Crispy Duck with Thai Red Curry Sauce

Duck is a real favorite at my house. Rich succulent meat, crispy skin and incredibly tasty fat (great for cooking almost anything in) is an irresistible steak-like combination. It is the closest poultry gets to tasting like beef.

It is much more complicated than steak to prepare, however--especially when cooked whole. When I cook duck at home I usually prepare just the breast meat, on low heat, skin-side down in a saute pan, slowly rendering the fat to achieve that much-sought-after crispy skin. My successes with duck breast evidently caused me to be much too confident in my ability to cook a whole bird.

This point became all too clear when I attempted to roast a whole duck last month. Although the end product was a beautifully browned bird, with crispy lacquered skin....it was a total disaster in the taste department...a real let-down--especially because it looked so appetizing.

I tried to redeem myself last weekend by reproducing one of my hubby's favorite dishes - crispy duck in Thai red curry sauce.

What I didn't realize the last time I attempted a whole duck was how long it takes to cook a whole bird. Unlike chicken, duck can stand up to hours of cooking. Total cooking time for this recipe was about 4 hours.

I began by liberally coating a 5-lb duck--inside and out--with a store-bought Thai red curry paste. I let the duck marinate uncovered in the refrigerator overnight. Exposing the duck helps to dry out the skin and facilitates the skin-crisping process when the duck is cooked. Then, using the sharp end of a knife I pierced the skin and fat layers of the entire duck to allow the fat to render, taking care not to penetrate the meat. I then steamed the duck for 3 1/2 hours. Now, I don't have a steamer that is large enough to hold a duck so I improvised by putting it in a colander, which I then placed in a large pot that contained about 3 cups of water. To this cooking liquid I added a 2-inch-long stalk of ginger, a bunch of scallions, half of a lime and half of a head of garlic. You know the duck is done when the leg joints feel loose and are easy to move back and forth.

After steaming, I let the duck rest/cool until it was easy to handle. I then cut the bird into quarters (My deep-fryer isn't big enough to accomodate a whole bird). I deep-fried the duck, two pieces at a time at an oil temperature of 375 F, until the pieces were a deep golden brown and the skin was crispy (about ten minutes).

While I fried the duck I began to prepare the curry sauce. I sauteed about 2 tbsp of store-bought Thai red curry paste in a pan (you can add more if you like more heat) and then added, 1/2 cup of coconut milk, 1/2 cup of chicken stock, 1 tsp of fish sauce, a squeeze of lime juice (about a tsp) and 1 1/2 tsp of sugar (If I had canned pineapple I would have added about 1/2 a can for sweetness instead of the sugar). I then let the sauce reduce for about 8 mins to let the flavors marry and sauce reduce. I then drizzled this sauce over the pieces of fried duck. Don't overdo it or you'll spoil the crispy skin you worked so hard to achieve. I served the duck with sauteed bok choy and sticky rice. I'll be doing this one again.