Chef Klaus
Bayerische Martinsgans
The Bavarian St. Martin goose is won in the first slow hour: render the fat gently, spoon it off, then let the skin go crisp and mahogany at the end.
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Bayerischer Entenbraten
Created by
A Bavarian Advent and Wirtshaus roast lives by dry skin, low heat, and patience: render the duck fat slowly, then finish hot for skin that cracks under the knife.
Main Dishes
German
Christmas
Special Occasion
35 min
Active Time
2 hr 30 min cook•11 hr 5 min total
Yield4 servings
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.
Roast duck has long belonged to the southern German feast table, especially around Martinmas in November and the Advent season, when geese and ducks were fattened before winter and the preserved larder took over. Bavaria's version usually keeps to apple, onion, marjoram, caraway, and often Beifuß, mugwort, a bitter herb traditionally used with fatty poultry because it cuts the richness. The regional split is clear: Bavarian tables expect Knödel and Blaukraut beside the bird, while northern and eastern versions more often bring sharper fruit, prunes, or simpler potato sides to the same roast.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
whole duck
Quantity
1, 2.4-2.8kg
neck and giblets kept if available
fine sea salt
Quantity
2 teaspoons, plus more to taste
black pepper
Quantity
1 teaspoon
freshly ground
dried marjoram
Quantity
1 teaspoon
caraway seeds
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
lightly crushed
dried mugwort (Beifuß) (optional)
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
tart apples
Quantity
2
cored and cut into wedges
onions
Quantity
2
1 quartered, 1 chopped
carrot
Quantity
1
chopped
celeriac
Quantity
100g
chopped
leek
Quantity
1
sliced and well washed
tomato paste
Quantity
1 tablespoon
duck stock or chicken stock
Quantity
250ml
dark Bavarian beer (optional)
Quantity
150ml
hot water
Quantity
250ml, as needed
cold butter (optional)
Quantity
1 teaspoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| whole duckneck and giblets kept if available | 1, 2.4-2.8kg |
| fine sea salt | 2 teaspoons, plus more to taste |
| black pepperfreshly ground | 1 teaspoon |
| dried marjoram | 1 teaspoon |
| caraway seedslightly crushed | 1/2 teaspoon |
| dried mugwort (Beifuß) (optional) | 1/2 teaspoon |
| tart applescored and cut into wedges | 2 |
| onions1 quartered, 1 chopped | 2 |
| carrotchopped | 1 |
| celeriacchopped | 100g |
| leeksliced and well washed | 1 |
| tomato paste | 1 tablespoon |
| duck stock or chicken stock | 250ml |
| dark Bavarian beer (optional) | 150ml |
| hot water | 250ml, as needed |
| cold butter (optional) | 1 teaspoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Roasting pan with rack
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Fat separator or small ladle
- •Sharp carving knife
Instructions
- 1
Dry the duck
Take the duck out of its wrapping, remove the neck and giblets, and pat the bird dry inside and out. Trim only the loose lumps of fat from the cavity and keep them for rendering; Weggeworfen wird nichts. Prick the skin lightly over the thighs and around the breast, stopping before the meat, because the holes let fat escape while the meat stays sealed. Salt the duck all over and leave it uncovered in the refrigerator at least 8 hours, or overnight if you have the time. Dry skin browns; damp skin sulks.
Put the duck on a rack over a tray in the refrigerator. Air has to reach the underside too, or one side dries and the other stays wet. - 2
Season and fill
Bring the duck out 45 minutes before roasting so the chill comes off the surface, then rub it with pepper, marjoram, caraway, and mugwort if you're using it. Fill the cavity loosely with the apple wedges and the quartered onion. Loose is the word. Pack it tight and the inside traps heat badly, while a loose filling perfumes the bird and gives the breast gentle moisture without turning the roast into boiled poultry.
- 3
Build the pan
Heat the oven to 150C. Put the neck, wing tips if trimmed, chopped onion, carrot, celeriac, and leek in a roasting pan, then stir in the tomato paste so it can brown in the fat later and give the sauce colour. Set the duck breast side up on a rack above the vegetables. Pour 250ml hot water into the pan, not over the bird, because the liquid protects the pan juices from scorching while the skin stays dry.
- 4
Roast low
Roast at 150C for about 1 hour 45 minutes, basting only the vegetables and pan juices, not the skin. Turn the duck once onto one side for 20 minutes and then the other side for 20 minutes if the thighs are thick; this helps the dark meat render evenly. Keep an eye on the pan. If the vegetables threaten to burn, add a splash more hot water. Runter mit der Temperatur: low heat lets the fat melt out before the meat tightens.
- 5
Crisp the skin
Raise the oven to 220C and put the duck breast side up. Brush the skin with a spoonful of salty water, then roast 20 to 30 minutes more until the skin is deep golden, tight, and crisp at the breast and thighs. The salted water helps the surface dry into a brittle finish; it isn't for flavour alone. The duck is done when the thigh joint moves easily and the thickest part of the thigh reads 74C.
- 6
Rest and sauce
Lift the duck to a board and rest it 15 to 20 minutes, because carving at once sends the juices onto the board instead of keeping them in the meat. Strain the pan into a saucepan, pressing the vegetables hard, then skim off the clear fat and save it for potatoes. Add the stock and dark beer if using, boil until the sauce tastes like duck instead of water, and finish with cold butter if you want a slight gloss. Würzen, Fett, Salz zum Schluss: taste after reducing, then salt.
- 7
Carve and serve
Pull out the apple and onion and discard them only after they have given what they had. Cut off the legs first, then slice the breast from the bone and spoon a little sauce around, not over all the skin, because crisp skin should stay crisp until the fork reaches it. Serve with Kartoffelknödel, potato dumplings, and Blaukraut, braised red cabbage. That's the Bavarian plate, not a costume.
Chef Tips
- •Buy a duck around 2.5kg, not an oversized old bird. A very large duck often carries more fat than meat, and the skin can brown before the thick fat underneath has rendered.
- •Do the drying step. It costs no skill and makes the biggest difference. Salt draws a little moisture out, the refrigerator air dries the skin, and the oven can brown instead of fighting water.
- •Keep the duck fat. Skim it from the sauce and chill it. The next day, roast potatoes in it with salt and caraway, and you'll understand why the old kitchens saved everything.
- •Use Beifuß, mugwort, if you can find it, but don't empty the spice cupboard trying to replace it. Marjoram and caraway already speak Bavarian clearly enough.
- •Do not thicken this sauce with a packet. Reduce the pan juices, stock, and browned vegetables until they carry their own body. Nicht aus dem Glas.
Advance Preparation
- •Salt and dry the duck uncovered in the refrigerator 8 to 24 hours ahead; this is the make-ahead step that gives crisp skin.
- •The red cabbage can be cooked the day before. Blaukraut is better reheated because the apple, vinegar, and cabbage settle into each other overnight.
- •Render any trimmed duck fat a day ahead over low heat, strain it, and keep it chilled for roast potatoes or for browning dumpling crumbs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 360g)
Calories
700 calories
Total Fat
48 g
Saturated Fat
16 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
28 g
Cholesterol
210 mg
Sodium
1350 mg
Total Carbohydrates
17 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
10 g
Protein
50 g
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