Should I Cover The Roast Duck Legs When They Go In The Oven?

Our answer

Nigella's Roast Duck Legs With Potatoes from KITCHEN) roasts cubes of potato in the fat that is rendered from the duck as it cooks. The duck legs are initially seared and then roasted in a pan with the potatoes around them.

There is no need to cover the pan when it goes into the oven and neither is it desirable to cover the pan. The duck legs contain a lot of fat, which helps to keep the meat moist as it cooks. If the pan was covered then the skin on the duck legs would not crisp up properly and turn into delicious "quackling". In addition, if the pan were covered then the potatoes would stew rather than roast in the duck fat and would not become golden and crunchy on top. So there is no need to worry about a long cooking time, the pan does not need covering.