Steaming Then Roasting Duck

Our answer

Nigella's Duck With Orange, Soy And Ginger (from AT MY TABLE) involves steam roasting the duck over a pan of water, chilling it and then roasting it in a hot oven to give a crisp skin. The two-stage cooking process helps to render the fat from the duck whilst giving moist meat and crisp, bronzed skin.

It should be possible to go straight from the steam roasting stage to the final roasting stage, but bear in mind that the skin may not be as crisp as if the duck is allowed to cool between the two stages. When the duck cools and is stored in the fridge the skin dries out (particularly if you can leave the ducks uncovered) and this helps to give the "quackling" during the second roasting. Also you don't have the opportunity to extract any extra cold fat from under the skin before the second roasting, which can mean the fat doesn't render out quite as effectively. The duck may not need quite as long in the oven for the second roasting, so check it after 45 minutes and remove it if the skin is already bronzed. Please note also that we have not tried this recipe without the chilling stage, so we are unable to guarantee the results.