Slow-Roasted Duck with Sweet + Sour Sauce

This slow-roasted duck is an easy, low-effort whole duck recipe. The bird is slow-cooked for about four hours until tender, and served with an easy homemade sweet and sour sauce.

Earlier this year, I bought some whole ducks at the grocery store.

I'll admit that I bought whole ducks fully intending to make one of the duck recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

However, after rereading the (somewhat complicated) recipes, I got a little overwhelmed.

Sorry, Julia! I'm sure if you could walk me through it in person it would turn out perfectly, but for now I'll save those recipes for another day.

Instead, I opted for an easier, more fool-proof duck-cooking technique — slow-roasted duck.

This slow-roasted duck is rubbed with warming spices, cooked until the meat is tender and the skin is crispy, and served with a quick and easy sweet and sour sauce.

Can I Use Wild Duck (Game Meat)?

Yes, you can! Just bear in mind that a wild duck will likely be much smaller and will cook more quickly than one you would buy.

If you're going to use wild duck, I would definitely recommend using a leave-in digital thermometer (with an alarm, if possible) to avoid over-cooking!

How Long Does This Slow-Roasted Duck Take to Cook?

It depends.

If you're using a convection oven setting, it will take about 2-½ to 3-½ hours, depending on the size of the duck.

For a standard oven, it will take around 4 to 6 hours, again depending on the size of the duck.

This is not a fast recipe, but it is relatively hands-off.

For a faster recipe, my go-to is this seared duck with mustard sauce.

Should I Use a Convection Oven or Standard Oven?

This is totally a personal preference, and either will work perfectly.

If your oven has a convection oven setting, that option will be fastest and will yield the crispiest duck skin.

Do I Need Special Equipment for this Slow-Roasted Duck?

You'll want a sturdy knife to trim the duck wings (before cooking) and carve the duck (after cooking). I recommend an 8-inch chef's knife or a carving knife.

A roasting pan with a rack will help raise the bird out of the pan, but if you don't have one, a 12" cast-iron skillet with a cast-iron meat trivet will work perfectly.

I used a cast-iron skillet and a cast-iron meat trivet in the photos.

One other thing you might want is a leave-in digital thermometer. It's not totally necessary, but it will allow you to ignore the duck for long periods of time without worrying that it's over-cooking.

I use this OXO leave-in thermometer and love that it beeps at me when my food is almost done cooking.

A regular digital thermometer, or an upgraded high-end one like this OXO instant-read digital thermometer, are also great options. You'll just need to remember to check the temperature periodically.

How to Get the Crispiest Duck Skin

Duck is known for both its oily, juicy meat and (when roasted) its crispy skin. But getting the skin crispy isn't always easy.

Why not?

The crispy skin relies, in part, on getting the duck skin dry before cooking.

If it's an option, you can buy an air-dried duck. These are somewhat hard to find where I live.

For those of us buying duck at the grocery store, it's very common to see duck that is already wet-brined. That means the duck has already been brined in a solution of salt and water.

The photo below shows an example of what wet-brined duck packaging looks like. Notice the packaging area that reads "seasoned with approximately 12% of a solution of water and sea salt."

When a duck has been wet-brined, it's more difficult to get the skin dry. And therefore, more difficult to get the skin crispy.

So is there any point in buying a wet-brined duck?

Yes, absolutely!

How to Dry Duck Skin in the Fridge

An easy way to dry out the duck skin before slow-roasting (even if the duck has been pre-brined) is to chill the duck unwrapped in the fridge overnight.

Simply place the duck in a casserole dish and slide it into the fridge overnight.

Preparing the Duck To Be Slow-Roasted

Before cooking the duck, trim off the bottom half of the wings. This section is almost all bone.

Next, use a paring knife to make tiny holes in the duck skin along the drumsticks and the meaty side of the duck.

Hold the knife at an angle, cutting through the skin but not the fat underneath.

Why make holes in the duck skin?

There's a thick layer of fat underneath the skin. As the duck cooks, it will render and drip through the holes into the pan below.

Season the Whole Duck

Next, salt the duck (both the outside and inside the cavity).

Rub garam masala onto the outside of the duck.

Next, stuff orange wedges into the duck cavity.

If it seems like they won't fit, flip your duck around and try the other side. The cavity opening on the neck side is a lot smaller than the opening on the tail side.

Truss the Duck (or Not)

There are complicated ways to truss a bird, and (quite honestly) I haven't mastered them.

Here's what you need to do for this recipe: either tie the legs together with twine (to hold the cavity closed), or skip that altogether and just pin the cavity closed with a toothpick. Either option will work; the goal is simply to keep hot air from going into the duck cavity.

Does the Duck Really Need to be Cooked Meaty-Side Up?

Yes (and no).

Place the duck meaty-side up (spine-side down) on a roasting pan rack (or on a meat trivet in a cast iron pan).

Why does it matter how you place the duck in the pan?

Since you'll be cutting meat from primarily one side of the duck, placing it meat-side down will mean the wrong side of the duck will get crispy.

That said, I've made this mistake! We still happily ate the tender duck meat, but the skin wasn't crispy.

So if you accidentally cook your duck upside down, no worries! You'll know better for next time.

Slow-Roasted Duck

Slide the duck into the oven. Cook at 250 degrees Fahrenheit until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once per hour (for a standard oven) or once every 30 minutes (for a convection oven), pull the duck out of the oven and poke holes in the skin again. This will help the fat escape from below the skin.

When the bird reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit, crank the heat up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit (or as high as your oven will go) to help crisp up the skin.

Cook about 15 more minutes, or until the bird reaches 155 degrees (medium-well) or 165 degrees (well done).

Rest the Duck

Once the bird comes to temperature, pull it out of the oven.

Transfer the bird to a cutting board. I use poultry lifters to move the bird easily.

Let the duck rest for at least 15 minutes (but 30 minutes is better).

Make the Sauce

While the duck rests, pour the duck fat out of the pan into a glass jar. There will be quite a bit of fat!

You'll use a little bit of the duck fat in the sauce, but make sure to save the rest for another use. For example, toss these crispy oven fries in duck fat before baking, toss these roasted potatoes in duck fat before cooking, or use duck fat instead of butter when making egg in a hole.

Add one tablespoon of the duck fat along with the remaining sauce ingredients to a saucepan. Heat the sauce on the stovetop until it comes to a simmer, and then continue simmering for a few minutes.

Turn off the heat and set the sauce aside until you're ready to serve.

Once the duck has rested, it's almost ready to serve!

Carve the duck, or gently tear apart the duck meat. Tearing the meat will be easier if you've used a standard oven setting instead of a convection oven, because the meat will almost be falling off the bone.

Serve this slow-roasted duck along with the sweet and sour sauce and your favorite sides. I like to pair it with an easy vegetable side, such as this raw brussels sprout salad or this spinach mandarin orange salad.