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Duck in a cauldron on a fire with onions

Fire-Roasted Duck with Onions in a Cauldron

Incredibly juicy, savory, and kissed with campfire smoke! Treat your family to a showstopping dish cooked outdoors over an open flame. Farm-raised duck comes out tender, rich, and unforgettable — simple, rustic, and downright delicious!

Pearl

Recipe author

Duck in a cauldron on a fire with onions

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Duck

1.6

Onion (medium)

Garlic (1 small head)

Vegetable oil

100

Salt

Ground black pepper

Fresh herbs

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 26 % 12 g

Fats 68 % 32 g

Carbohydrates 6 % 3 g

343 kcal

GI: 100 / 0 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

How do you make fire-roasted duck in a cauldron? Start with the bird. A farm-raised duck will give you the most flavorful results, but a store-bought one works just fine too. If you're working with a whole farm bird, pluck it, clean it out, and singe off any remaining pinfeathers and down. Rinse the carcass well and pat it dry. Cut the duck into small serving-size pieces. If your duck is frozen, thaw it at room temperature ahead of time.
Step 2:

Prep the rest of your ingredients. Peel the onions and garlic, rinse them in cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. Feel free to adjust the amount of onion and garlic to your taste.
Step 3:

Slice the onions into thin rings or half-moons. Roughly chop the garlic — the pieces can be fine or a little chunkier, whatever you prefer.
Step 4:

Build your campfire and set the cauldron over it.
Step 5:

Pour the vegetable oil into the cauldron and let it heat up thoroughly. Using a slotted spoon, splash some of the hot oil up along the sides of the cauldron, then add the duck and start frying.
Step 6:

Stirring constantly, cook the meat over high heat until it's nicely browned.
Step 7:

Add half of the sliced onion and all of the garlic to the duck. Season with salt to taste. Stir and fry everything together for about 5 minutes. Once the onion turns golden, lower the heat (pull a few logs out from under the cauldron). Pour in a little water — about half a cup or a bit more — cover with a lid, and let the duck and onions simmer over low heat until the meat is done. This recipe used a young duck, so 20 minutes was plenty.
Step 8:

Uncover the cauldron. If any liquid remains, cook it off. Add a few logs back to the fire. Toss in the remaining onion along with your favorite seasonings — ground black pepper is perfect here. Stirring constantly, cook the duck for about 5 more minutes. The onion will soften and take on an appetizing color. Sprinkle the finished dish with fresh herbs.
Step 9:

Serve it hot, while it's still steaming!

If your duck isn't especially young, it'll need more cooking time. In that case, add a bit more water at step 7, or lift the lid now and then while it simmers to check that the meat isn't scorching, topping off with a splash of water as needed. Enjoy!
To keep your eyes from watering when you slice onions, rinse the onion and the knife in cold water first. Rubbing the cutting board with a lemon wedge before slicing keeps it from soaking up that lingering onion smell.
If you're using a store-bought spice blend, always check the label. These blends often already contain salt, so factor that in or you risk over-salting the dish.
Use an oil with a high smoke point for frying. Every oil is only good up to a certain temperature — its smoke point — beyond which it starts to burn and form harmful compounds, including carcinogens. Unrefined oils, with few exceptions, have a low smoke point: they're full of unfiltered particles that burn quickly. Refined oils stand up to heat much better and have a higher smoke point. Whether you're roasting, pan-frying, or grilling, reach for a high-smoke-point oil — the most common ones are refined sunflower, olive, and grapeseed oil.