Asian Style Duck cooked in a Slow Cooker (เป็ดพะโล้)

 

We had duck for Christmas dinner instead of turkey - not much leftover, I can tell you. So we didn't have duck for days and days afterwards like we did with turkey in the past years.

This recipe is similar to Slow Cooked Pork Belly that I posted early on but I didn't cook it in the liquid in the slow cooker but raised the duck with an upside down ceramic baking dish.

1 Whole Duck, giblet removed

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 Tablespoons oyster sauce

1 Tablespoon sweet dark soy sauce

150 mil chicken stock

1 chilli

3-4 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

1 coriander root, bruised

2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed with flat of the big knife

3-4 slices root ginger

A dash of salt

¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper

1 -2 teaspoons brown sugar (optional)

½ cup water

Mix all the sauces together with chicken stock, chilli, star anise, cinnamon stick, coriander root, garlic and ginger slices and set aside. Trim the excess fat and skin from the duck and rub it with salt both outside and inside. Marinate the duck in the sauce mixture overnight.

Remove the duck from the marinade and rest on the rack, reserve the liquid. Heat a little bit of oil in a wok or big frying pan and brown the duck on all sides. Put the cinnamon, garlic, star anise and ginger inside the duck. Place the duck on the slow cooker rack in the slow cooker (you can also use the upturn dish for this) so the bird will not sit in the liquid and its own fat while being cooked. Pour the marinate liquid over the duck and set the slow cooker on low. Cook the duck for 4-5 hours until tender. The timing will vary depending on your cooker. Mine is quite biggish and powerful and 4 and half hours are long enough. 

Rest the whole duck on a baking tray until cool – and then take the meat off the bones and slice. Reserve the cooking liquid – I put mine in the freezer to separate the fat ( you can use duck fat for cooking other Asian dishes – it’s yummy). 

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C. Bring the cooking liquid to the boil – taste first before adding any more seasoning. You can add more water and sugar to your taste. Pour the liquid over the duck and cover the baking tray with foil. Stick the tray in the oven for 15-20 minutes until heat through. Serve with steamed rice and steamed greens. 

I also had a simple, spicy sauce to go with the duck. Just blitz 2 cloves of garlic with one red chilli, ¼ cup of white vinegar, a bit of salt and sugar. Enjoy!