duck breast if possible, so in that sense the legs will never be done unless you cut them off and cook longer. I know in some cultures/countries such a duck breast would be ok but for me I prefer mediumish.


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## JLaz

The well-done duck breasts were not so bad. I prefer medium-rare myself but in east asian culture, particularly in Peking style Duck, the duck is roasted whole and well-done throughout with incredibly crispy skin. In this traditional way, the duck breast is somewhat dry. But I've managed to find the duckbreast in the ballotine I cooked to be somewhat more succulent and the legs decently tender (not confit tender).


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