Duck Stock

Make duck stock a part of your diet. It is great for any kind of soup or sauces and it can be used in combination with poultry stock. Lets start off with the following ingredients.

1 duck,
1 bunch of celery stalks, chopped
12 carrots, chopped
1 spanish onion, chopped
3 bay leaves
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp of red pepper corns
5 springs of thyme or 1 tsp of thyme
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 sprinkle of juniper berry(optional)

Separate the legs, wings, breast and neck of the duck. Keep the skin. Wash the pieces in cold water and then place in a pot of cold water. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a quick boil then reduce to a simmer for the duration of cooking time. The water should just cover the duck and vegetables by about 1 inch. Not necessary to stir. You can keep this on the stove for the better part of the day covered. Cooking time is anywhere from 3 to 5 hours. The key here is to extract as much flavor as you can from the duck and the vegetables. It will take a longer for the duck to give up it's flavors. When cooking time is complete let it rest briefly as it will be to hot too handle. However separate the stock from the duck meat and vegetables while still hot. Take the stock that is in a separate containor and set it in cold water to cool it down. When it is cool place in small containors and store. Some you may use right away for your favorite soup while the remaining stock can be frozen for another time use.

Just as a note as the stock cools it will leave a thick layer of duck fat on the surface. This can be skimmed off or if it cools enough it can be taken of in large chunks. However i find cooking with duck fat is fantastic. As a rule though, like i always say everything in moderation. Also the best stock is made from wild duck. We will explore very soon the many sauces that can be made with duck stock.