Slow-Roasted Duck

I made this recipe tonight for the first time and it was divine. I served it plain, but if you wanted to deglaze the roasting pan while the duck is resting and make a sauce to pour over the duck, that would be a great idea, too. I'm thinking a little dry white wine and maybe a smidgen of honey? Scrumptious.

Here's the duck recipe itself. Well-worth the wait of several hours' roasting time.

1 5-pound duck, backbone cut out, flattened, rinsed and dried
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Season duck generously inside and out with salt and pepper, and season the skinless side only with the onion powder and garlic powder. Place in a roasting pan skin-side up and cover with foil.

2. Roast duck for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 300 degrees and roast for 2 1/2 hours, skimming off fat at least once.

3. Remove foil. Roast duck for 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour more, until the skin is gloriously brown.

4. Transfer duck to cutting board and let rest 15 minutes. Cut into eight pieces and serve.

Makes enough for three normal people or two hungry ones. Derived from this recipe, which I didn't copy in full mostly because I think beets and turnips are some of the worst tasting things in the universe, and I wan't going to let them near my pwecious bird.

Oh, and don't forget to save the duck drippings in a bowl and skim off the golden goodness of the duck fat when it's cooled. Save in the 'fridge to use when frying the best potatoes you'll ever eat.

Enjoy.