Orange Spiced Duck

My first duck came out perfect! I decided to do something a little different for dinner the day after Christmas. Well worth the $32 for the duck, which I found at Fred Meyer. My friend Ted suggested Freddy's because the same brand of duck is sold at C&J but costs more.

The only notes I have on the recipe below are that the cooking down of the sauce took longer than 10 minutes, which is fine. It eventually became syrupy. Also, the thermometer was reading over 165 pretty early on, so I pulled it about 15 minutes early. However, the duck was not overcooked at all and was, in fact, a bit on the rare side. So I would stick to the 2.5 hours called for next time, but still baste on both sides like I did this time.

My boyfriend absolutely loved this dish, as he is a dark meat guy. He especially loved the glaze. Hardly any meat leftover after dinner for two!

FOR THE DUCK

• 1 5- to 6-pound Pekin (Long Island)duck
• 3 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon 5-spice powder, preferably homemade (see note)
• 1 large orange, zested and cut into 6 wedges
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon grated garlic

FOR THE GLAZE

• 2 cups orange juice
• 1 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 2-inch piece of ginger, thickly sliced
• 3 star anise

PREPARATION

1. Rinse duck and pat dry. Remove neck and giblets and save for another purpose. Remove excess fat from cavity and tail area and trim off a bit of flappy neck skin. Prick duck skin all over with tip of sharp paring knife, making sure not to penetrate meat.
2. Mix together salt and 5-spice powder. Season interior of duck with 1 tablespoon salt mixture; use remainder to generously season exterior (you may have a little left over). Combine orange zest with grated ginger and garlic, then smear mixture inside cavity. Place orange wedges in cavity. Tie legs together. Secure neck flap with wooden skewer or toothpicks. Place duck on rack in roasting pan breast-side-up and refrigerate overnight, uncovered.
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, bring duck to room temperature and make the glaze: Bring orange juice, honey, sugar and soy sauce to a simmer. Add sliced ginger and star anise, then reduce mixture until you have a medium-thick syrup, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Roast duck for 2 hours, carefully pouring off fat and turning duck over every 30 minutes. Paint with glaze and roast another 30 minutes (2 1/2 hours in all). Tent with foil if glaze begins to get too dark. Duck is done when temperature at thickest part of leg reads 165 degrees. Paint duck once more, keep warm and let rest 20 minutes. 
   

Saffron Roast Chicken

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Roast-Chicken-with-Saffron-and-Lemons

My first saffron chicken was delicious! The only issue I had with this recipe is that it took much longer than an hour too get to 165. Check it every 5-10 minutes until it's done. I think mine took about 1:25. So flavorful and the color is gorgeous!

I served this with a kale slaw salad and hazelnut brussel sprouts.

Smoked Chicken

Okay, I didn't smoke the chicken myself, so I can't help you there. However, my boyfriend did a favor for a friend who thanked him by giving him several chickens he had smoked himself in his garage. So I've now had several chances to experiment with how to reheat and serve this deliciously sweet meat. So far, this is my favorite method:

Pour two tiny cans of pineapple juice in the bottom of a roasting pan. Place a rack in the pan and simply place the smoked chicken on the rack. Cover and cook at 300 for one hour. Remove the cover and cook another 20 minutes. Serve this tender, juicy chicken with just about anything! Use leftovers for delicious sandwiches for lunch.

Italian Braised Chicken with Fennel & Beans

This is one of my favorite chicken recipes, and I've been making it fairly regularly since discovering it a couple of years ago. It's diet-friendly, yet filling and delicious! I modified the original recipe (found in The Skinny Slow Cooker) to serve it as a stew. It makes a great leftover for lunch!

Italian Braised Chicken with Fennel and Cannellini

    

Italian Braised Chicken with Fennel and Cannellini

Ingredients

2

pounds chicken drumsticks and/or thighs, skin removed

3/4

teaspoon salt

1/4

teaspoon ground black pepper

1

15 ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1

bulb fennel, cored and cut into thin wedges

1

medium yellow sweet pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces

1

medium onion, cut into thin wedges

3

cloves garlic, minced

1

teaspoon snipped fresh rosemary

1

teaspoon snipped fresh oregano

1/4

teaspoon crushed red pepper

1

14 1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes

1/2

cup dry white wine or reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/4

cup tomato paste

1/4

cup shaved Parmesan cheese

1

tablespoon snipped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

Directions

1. Sprinkle chicken pieces with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper. Place chicken in a 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker. Top with cannellini beans, fennel, sweet pepper, onion, garlic, rosemary, oregano, and crushed red pepper. In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, white wine, tomato paste, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; pour over mixture in cooker.
2. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours or on high-heat setting for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The chicken will be so tender it will have mostly fallen off the bones. So here's where I just remove the bones and cartilage and stir it up. Voila, now it's stew!
3. Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Peking Roast Chicken

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/8445-roasted-peking-chicken

For my first attempt at Peking Chicken (because why take a chance on a duck the first time at bat?) I chose a simple recipe from the New York Times' recipes site. The result was a juicy, tender chicken, but I just don't think it qualifies as Peking Chicken if you don't have the sauce to go with it. Next time I'll choose a more complex recipe that also includes that gooey, delicious sauce to pour over it after it's carved.

Why am I blogging about chicken?

As winter approaches and my pending trip to Hawaii grows closer, I'll be making quite a lot of diet-friendly chicken dishes, including various whole roasted chicken recipes. So this is really just a way to keep track of them. Feel free to post your favorite chicken recipes, comments, etc.

Let's get our chicken on!