1 Whole duck, thawed and extras removed
Enough citrus fruits to stuff the duck
2 Tablespoons poultry seasoning
2 Tablespoons salt
Sauce:
1 cup white cooking wine
8 Tablespoons jam (pick your favorite fruit jam)
2 Tablespoons corn starch
Step #1: Remove peels from citrus fruits. Pack as many peeled citrus fruits inside the duck as can fit. We had a small duck and fit one lemon, one lime, one grapefruit, and one orange in.
Step #2: Use toothpicks to close the "bottom" of the duck to help keep the fruit in.
Step #3: Mix the poultry seasoning and the salt in a small dish. Rub the mix over the entire duck (front and back). We used Lemon Pepper seasoning to match with the citrus theme.
Step #4: Place a V-rack in the bottom of your slow cooker. If you do not have a V-rack (we do not) place 4-6 tinfoil balls in the bottom of the slow cooker to keep the duck up off the bottom. Place the stuffed and seasoned duck on the rack (or tinfoil balls).
Step #5: Cook on LOW for about 5-8 hours, or until the meat reaches 170 degrees (F). Ours was a small bird and was done in about 5 hours, but a larger bird will take longer to cook.
Step #6: Remove duck from the slow cooker and let rest for 15 minutes. While the duck rests, prepare the sauce.
Step #7: Place a few Tablespoons of the white cooking wine in a small dish and thoroughly mix in the corn starch. Set aside. Put the rest of the white cooking wine into a small sauce pan and heat on low. When it gets warm, add the jam and mix until it's thoroughly incorporated. Simmer. Taste. Add more wine or jam to your taste. When it is satisfactory, remove from heat. Stir up the corn starch mix before adding slowly to your warm sauce pan. Mix well until you get your desired consistency.
Step #8: Remove the toothpicks and citrus fruits and discard them. Carve the duck, or just pull it apart with your fingers.
Step #9: Put a bit of sauce on your plate, place duck over it, and serve with a side of sauce.
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Recipe Notes: The duck we used was small (something like 2 pounds) and there wasn't much meat on it. It was enough for us to pick and scrape at as a nice taste tester, but it wasn't the typical American meal that is based around a protein source. It definitely needs to be served with side dishes. We chose green beans and sweet potatoes. It might also be good over rice.
This recipe is a mixture of two different recipes that I found on the internet and then made some changes to suit us. You can see the original recipes HERE and HERE. We opted to skip the optional broiling time to crisp the skin.
The only complaint from the family was the small size of the duck (not enough meat). It was an Indian Runner duck, while the original recipes seem to be more geared toward a Peking or other larger breed (5-6 pounds). We will do this recipe again in the future. #1 especially liked the sauce. I thought it was tasty to dip the green beans in.
Tomorrow I'm calling the vet to schedule Henry for neuter surgery. I can't bring any more kittens into this world knowing that his genetics will cause them only suffering and death. I kept blaming other things - maybe it was because we had fleas with the first couple litters. Maybe it was because I gave the momma cats Frontline while they were pregnant. Maybe it was too cold or the door or air conditioning at the old house caused a draft. Maybe I didn't intervene with a bottle soon enough. Maybe I wasn't diligent enough with my supplemental care. But now, hearing it from a vet, and putting it all together, I have to face the reality that it wasn't my short-comings at all. It took me far too many lives to realize I can't fix this problem. So I will prevent it from happening again.