Caneton Rouennais

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Shallow roasting pan with a sturdy rack
• •Sharp carving knife and poultry shears
• •Heavy mortar and pestle
• •Chinois or very strong fine-mesh strainer
• •Ovenproof oval serving platter
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose the preparation

   The parent Caneton Rouennais entry names two complete preparations: Caneton Rouennais à la Presse (No. 1761) and Caneton Farci à la Rouennaise (No. 1762). The wine-and-brandy method requested here follows Caneton Rouennais à la Presse (No. 1761); Caneton Farci à la Rouennaise (No. 1762) remains a separate stuffed preparation, and none of its stuffing, accompanying sauce, lemon, or larger brandy treatment enters this dish.

2. 2

   Ready the kitchen

   Take the duckling from the refrigerator thirty minutes before roasting and pat it completely dry, inside and out. Heat the oven to 500°F (260°C) with a rack in the middle. Set out the carving knife, poultry shears, mortar, chinois, saucepan, thermometer, and ovenproof serving platter now; once the duck leaves the oven, the method must move without a pause. Reserve 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) of the wine for correcting the sauce, and fill the platter with hot water so it will be lukewarm when the breast slices arrive.

3. 3

   Roast twenty minutes

   Season the cavity and skin with 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) of the salt and half the pepper. Set the duckling breast-side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan and roast for exactly twenty minutes. The skin should be deeply burnished and the fat running freely, while the breast remains deliberately underdone at this stage. Do not extend the roast to finish the legs; the sliced breast completes its cooking under the sauce, and chasing full leg doneness now would dry the meat the dish is built around.

   If the rendered fat begins smoking aggressively, pull the pan out carefully and spoon off the excess into a heatproof bowl. Return the duck at once. Keep the browned roasting juices in the pan because they belong in the sauce.
4. 4

   Carve without delay

   Empty and dry the warm platter. Move the duck immediately to a carving board and detach both legs at the joints; they are not served in this preparation. Remove each breast lobe closely along the breastbone, keeping its burnished skin attached, then slice it across the grain about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick. Arrange the slices overlapping on the platter and season them with the remaining salt and pepper. Pour every carving-board juice into the waiting saucepan.

5. 5

   Press the carcass

   While the carcass is still hot, chop the ribs, back, and breast frame into pieces about 2 inches (5 cm) wide with poultry shears. Crush the pieces in the mortar in batches, adding the wine little by little as you work, then scrape everything into the chinois set over the saucepan. Press fiercely with the pestle or the back of a strong ladle until the bones look nearly dry. Spoon the clear fat from the roasting pan, rinse its browned fond with a little collected wine liquor, and scrape those juices into the saucepan. Strain the liquor once more through a clean fine-mesh sieve so no bone fragment remains. Never use a food processor here; pulverized bone has no place in a sauce.

   A duck press extracts more liquor, but the mortar and chinois preserve the method's intent honestly. Pressure, wine, and the hot carcass matter. The silver machinery does not.
6. 6

   Heat without boiling

   Add the brandy to the strained liquor and set the saucepan over the lowest heat. Whisk constantly until the sauce reaches 165°F (74°C), keeping it below 180°F (82°C) and nowhere near a simmer. It should taste concentrated and may thicken slightly. If grey flecks appear, strain it; if it suddenly grains or separates, lift it from the heat at once. Ça se rattrape: whisk in the reserved cool wine, strain, and resume over gentler heat. A commercially bled duck may give a thinner jus, and that is honest. Do not add flour or cream, and do not boil it down. Pour the hot sauce over the breast slices and place the platter in a 250°F (120°C) oven for 4 to 8 minutes, just until several slices register 165°F (74°C). Watch the rim closely. If the sauce begins bubbling, remove the platter immediately and strain the sauce once more.

7. 7

   Serve at once

   Spoon the gleaming sauce over every slice and carry the platter directly to the table, with no garnish and no waiting. The removed legs do not belong on this platter; once the breast has left the kitchen, roast them separately at 400°F (200°C) until they reach 165°F (74°C), then save them for another meal. The pressed duck is ready now. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask for a small, fresh duckling with a good layer of fat under the skin. A Rouen-breed bird is welcome if a trusted butcher can source one, but careful roasting and swift carving matter more than a grand name on the label. A frozen bird works if thawed completely and dried uncovered in the refrigerator.
• •The traditional Rouen bird retained blood that helped thicken the pressed sauce. A legally processed commercial duckling has been bled, so expect a lighter, more fluid jus. Flour, stock, liver, and cream would change the preparation rather than repair it.
• •Choose a dry red wine with freshness and moderate tannin. Raw wine is only gently heated here, so anything harsh remains harsh. Pour the same bottle at the table if it tastes supple enough to drink on its own.
• •The dish waits for nobody. Prepare the vegetables, warm the plates, open the wine, and seat your guests before the duck enters the oven. Cooking well is not cooking fancy, but this particular cooking is punctual.

Advance Preparation

• •Up to six hours before cooking, unwrap the duckling, pat it dry, and refrigerate it uncovered on a rack. The dry skin bronzes more readily under the fierce initial heat.
• •Measure the wine and brandy, arrange every pressing tool, and finish all side dishes before roasting. The carving, pressing, and final heating form one uninterrupted sequence.
• •Do not roast the duck or make the pressed sauce ahead. Immediate carving and extraction from the hot carcass are the preparation, not decorative tableside theater.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 205g)