After you have fabricated your whole duck, don’t just throw the carcass away.  Make duck stock!  Duck stock can be used as you would chicken stock (cooking lentils, making risotto, as a base for soups or sauces), just keep in mind that it will turn your food a darker color and impart a more robust flavor.

You can make lighter colored & flavored duck stock using our chicken stock recipe, but since the duck meat will make a darker stock anyway, we thought why not add red wine for more robust flavor?  Remember to follow the Cardinal Rules of Stockmaking for success and safety.

Duck Stock Ingredients:
1 carcass (breasts, legs & wings removed) from a whole muscovy duck
2 cups of pinot noir
1 large yellow onion
1 large carrot
1 celery stalk
¼ bunch fresh thyme, plus any extra fresh herbs you want to add.
1/2 a head of celery’s worth of celery leaves
olive oil

Directions:

1. Trim any extra fat from the duck carcass.  Roughly chop the vegetables into relatively equal pieces.

2. Heat oil in a stock pot, add the duck carcass and sear it on all sides.

3. Deglaze the pan with the pinot noir.

4. Simmer to reduce the wine to a syrup.

5. Add the vegetables, herbs,  and enough water  to cover the bones.

6. Simmer for at least an hour (two hours would be best).

7. Strain out the solids and cook with the duck stock, or chill it immediately and store in the fridge (2-3 days) or freezer (months).