This slow roast duck is a real treat

About ten years ago I used to cook a lot of Chinese food. I wanted to perfect my Chinese cooking skills very similar to what I'm doing now with Indian food. Back then, however I didn't have this slow roast duck recipe. I wish I did.
Back then, I used to boil the ducks for about ten minutes and then hang them to dry out the skin for crispy Peking duck. This traditional method worked very well but it was a lot of work.
You might think that slow roast duck could get a bit dry but the opposite is true. We're talking very juicy meat with the crispiest skin. I love this recipe.
No, it's not good for you but sometimes you've just got to do what you've got to do.
Garam Masala Slow Roasted Duck

Ingredients
- 1 5 lb. duck
- 2 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325f (120c)
- Using a sharp knife, prick the skin all over about 40 times. Do this at an angle so as not to put holes in the meat.
- Wash the duck inside and out and then dry with kitchen towels.
- Rub the duck inside and out generously with salt and pepper.
- Then press the garam masala into the skin and rub the ginger and garlic pastes inside the cavity.
- Now place the duck breast side down in a roasting dish and place in in the oven.
- Every half hour take the duck out of the oven and make about forty more pricks in the skin to release more fat and pour out any fat in the dish. Then place it back in the oven.
- After two hours, turn the duck on its back and cook for a further 30 minutes.
- Now turn the oven up to it's highest setting and cook until the skin is crispy and nicely browned.
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest for about 20 minutes. The skin will get crispier as it rests.
- You could eat the slow roast duck on its own or wrap pieces of duck meat and skin in fresh chapattis with salad and a nice raita. That's my favourite way to eat it.
kay adeola says
Thank you for this,i love duck so may have to try this.
Suraj says
Tried this recipe for christmas. Was awesome. I however marinated the duck with the spices n salt for two days.
Dan Toombs says
Hi Suraj
I bet the extra marinating time really improved it. Good idea. Thank you.
Dan
Preeti says
Suraj, Great idea, marinating it longer.
Dan, I plan on making this for Thanksgiving. Please can you share your garam masala recipe? If I add a bit of tandoori masala, would that be a terrible idea?
It looks amazing, just mouthwatering! Thanks for the recipe!
Dan Toombs says
Thanks Preeti
Just type in garam masala in the search field on my site. My recipe is there. Tandoori masala will work great!
Thanks,
Dan
Colin says
Hi Dan, my duck is 3.5 lbs, what do you reckon total cooking time should be? Recipe sounds fabulous.
Dan Toombs says
Hi Colin
Sorry for the late reply. I would suggest at least 3.5 hours cooking time for a duck that size.
Thanks
Dan
Simon says
It is Christmas day 2020. I have just put my slow roast duck in the oven. Looking forward to eating it later
Dan Toombs says
Great to hear, I hope it tasted great.
Dan
Wendy Carol Sacrey says
Thank you for the simple, yet tasty recipe.
Dan Toombs says
Thanks very much, I am glad you enjoyed it.
Dan
jeremiah says
I have been using this receipt for years now but never commented. My family loves it so much that we never cook duck any other way! I also marinate for a few days and i use an open hearth rotisserie instead of an oven. Absolutely fantastic results! I often serve with chana masala, saag aloo and paratha
Dan Toombs says
Sounds great, perfect way to cook it.
Thanks very much.
Dan
Tanyeem Hussain says
Great flavours and so simple to knock together. Unfortunately, the recipe states cooking at 120°C, which is incorrect as duck would need a lot longer to render and cook at that temp - correct temp conversion from F is 160° C. I had it in for 3 hours before I realised it was a mistake so put it up to 160 for a further 1.5 hours. Otherwise great dish
Dan Toombs says
Thank you for noticing, I’ll update that.
Dan