Bayerischer Entenbraten

Bayerischer Entenbraten belongs to the Bavarian Sunday table, the Wirtshaus, and the weeks before Christmas, when the kitchen can afford a bird that takes its time. In the south you meet it with Knödel, dumplings, and Blaukraut, red cabbage; further north the duck may lean sharper with prunes, beer, or apples cooked down harder into the sauce. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. German food has no single roast duck.

I cook the Bavarian way: apple, onion, marjoram, a little caraway, and mugwort if you have it. The apple inside is not decoration. It gives off moisture gently while the breast cooks, so the meat stays kinder while the skin outside dries and browns. The neck and wing tips go into the roasting pan, because Weggeworfen wird nichts, nothing gets thrown away, and they give the sauce its backbone.

The rule is dry skin and slow heat. Salt the duck and leave it uncovered in the refrigerator if you can; wet skin browns late and turns leathery. Start the roast low because a cold-to-hot climb renders the thick duck fat without tightening the meat too fast. Then raise the heat at the end, brush with salted water, and let the skin crisp. Runter mit der Temperatur first, then heat at the finish. Das braucht seine Zeit.

The sauce comes from the pan, not from a jar. Nicht aus dem Glas. Brown the bones and vegetables properly, loosen the roasted bits with stock and a little dark beer if you want the Bavarian Wirtshaus note, skim the fat, then reduce until it tastes like duck. Schön ist, was schmeckt.