Duck on Christmas Day for 10

[Bella1905]

Hi all, there will be 10 of us on Christmas Day and I'm thinking of purchasing a couple of ducks. I'm an amateur cook so wondered if people would recommend duck as a good option and does anyone have any advice on how to cook it/serve it? (We are not turkey fans). Many thanks

2 ducks is fine as long as there's plenty of side dishes, one serves 4 perfectly and certainly can stretch to a kids portion as well. However it's very fatty, sets off the smoke alarm and makes a mess of your oven. Far easier than a whole one is to slow cook legs, one each - I often do this on Christmas Eve.

I personally would serve goose as it's delicious but stronger in flavour so not everyone agrees with me if you really want to impress id opt for a three bird roast from a local butcher, deboned so super easy on Christmas Day

Oh I love goose. It's my favourite and we have it every few years. If it were up to me we'd have it every year.

But a goose wouldn't feed 10 so definitely don't do that @Bella1905!

I love duck but it is a faff. Would you consider confit duck leg? You could then just reheat all the legs in the oven which is much more straightforward and less risky

Ohhh you could get one of those French tins of confit duck legs! It'll all be done for you!

A 6kg goose will do 10, especially if two are small children. When we have more to feed we've done a turkey crown as well.

True. You could get a huge goose. But they are expensive so it depends if you wanted to do the duck for budgetary considerations or if it was to try something new.

I'm doing Duck a l'orange for 6 on NYE, and I'm going to cook two duck breasts in addition to the two whole duck to make sure there's enough meat to go round. I'd say you need 1 duck per 2-3 people, so I'd go for 3-4 duck for 10 people.

I find a goose serves 4-5, so I'd do two geese for 10.

It sounds preposterous, but there's a trick you can do with a hairdryer to remove a lot of the fat. I had hairdryer duck for Christmas dinner once and it was great! The recipe is in a book called Like Mother Used To Make, by Tom somebody.

I've never cooked duck(s) as there are nine of us usually.

Once I got a goose for 8-10 from Waitrose and it nearly didn't fit in the oven - they are longer than turkeys!

Usually just get a big turkey crown now.

Just wanted to say to the OP @Bella1905 , don't forget the Christmas Quackers 😆

Tom Norrington-Davies, I think.

Goose will be way more expensive as you need to go rathe large before you get more meat than bones

As well as a lot of fat , 2 ducks does sound tight for 10 even with stuffing and pigs - agree with duck brests or even a couple of large chickens

www.mprnews.org/story/2013/12/24/hair-dryer-cooking-from-smores-to-crispy-duck

2.75kg is a very large duck! Can your butcher guarantee the size or is the weight an approximation? I think even 2 x 2.75kg ducks is only just enough if you want to be sure that everyone gets as much as they want. People eat much larger servings at Christmas.,, If you end up with 2 slightly smaller ducks, it might not be enough.

Ducks shrink a lot as the fat melts off. You will need a roasting tin with a rack so your duck isn’t swimming in a pool of fat. Be careful taking it in and out of the oven!

I think the suggestion of confit duck or duck breasts or a 3 bird roast would make life a lot easier. I would at least buy some extra duck breasts or legs to cook with the 2 whole ducks. Cold duck is great in a salad or with potato galletes or bubble and squeak.

I think duck goes better with gratin dauphinoise than roast potatoes (although the duck fat makes great roasties), and orange/redcurrant/sour cherry sauce rather than gravy. If you want gravy, I would go for a slightly sweet red wine gravy. Braised red cabbage is perfect with duck. I also like some fresh steamed green vegetables to counterbalance the richness of the duck. Sprouts, chestnuts and pancetta also go well.

I would probably go with traditional Christmas sides (PiBs, sprouts, chestnuts, red cabbage, roast potatoes, roast parsnips) in case someone is especially looking forward to them and a gratin dauphinoise with both gravy and a fruit based sauce. No (not traditional) Yorkshire puddings though! If you want stuffing balls, a chestnut stuffing would go better with duck.

If you're an inexperienced cook and you're not sure whether everyone likes duck, I would personally avoid it. They are small, faffy and rather an acquired taste. Why not buy a nice loin of pork joint instead?

Farmed duck is definitely the same size as a chicken, it's wild duck that are tiny.

Just be prepared for the vast quantities of fat that will render off. You need to prick the skin and then prick it all over again and it will still probably be fatty when ready.

The problem with 2 (or 3) whole ducks as well is the amount of oven space they are taking up, disproportionately high for the amount of people they serve!!!

I agree with this poster that suggests confit legs are a good way to go and they feel special. I would budget approximately 4 legs for 3 people - initially serving one per person then letting people divvy up the extras for seconds. Confit legs seems really fancy but I made them earlier this year and found them delightfully easy, I will put the recipe below.

4 duck legs, skin on, ¾ tbsp flaky sea salt, 1 tbsp coriander seeds, toasted and lightly crushed, 500g unsalted butter, cut into large slices - all put into an ovensafe cast-iron pot, and bake for 2 1/2 hours at 150C. Remove duck legs from the melted butter and place on a tray, turn oven up to 220C. Bake for a further 20 minutes or until golden brown and skin is crisp. The butter can be strained and saved to use in cooking or to confit more duck legs!

I made roast duck at the weekend, and it really shrinks. Two adults and one child and the portions felt ok, but if it was three adults it would not been enough. We had roast potatoes and two vegetable sides.

So you've already ordered the 2 ducks. They have less meat to bone ratio than a chicken, that is why they don't stretch far.
Personally, I'd also cook at least 1 chicken. The kids are more likely to eat that than duck- which you can save for the adults. Another option would be also getting a capon- a castrated male chicken which is much larger than the regular ones. I've seen then in previous years at aldi/lidl but butchers also.

You will most likely need a duck between 2 I would have thought.....nothing worse than slim pickings..especially at Christmas.

We are having a duck for two of us, no leftovers as cold duck is bleutgh you will need a huge oven to do it for ten

You'll need one duck for every 2 people. More if they are big eaters or you want some leftovers for Boxing Day.
Ditto goose.

One duck was only just enough for two adults and 2 primary school kids. I buy 4 breasts now for xmas dinner.

I would buy breasts and legs so you know everyone will get a decent portion. Legs are much tastier than breast but more messy to eat. Nice in slow cooker with plum and hoisin sauce

We've had duck at Christmas and love it, but for 3 of us - a 2kg duck is enough for 3 people but not much leftover.
I like this Gordon Ramsay recipe with apple sauce (although the amount he gives makes loads of apple sauce so I halve it)
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/spiced-slow-roast-duck-apple-sauce